MCPHS in a nutshell

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Specializes in CSICU/CTICU.

Hello. Considering it is often difficult to find information on some nursing programs, I thought I would share my experience about visiting this school.

MCPHS, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, is one of the oldest pharmacy (PharmD) schools in the country. They also offer a MASTERS in Physician Assistant, a 16 month accelerated BSN program (Fall start at the Manchester campus, Spring start at the Worcester campus), a MASTERS in family NP, and a traditional four year BSN at their Boston Campus (next door to Harvard). While it is a small school, they have the 6th largest endowment in the country. I recently visited the Worcester, MA campus to which I was accepted and this is what I think:

- The facilities, mostly located in about three buildings which sit across the street from a hospital, are absolutely immaculate. The buildings are new and gorgeous. The technology is STATE OF THE ART. The labs are set up like hospital rooms, with top of the line simulation "dummies" who do all the things a real patient would do. All the equipment you would find in a hospital room are in the labs and fully functional. The classrooms are also state of the art, with clickers being connected to the overhead projector so that students can answer questions Jeopardy style! Everything inside this school is clean, modern, and visually impressive. The staff are incredibly friendly and kind.

- This school is a school that focuses solely on graduate health professions. At the Worcester campus, all of the programs are accelerated, so the student body averages between the ages of 26-28 and everyone at the facility has a prior degree. There is an academic focus and BSN students have the opportunity to get published. As a part of the dress code, all students at the Worcester campus have to wear MCPHS white lab coats, including nursing students, which really conveys the professional impression of the nursing program.

- There are about 50-55 students in the accelerated BSN program. Only about 3 fall out of sequence a year (read: FAIL), which means they have to remediate in to the class a year behind them. The teachers are highly supportive and become close with students. The teachers work with the students and do not "leave them hanging". They go with them to their clinicals. They will advocate for you in the hospitals.

- MCPHS is front loaded. In each course, you learn all the classroom material for the first few weeks, take exams, practice in the lab, and then the next few weeks you are fully immersed in clinicals. Thus, you will not have classwork and clinical at the same time, and you will not be unprepared for clinical because you "haven't gotten to that chapter yet".

- According to the tour guide, if you are having trouble and seek out the teacher's help early, there is no reason why you would be failed. It seems that this is a supportive environment in which everyone wants the students to succeed and become excellent, proficient, respected nurses. Thus far, they have graduated 7 classes, and have full accreditation. For the past 2 years their NCLEX pass rate has been 100%. They do have the HESI exam system in place.

About Worcester, MA:

Pros:

- Located near 7 other colleges: Clark, Assumption, Holy Cross, WPI and UMASS Medical School to name a few. The school is across the street from a new hospital (St. Vincents), there are other state and psychiatric facilities close by, and UMASS Memorial Hospital is a five minute drive. The area is heavily populated by biotechnology companies, so healthcare and science is what draws people to this city.

- It is 40 minutes from Boston and 40 minutes from Providence, RI, and there is a train station close to the school which can take you to these places. The drive from NY is about 3 hours. It is even closer to CT.

- A 3-5 minute drive from the school is Shrewbury St which is Worcesters "restaurant row". Lots of cute restaurants and bars and grills. A 5-10 minute ride from the school is a strip with all the amenities..movie theaters, best buys, k-marts, cell phone stores, supermarkets...

Cons:

Downtown Worcester, where the school is located, SUCKS. Not too far down Main Street is a ghetto neighborhood (think hookers and crackheads). There are a plethora of liquor stores, check cashing, and pawn shops. I saw MANY drug addicts on the street - this was either due to the proximity to the ghetto neighborhood (copping drugs) or the proximity to the rehab facilities. There is definitely a shady element to downtown Worcester. There are beautiful buildings architecturally (like the court house and the churches and the park). There are normal working people walking around downtown during the day, but supposedly the area becomes desolate at night and most people recommend that you don't walk around alone. Overall, Downtown Worcester is the biggest drawback to what appears to be a FABULOUS school.

If anyone has any other questions, please let me know. I have not decided whether or not I will attend yet. As a disclaimer, this is based on my personal opinions :-)

El

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:):) thanks for your post... I was looking into the program there.. I was worried about the commute from Boston everyday..

But it's great to hear your opinion.

When did u send in your application? did it take long to hear back?

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Specializes in CSICU/CTICU.

No problemo ! I mean honestly a 80 minute commute per day (assuming no traffic) sounds bad in my opinion considering it's an accelerated program..but if you think you can swing it, by all means. They bought the Crowne Plaza Hotel and turned it in to dorms. It will be opening this fall and you get a private room/private bathroom, fully furnished...lots of other amenities...I think it's only 400-600 mo and it comes with parking, gym, pool.... Something to consider..I wish I could live there but I have dogs...so I'm looking at a modern, off campus building on 600 main st (1000/mo, beautiful big apartment, borders the ghetto)...and theres another building called Bancroft Commons on 50 Franklin St, where students stay.

I applied in June and I heard back 2-3 weeks later...very quick ;-)

El

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Thx for the reply,

Wow, i totally.. didnt know about the housing there. :)

Im nervous about working and going to school at the same time tho!

I agree with you 80 minutes a day can be tiring especially after 8 hours of class.

Good luck in school. I would love to hear more about the program and people's experience there.

thx again. Keep me posted as things move along.

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Thanks for your input. I was born and raised in Worcester and now live in a bordering town with my husband and 2 kids. Yes the area can be shady, but where the college itself is is pretty much lively Thursday through Saturday nights, lots of bars and clubs close by. The ghetto (or Main South as it is called around here) is about a mile away and stretches for a couple miles and yes it is ridden with druggies and what not. They have been trying to clean that area up for years. It's funny because Clark University and a super school and people come from all over the world to go there and it is located right smack in the middle of all of that.

Anyway if you have any questions about what areas to atay out of, what areas are nice let me know.

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hey thanks for all the info guys,

i have several questions. I've been accepted into the 16 mnth accelerated bsn program as well, and have yet to visit the campus, so all this is extremely helpful.

1. Can i get around town/school/campus via public transportation? I don't drive :-/

2. I don't recall seeing anything about an interview on their site as being a part of their admissions process to the postbac bsn program, but when I called I was told that if they're interested an interview will be required. I got accepted w/o an interview...did you guys experience the same? Perhaps I spoke w/someone who didn't know what she was talking about, or the program too well.

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Specializes in CSICU/CTICU.

Clara -

Glad to see someone else from NYC might be attending..I joined the FB group for Jan 2011 start (students who submitted their deposit already), and so far I'm the only NYCer. Depending on where you live, it is feasible to walk from where you live/school/campus. Note that the campus is basically a few buildings in Downtown Worcester, so it's not a campus in the traditional sense. I know that there are taxis and buses, but the system is not as convenient as the NYC subway or anything. There's also a train that goes to NY and Boston that's pretty close. The people in admissions suggested that you do have a car, only because most things like grocery stores, movies, and even clinicals are driving distance. Although Worcester is a city, anywhere outside of downtown seems pretty suburban to me...So that if your clinical is at UMass Memorial, which is 5 minutes away, you will still need to drive there.. (although there may be a bus going there)...I think that being without a car would be doable, but probably difficult and far from ideal. I heard the winters can be abysmal there so that's another thing to consider. Friends with cars...a good thing :-P Where would you plan on living? That's important. I think a visit is in order!

hey thanks for all the info guys,

i have several questions. I've been accepted into the 16 mnth accelerated bsn program as well, and have yet to visit the campus, so all this is extremely helpful.

1. Can i get around town/school/campus via public transportation? I don't drive :-/

2. I don't recall seeing anything about an interview on their site as being a part of their admissions process to the postbac bsn program, but when I called I was told that if they're interested an interview will be required. I got accepted w/o an interview...did you guys experience the same? Perhaps I spoke w/someone who didn't know what she was talking about, or the program too well.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, ER.

Hi! I was born and raised in Worcester and Elle I saw your post about the apt you're looking at...please keep looking. That's really not a good price for Worcester and anything that borders the ghetto is extremely dangerous at night...gun shots and stabbings/come out in the morning to find your tires flat dangerous...if you were to drive literally 5 minutes up Highland Ave (past Tortilla Sam's/Price Chopper, through the set of lights and up the hill) you come to Doherty High and the Newton Sq area...this is a beautiful part of Worcester, safe, and still close to MCPHS. My sister lives in this area and pays $800/month to rent a large modern 3 BR condo with hardwood floors and granite countertops. Please stay away from the downtown/Main St area...also stay away from May St/Chandler St parts that lead into the downtown area...

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Specializes in Pediatrics, ER.

I also wanted to tell you that I have three friends who went through the Worcester MCPHS nursing program, and all three loved it...they also all had jobs after graduation last year. You have a better chance of getting employed out in Worcester if you work as a CNA in a hospital out there, than you do of getting a job out in Boston. It took my classmates an average of one year to find jobs after graduation here in the city, but all my friends in the Worcester area had jobs within two months of taking the NCLEX. There's no sign of a nursing shortage in the next few years, so it's something to seriously think about. Just my two cents.

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Have only heard great things about it.

Except the COST!!!!! But hey if you can afford it then hell yeah go for it!

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oh yea the cost is killer (98K+) :uhoh3:

Elle,

I haven't decided on where I'm going to live yet if accepted. Possibly as close to school as possible or anywhere w/student housing (dorms, bancroft commons). I like the thought of being near our kind (: A trip to worcester is def in order. I need to figure out the logistics of everything if there's a good chance im going to get around by public transportation. I tried joining the class of 2012 worcester bsn grp, but haven't heard from though I didn't mention if I gave in my deposit or not or was even accepted. Will try again later this week.. . itll be nice to find another potential nyc'er

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Opps.. I meant if I accept. the cost is a huge factor

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