Mount Royal Nursing program

Beebop25 · Sep 8, 2011

sorry one moe question was it the full summer from may-august or just july/august?

lemidora · Sep 8, 2011

For anybody else who is enrolled in the Nursing program at Mount Royal University in Calgary Alberta, is there any way to fast track the nursing degree? Also, are there any ways to take courses in the summer semester (such as the general ones) to lighten things up during the school year?

Yes, you can take general courses over the summer to lighten things up during the year but I should warn you that there is a lot of people that like to do that so you could be out of luck if you're at the bottom of the list to register for classes. Having said that, you can do some gen eds as a transfer credit through Athabasca.

As far as fast tracking the program, there is an option to graduate a semester early if you don't take a break between your third and fourth years. Again, the spaces are very limited and go by first come first serve basis so a lot will depend on when you're allowed to register for classes. The way registration at MRU works is by the number of credits- the more credits you have, the earlier you get to register.

On the topic of working as an NA, despite the fact that MRU says that you can do that after completing all of your 1100 and 1200 courses, most places want you to have finished the first two years of the nursing program because you only get to pathophysiology and pharmacology in the second year. I'm pretty sure we don't get any certification because technically we're not "certified" nursing assistants but are simply deemed to have enough knowledge/skills to be able to perform at an NA level. I believe Bow Valley college has the accredited CNA program. If you want to get your foot in the door, I suggest sending out resumes to AHS for support staff positions such as food services and shipping/receiving because you only need a high school diploma and it's a great way to get to know how the hospitals work.

Anyhow, if you need more information you can PM me!

lemidora · Sep 8, 2011

Do you know if it is possible to request to have your clinicals at certain times? I am assuming not as if everyone did this it would be impossible but..

It's not possible to request the times for your clinicals. All clinicals have set days- for example, you first round (nurs 1214) will be on mondays, your second round (nurs 2114) will either be tues+wed or thurs+fri. You will either have the morning shifts starting at 6:45 or the afternoon shifts starting at around 2:30-3:00. Most of the time you blindly register for a certain section and won't know where/what time your clinical will be up until a week or two before it starts. However, if the location or time doesn't work for you, you can try to find a person in another group who'd be willing to swap sections with you.

DuplexMule · Sep 8, 2011

I would finish one semester early (3.5 years) because I took first half of my fourth year in July-August. I would say it is tough to finish earlier than that because of clinicals; we have clinical every semester from the second semester of the first year on. Everyone registers for clinicals at the same time, it usually is a co-requisite with other courses. You can take all the options and get ahead of the game, but some nursing courses offered only at certain time of year.

DuplexMule · Sep 8, 2011

You can apply for NA when you complete your first year nursing courses but there is no certificate for that as lemidora answered. For UNE, I think AHS asks for xxx hours, please consult AHS website for this, which normally means completion of 2nd year nursing courses. However, it can be very competitive and very few people had the opportunity to get in that position. IMO I wouldn't be ready for UNE before I finish my adult health block.

iluvoranges · Jan 21, 2012

any more mru students on this forum.... i applied for sept 2012 i'm soo excited

i hope i get accepted to the program .... also i was looking at the curriculum and i noticed for first yr they give an option of gned 1101[color=#313131] - scientific and mathematical literacy for the modern world

gned 1102[color=#313131] - controversies in science... which is more easier.... lol i don't want to freak out on my first yr which i knw i will already...

thank you ...

lemidora · Jan 21, 2012

iluvoranges, both of the 1100 gned courses are fairly easy. I took 1102 and found it interesting and easy. I heard 1101 was a piece of cake as well. Any gned you take will have papers and assignments so they`re all fairly equal. The first two years of the program are very readings/papers/assignment heavy so you just have to buckle down and get through it.

iluvoranges · Jan 29, 2012

thxs for the helpful reply....