Nervous to start May1

[Bs191]

As the title implies.. I am feeling very nervous!

I was hoping current or past students could alleviate some of that by letting me know how the program worked for them. I have 45 CU to complete, hopefully within 12 mos. I don't feel I can contribute enough time to get it done in 6 months but I love reading about those who did! Any words of wisdom would be great! My husband is a great support but we are both anxious about what to expect with my being focused on school work. I work every weekend nights and stay home with my 3 kids during the week (one is in school). Thanks in advance!!

[Mandynsnuf]

FeatherzRN how long did it take you to complete, did you have to take a lot of prereqs?

Thanks,

Mandy

You will both do great!! Make sure to join the facebook page (lots of support there) and have fun. :) Ok, some of the classes are more fun than others, but you know what I mean. :)

I had 50 to do, which was rather distressing at first, but I made it through. My last 'school' was over 20 years ago! :)

[featherzRN, MSN]

FeatherzRN how long did it take you to complete, did you have to take a lot of prereqs?

Thanks,

Mandy

I was one of the crazy people who did it in less than a term, but I had to pretty much study every waking moment when not at work to get that done! And I had to take quite a few non nursing courses to make up my 50 units. Thankfully I got out of math, history, english and speech. :)

And yes, PERRLA is worth it. You'll see people mentioning citation machine, etc - those work well also if you don't want to buy PERRLA, but the software also formats the paper, saves the references for later use, etc - it's not just for citations.

[LindseyRN86]

I was one of the crazy people who did it in less than a term but I had to pretty much study every waking moment when not at work to get that done! And I had to take quite a few non nursing courses to make up my 50 units. Thankfully I got out of math, history, english and speech. :) And yes, PERRLA is worth it. You'll see people mentioning citation machine, etc - those work well also if you don't want to buy PERRLA, but the software also formats the paper, saves the references for later use, etc - it's not just for citations.[/quote']

I so admire your ambition!! Haha. Now, I can't remember...are you doing your MSN?

[featherzRN, MSN]

I so admire your ambition!! Haha. Now, I can't remember...are you doing your MSN?

No, not at this time. The MSN program changed late last year, and I was waiting to see how the changes worked out. Now the capstone has changed from a research study to being based on a field experience (for the MSN only) - and I am waiting to see what that entails. My work schedule may not permit another field experience so I'm still on the fence. :)

[NC Girl BSN]

FeatherzRN, the 90 hrs field experience does not seem bad at all. My enrollment counselor said it had to be community based ands I could start working on my hours starting May 1 on my enrollment date. I can interview a community nurse, participate in nursing based community activities like(health fairs or health awareness project. I work at a hospital and they post activities all the time that require nurses to be involved. I'm going to try to knock it out quickly.

[featherzRN, MSN]

FeatherzRN, the 90 hrs field experience does not seem bad at all. My enrollment counselor said it had to be community based ands I could start working on my hours starting May 1 on my enrollment date. I can interview a community nurse, participate in nursing based community activities like(health fairs or health awareness project. I work at a hospital and they post activities all the time that require nurses to be involved. I'm going to try to knock it out quickly.

that's a different field experience - that's for the BSN and I did it already in about a month. The MSN field experience is an unknown quantity - no one in the facebook group has started it yet, but we are told you need an MSN as a preceptor and it's no set # of hours. The community health practicum for the BSN is 90 hours and is what you are speaking of. It looks if you are going for the MSN only, so I would check again with your enrollment counselor, as I think s/he is confused and may be telling you the wrong information. It is completely new and part of the capstone and I think the enrollment counselors don't know what to say about it yet. :)

[walk4health]

When did you start the MSN program. Just trying to get an idea for a time line. I am hoping to start May 1st in the RN - MSN program. Thanks!

[NC Girl BSN]

Well that sucks! I specifically asked her again during the intake interview. But what doesn't suck is that I am a part time clinical instructor and work with at least 5 MSN's.

[LindseyRN86]

When did you start the MSN program. Just trying to get an idea for a time line. I am hoping to start May 1st in the RN - MSN program. Thanks!

If you were asking me when I started the MSN program it would have been September 2013. I was grandfathered into the old MSN- Education program. I will be done with the program September 2014.

[NC Girl BSN]

Lindsey. What is the major change with the new MSN curriculum vs old?

[featherzRN, MSN]

Lindsey. What is the major change with the new MSN curriculum vs old?

The classes are completely renamed, the capstone supposedly will be done differently and will be based on a field experience either in leadership or education rather than a research project. They also added the 'three p's' (patho, advanced physical assessment, pharmacology IIRC).

[sstephensrn, MSN, RN]

Does anyone out there know if its worth the time and money to send for a transcript to dantes? I took ethics in America back when I was going to Excelsior for ASN. I was awarded 3 hours for the class but I don't know if I should send for transcript or not, will WGU count or give any credit for a dantes exam? The transcript cost $30.00 and takes some time to get. Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks