Online NP school vs In class NP school

anh06005, MSN, APRN, NP · Jan 21, 2015

Well mine was a mix of online and in class so I can't 100% answer your question but I think most programs are a mix like mine was.

Most of my stuff was online. We would have to meet about 3 times on campus per semester for each class. They did try to schedule all on-campus classes on the same day or within a day or so of each other. There were some in my class who lived several hours away and even out of state.

We all did clinicals in our own areas by finding our own preceptors (the school would provide a list of past preceptors and try to give us leads if we had issues).

The only class we met on campus for more often was Health Assessment where we met one class per month to practice our skills and such in lab.

So if there is school between where you are now and where you'll be going it may be worth it if it's only an occasional drive (IF...not sure if you even know where you'll be lol).

lhflanurseNP, APRN · Jan 22, 2015

I did 100% online due to the remoteness of where I lived to avoid the long drive back and forth to a traditional school. It is hard work. There are things you miss out on, especially in regards to the skills classes (using funduscope, suturing, etc). I am preparing for my board exam and must admit that I feel the extra work I put into my assignments has helped me grasp the information as I am doing the reviews and question bank tests. Clinicals is where you will get your "bread and butter" I believe, at least I did. Would I do it again? If I had the opportunity to have a school closer, I would entertain that thought. I don't believe everything has to be on campus, so a blend would do quite well...all the prereqs could be online (pharm, research, etc).

TheDude77 · Feb 4, 2015

I'm in an online program and I say if you have the option of a campus program you should do it. You teach yourself online. Trying to perform a physical assessment check off online..... Difficult. Asking questions gets frustrating online because you have to wait for a response, and if they don't understand what you are asking it gets even more frustrating because you have to wait for another response.

zmansc, ASN, RN · Feb 4, 2015

First, thanks for you and your families service.

'May have to move' while in a B&M school would be a bit issue I would think. My school does not offer ACNP, but it like many of the online programs have the students come back to campus for a week to do skills checkoff. If I remember correctly someone said their ACNP program had them do a three day weekend each term or something like that to do skills. I would recommend looking for programs that have a campus visit or two so that you can do skills in a one on one environment, not everything can be done online. If there is a chance you are going to be moving, I would also think that finding preceptors may be difficult for you. It's still doable, but I think you will have to work hard to network with the providers in your area once you move to find preceptors who will be willing to work with you. If there are providers associated with the military in your new location, I would think they might be able to help you either by being preceptors or by introducing you to civilian providers in the community.

I agree that if you are doing an online program you tend to teach yourself, although I get at least as much out of the live & recorded sessions with my professors as I ever did out of a classroom setting where the professors often went off tangent, told the same story over again, and answered questions from students that were totally off base. I just don't see that much wasted time in my program because if they go off tangent, I fast forward, or simply research other questions/answers while I listen to the lecture in the background. Plus it's great to be able to re listen to the lecture while I'm at the gym, or whatever, so I think their are +/- to both online and classroom lecture classes. I have a couple of really good study buddies, and I think that makes a big difference in an online program, each day we message each other throughout the day, when are you doing this? did you read that? etc. If one of us does bad on an exam or assignment, or even feels nervous about it, we help each other out. It makes the online program more social and I think that is an important aspect that can be missing in a classroom setting.

Good luck with whichever path you choose, it will not be easy, but is definitely worth the effort!

2015 · Feb 4, 2015

Am on an online program with georgetown, but it doesn't seem online at all. You attend class at scheduled times and all students are on camera and audio. You ask a question verbally or type in a chat box in class and you get an immediate response. You raise your hand to ask a question and every can see you. You do presentations on powerpoint, and you present to the class just like the professor does. I did a class with university of phoenix and that was a joke.

I like online because I have kids and that saves me time on commuting to a brick and mortar on a daily basis. For health assessment, we used to record videos doing an actual assessment on a volunteer patient at home and submit the video for grading. At the end of the semester, we went to campus physically to do the head to toe assessment exam on paid actors who act as patients. It has been an awesome experience.

We go on campus twice during the program to do practical exams and also learn procedures like suturing. Once we started clinicals, we stopped recording videos. The university does send a clinical facilitator to your clinical site to grade your performance.

I hope you will get a program that suits your needs and will prepare you to be a competent professional.

BlueRN95 · Feb 5, 2015

Am on an online program with georgetown, but it doesn't seem online at all. You attend class at scheduled times and all students are on camera and audio. You ask a question verbally or type in a chat box in class and you get an immediate response. You raise your hand to ask a question and every can see you. You do presentations on powerpoint, and you present to the class just like the professor does. I did a class with university of phoenix and that was a joke.
I like online because I have kids and that saves me time on commuting to a brick and mortar on a daily basis. For health assessment, we used to record videos doing an actual assessment on a volunteer patient at home and submit the video for grading. At the end of the semester, we went to campus physically to do the head to toe assessment exam on paid actors who act as patients. It has been an awesome experience.
We go on campus twice during the program to do practical exams and also learn procedures like suturing. Once we started clinicals, we stopped recording videos. The university does send a clinical facilitator to your clinical site to grade your performance.
I hope you will get a program that suits your needs and will prepare you to be a competent professional.

I am starting the FNP program at Georgetown in May. I am looking forward to it, and from what I have gathered it is a very interactive program with a minimum of 12 students per class.

This is the future of learning and I believe that the most important part of an NP program is having a good clinical site with good clinical preceptors.

Lajimolala, BSN, RN, NP · Feb 6, 2015

Hey all,
Can people shed some light on online vs in class NP school. Can people who did both post the pros and cons and which they would reccomend.
Here is the deal I am looking for adult acute care I am not sure if I want to specialize. I may have to move in the next year or so because my husband is in the army. that being said I still want to make sure I do the right thing if I go back to school.
thanks in advance!
Shifra

I am a military wife as well, and I went to a traditional state university for my BSN and now currently going to school online for grad school. I think the answer really depends on whether or not if you went to a reputable online school.

For my undergrad, even though it was well-known regionally, you were still another face in 80-100 students in the class. I was fine with it at the time because I didn't know any other way. I have always went to school the traditional route. Also, my husband had to take duties that no one wanted so that we could stay together while I finish my education. We ended up staying long enough for me to get exactly one year experience before moving clear across the country, where I decided this would be a good time to continue on with NP.

At first I was hesitant to try online schools. I have heard that many are based on discussion boards and I just couldn't see myself learning how to be a provider that way. Additionally, I was brand new to this coast of America, and I had zero contacts for clinical placements. I urge you to really think about whether or not you can secure your own clinical sites because it is a source of MUCH stress in grad school. There was a state school that I could have gone with in my new location, but even though it is a brick and mortar school, I would still have to find my own clinical sites. So luckily, I too go to Georgetown and I have had an amazing experience with clinical placements. But I assure you, not everyone is as lucky--even my fellow Georgetown Hoyas have issues sometimes.

So all in all, I would suggest going to a very reputable online school, if you go that route. Really think about what kind of a learner you are, and if you would be able to network. Make sure that you would be supported. Grad school is very stressful. You will be stressed out for the next couple of years, but make sure it's good stress--like studying for an exam. Not the bad stress like if I don't find a clinical site, I can't finish this class and be held back and pay another semester's worth of tuition.

For me, if it wasn't Georgetown, I would have gone with the brick and mortar school because I don't want to just trust anyone with that responsibility to educate and train me. So the answer really depends on your situation. Good luck!