past/current YorkU Nursing students - opinions about the program

[FN89]

hey guys,

i just got my acceptance from yorkU, and i just have a few questions about the program:

- how intense was the program?

- how were the professors?

- how much independence do RNs give you in clinicals?

- what should i be expecting?

any opinions and comments would be much appreciated!

thanks!

FN

[LakeSimcoe]

I am a Georgian/York student in my 3rd year. Georgian was great; the teachers are fantastic and ALL of my preceptors were fantastic as well. My favourite rotation was Obstetrics in Orillia... great OB ward/staff/care etc. and our preceptor got us 'in there' every chance she could.

However, Georgian is going on strike soon, are they not? One other huge thing you need to be aware of is that this program and the teachers/professors ( I have had) pride themselves on 'The Caring Curriculum'. We spend a lot of time on nursing theorists and their theory's of caring. Essays/presentations etc.

I, and many of the girls I chum with, feel that we are missing out on the more important biomedical stuff, for instance, how to keep your patient alive/from going downhill..

I completely understand why I often hear of hospital RN's/RPN's saying things like ' new degree grads know nothing...' because we don't.. and I also understand why healthcare environments can be hostile towards new nurses...

I chose this program based on location. If I was starting over, I would look into Ryerson/Mac/Western and simply relocate. I hear many positives about their programs. Did you apply anywhere else?

At York:

Printer in computer lab often broken; no quiet places to sit and study without walking for miles from the nursing building; unorganized; terrible community placements ie. soup factory/ drop in center's for new moms and children etc.

I do not like to bash, but I would have liked to have known this before I started. Also, York is the only university I hear of that strikes regularly... I luckily dodged the last one, but so many students lost so much time and money...

Hope this helps.

and one more thing, I recently heard that York grads have the highest failure rate on the CRNE. This really concerns me...

[linzz]

I am just wondering about York's failure rate and wondering if there are a lot of students in the program that don't have good english skills or english is their second language as this is often a cause of exam failure.

I was a tutor for math in college and I found of those who had issues with math, that a portion of those issues were language based. It can be hard to do word problems and multiple choice tests when you don't have good reading and comprehension skills.

And yes, in regards to the strikes, York has had their share but so have all the colleges with another one looming very soon if they don't settle. I think the last strike was 2006.

[FN89]

I am a Georgian/York student in my 3rd year. Georgian was great; the teachers are fantastic and ALL of my preceptors were fantastic as well. My favourite rotation was Obstetrics in Orillia... great OB ward/staff/care etc. and our preceptor got us 'in there' every chance she could.

However, Georgian is going on strike soon, are they not? One other huge thing you need to be aware of is that this program and the teachers/professors ( I have had) pride themselves on 'The Caring Curriculum'. We spend a lot of time on nursing theorists and their theory's of caring. Essays/presentations etc.

I, and many of the girls I chum with, feel that we are missing out on the more important biomedical stuff, for instance, how to keep your patient alive/from going downhill..

I completely understand why I often hear of hospital RN's/RPN's saying things like ' new degree grads know nothing...' because we don't.. and I also understand why healthcare environments can be hostile towards new nurses...

I chose this program based on location. If I was starting over, I would look into Ryerson/Mac/Western and simply relocate. I hear many positives about their programs. Did you apply anywhere else?

At York:

Printer in computer lab often broken; no quiet places to sit and study without walking for miles from the nursing building; unorganized; terrible community placements ie. soup factory/ drop in center's for new moms and children etc.

I do not like to bash, but I would have liked to have known this before I started. Also, York is the only university I hear of that strikes regularly... I luckily dodged the last one, but so many students lost so much time and money...

Hope this helps.

and one more thing, I recently heard that York grads have the highest failure rate on the CRNE. This really concerns me...

thank you for sharing your opinions/experiences! :)

im just wondering, does the high failure rate also apply to the 2nd entry students? i will be doing the accelerated program at york.

[LakeSimcoe]

Thank you Linzz for your comment. There actually are a lot of international students where english is their second language. That totally makes sense. So in reply to FN89's question, I don't think that would be the case for 2nd entry students, especially when the majority would be coming from other Canadian Universities.

[linzz]

I didn't realize that York offered a second entry program. I was thinking more of the traditional four year program. I wish I had I second entry program near me as I have a previous degree and it would be nice to obtain at least some credit for it.

I must agree that there are big differences in program quality and sadly money is often one of the main reasons.

Anyways, you are almost done and as you get some experience, that will matter more than where you obtained your initial education.