Accepted to UCLA's 2007 MECN Program!

NSFA08 · Apr 17, 2007

i'm applying to the MECN program in december. if you don't mind sharing, what were your grades like? and what kind of experience had you had prior to applying? i met with a recruiter a couple of weeks ago, and she said that i had a competitive package so far. just curious on the types of students who are being accepted to the program... oh! CONGRATULATIONS!!!

sourpunchita · May 16, 2007

All this uproar about Epi100?! Are you kidding me? I am in the current MECN program, who also took Epi100 during summer school. It was NOT hard at all! What kind of false information are you passing along, Noa? I agree with Dahianna. If you put the effort in, you will do just fine! Epi100 does not ask for tiny tidbits of information to memorize. As long as you know the major core topics, you will do fine. I never even had to read the book (skimmed it as a refresher before tests) since the professor's notes were more than enough (plus, the tests were based most on his lectures). Like Dahianna posted, there are more important things to worry about than Epi100. Plus, if you possess even the slightest bit of an overachiever streak, then I would recommend you take the REAL Epi100 over the N50 since it does give you a more firm base knowledge for how to interpret research articles, etc.

nurse2481 · May 17, 2007

I wrote you back on the other one regarding your comments about the UCLA MECN program. Pretty interesting view you have...curious to know more on why you said some of things you did...

Bizquichi · Jun 2, 2007

I took Epi100 last summer and found it to be interesting, but challenging. I was taking two other classes at the time, and I'm sure this added to my perception of the difficulty level. At any rate, it wasn't impossible. I ended up with an A-. I do wish I was one of those students who had an easier time and received an A.

ejlaca · Jun 14, 2007

I am currently a student in the MECN program, just killing a few minutes before my last final of the spring quarter. I would be glad to share some of my thoughts on the program with anyone who is interested. I may have already met some of you, as I spoke at the final two information sessions for the fall 2007 class.

As far as Epi, if you haven't taken it, and haven't signed up for it, I would highly suggest N50. Some of my classmates took 100 and 50, and everyone had a better experience (ie. higher grades) in N50. Plus, that is taught by one of the nursing professors and is through the nursing school. I also believe it might have a more friendly schedule, although I am not sure.

Congratulations to all of you that have gotten into the MECN program. I hope your first year will be as rewarding as mine has been, and I look forward to meeting you in September.

Bizquichi · Jun 28, 2007

Anyone taking Epi 100, feel free to drop me a line if you need help. I would actually enjoy the review. Good luck and enjoy the class. I did!

pretzelpug · Feb 19, 2008

I am currently a student in the MECN program, just killing a few minutes before my last final of the spring quarter. I would be glad to share some of my thoughts on the program with anyone who is interested. I may have already met some of you, as I spoke at the final two information sessions for the fall 2007 class.
As far as Epi, if you haven't taken it, and haven't signed up for it, I would highly suggest N50. Some of my classmates took 100 and 50, and everyone had a better experience (ie. higher grades) in N50. Plus, that is taught by one of the nursing professors and is through the nursing school. I also believe it might have a more friendly schedule, although I am not sure.
Congratulations to all of you that have gotten into the MECN program. I hope your first year will be as rewarding as mine has been, and I look forward to meeting you in September.

I have questions about the MECN program - how were your clinicals and classes scheduled for your first few quarters of your first year of the program? Did you feel like you were thoroughly learning about all the varied diseases and drugs, through patho and pharmacology? Do you feel like what you are learning is really valuable in its application to the clinical setting?

What other programs did you look at? What was your application profile like? Thanks!

twotoone18 · Apr 26, 2008

Hey Dahianna,
I am really interested how come you decided to go into nursing after public health. I'm so interested because it seriously was my life dream to go into public health...That is originally what I was working towards until I had an amazing experience that changed my life and I decided to go into nursing. But I still think of maybe going back to school in the future to get my masters in public health. The thing is I am really interested in international heatlh and my dream was to one day work for the WHO and travel or live in another country and help develop health systems or be a consultant or health educator...I dont know...I really love the idea of preventative care in the international arena because we all come from different cultures, bakgrounds, countries, and religions and so we all have different ideas on how to "treat" sickness or disease...but the one thing that is universal is preventative care...for example...teaching people about safe sex, or how colds are spread, or about sanitary issues, etc...I really like the idea of educating the public as a whole and teaching people in other countries things that we just take for granted. I lived in Chile for almost 2 years and I was so shocked at the things they didnt know about their health which to us is just common sense. I seirously could go on forever about that but that is another conversation...
Anyway, I really have always love the idea of public health but what also attracted me to it as said about is international health because I have a passion for traveling and being in other countries.. I love seeing other cultures and learning about other ways of life and I still have not got rid of the idea of public health in the future.
So, back to my question, I am just curious what made you want to go into public health and why you are now making a career change. Whether a good reason or bad reason, I am really curious for an honest view of the public health arena. I feel I have had a lot of experience in healthcare but I honestly dont know that much about the public health arena. I mean I know what I can read about..I know the different specialties and have read about the kind of jobs people get but I would love to hear your experience.

Hello Nurse 2481

This post is over a year old, but I must say that I really agree with you. I have no appreciation for the UCLA medical center/school as a former patient. The UCLA med school, to put it in simple words, is a larger government research institution. Their agenda is to create "innovative" medicine not focus on preventative care, which is worth more than all the $$$ that goes into their research.

When I had my appointments at their medical center, the doctors would fly in and out of the room, never lasting more that 3 minutes. I would ask them what was the source of my problem and how it could be cured without medication. As always, they dodged my questions and ran out of the room. What they wanted was for me to come back in three months to see how the medication was working. This would have been fine for me, but each appointment would cost me close to $200 dollars. Not to mention the medicatin which was another $200. This dollar amount might seem minimal, but it was a lot for me as an uninsured patient. It seems that all of their medical education/agenda is based on prescribing ridiculously overpriced medication. I do not want to go on and on about my situation, but as a future nurse I would not attend this research institution that each time becomes more and more arrogant.