Margo37

Originally my program was going to have us do online simulation as well, but the certifying groups (ANCC, PNCB, etc) have said this isn’t allowed for the 500 hours minimum needed to take boards. If you’re over that and just need some more for the school’s graduation requirements it seems like that is OK, but if you’re under 500 it won’t be. I graduate in the Spring too and am at 480 hours. Haven’t heard what our school’s updated plan is yet for us yet. https://www.pncb.org/sites/default/files/resources/2020323_Final_Statement_NP_Students_and_Clinical_Hours.pdf

We’ve just been told that our program is cancelling clinicals for the Spring quarter. This is my last quarter before I graduate so I am freaking out! They said they’re working on a plan to get us our hours virtually but I’m very concerned with what this means for the clinical hour requirement for boards. From what I understand these need to be hands on hours, so I’m worried that virtual patients won’t count.

granadina, I don't live anywhere near PA and I'm pretty sure none of my coworkers have heard of Drexel either. I'm gearing up to start searching for preceptors for next year, and I'll be honest, I'm a bit nervous about it. I think I'll be at a bit of a disadvantage not having many alumni practicing in my area, like students at the local schools do. However, I have a few coworkers who are ahead of me in other NP programs and I'm hoping I can find preceptors through them or through the NPs at my practice. Like rnbannanie said, we have a clinical coordinator and a lot of people that assist in the process, and it sounds like if push comes to shove and time is running out, they will do everything they can to make sure you find something (though that might mean driving a couple hours away for clinical). I wouldn't worry too much about your hospital not having a current contract. Regardless of whether your hospital has a contract with Drexel or not, it will be unlikely that you will be able to complete every clinical there anyway. Having to create a contract between the school and the preceptor sites isn't necessarily a problem either, it will just take a little longer to get everything squared away. But once you find somebody that is willing to take you, Drexel deals with the whole contract portion themselves, so you won't have to navigate that. Overall, I've been very happy with Drexel so far. There are definitely some frustrations that go along with an online program, but it seems that even brick and mortar programs do the didactic classes online these days, and it's very common for students to have to find preceptors. I've been pretty happy with all of my professors so far, and while the classes have been challenging, I feel that they do their best to set us up for success.

Tuition rates are available on the website. For 2018-2019 it's $1265/credit. They offer tuition discounts for a decent number of employers though, so something to look in to! I wound up randomly being eligible for a 25% tuition discount because of where my dad is employed. I'm one year into my NP program but I'm not psych so I can't speak to the professors in those clinical courses. I've been very happy with my experience so far though.

@Gbest529, Good so far! I'm in my forth quarter so I'm taking Advanced Patho now and finally feel like I'm in the meat of the program. The last few quarters were all general MSN classes (ethics, research, etc) and they were all super writing focused (Patho is the first class I've had an actual exam in), but they were interesting enough. I don't think you're going to avoid those types of classes in any program, but at least they cram them all into the first year so once you're done with them, you're done. The research classes were a bit brutal to be honest, just because of the amount of writing involved (and I personally hate writing), but I got through it ok. I've been very happy in Patho so far, our professor provides Powerpoints and a lot of direction when it comes to studying for the exams, which I appreciate since coworkers of mine in other programs are basically just handed the book and told to teach themselves. Every professor I've encountered so far has been a fair grader and very reachable for questions and concerns.

RNbannanie, I'm in the primary care PNP program. I started last fall. I'd be happy to answer any questions! I haven't gotten into the clinical portion yet so I won't be much help there though. I'm also a bit nervous about finding clinicals, but I've been pretty impressed with Drexel so far!

Yeah I think it was about a month to make a decision.

Only took a week or two for me. But it sounds like it varies a lot

Boojeebarbie, I'm so sorry that was your experience. That's disappointing to hear. My advisor was has been great and very accessible and somebody from admissions was calling me weekly during the process to check in and make sure I didn't have any questions. Good luck at wherever you choose! And Nikki, while they don't find clinical sites for you (which I am a bit nervous about) they said that they have a placement coordinator that can provide some level of assistance and they do have a list of sites around the country past students have used that they can provide if you are really struggling. Not ideal, but doesn't seem like they totally leave you out there alone to struggle like some schools.

@boujeebarbie Happy to help!

Happy to help!

I'm in my third quarter and haven't had any exams yet. Just papers and projects and discussion boards. I hate writing so it's been a bit rough, but it's just the nature of the courses we take the first few quarters (research, ethics, quality and safety, contemporary issues in healthcare). I have coworkers doing programs at a variety of schools and they all have to take similar classes and theirs are very writing intensive too. So I think it's unavoidable. Luckily Drexel front loads all these classes so it's kind of boring the first bit but then once you're through them you're in more of the meat of the program. After this quarter I'm done with the "fluff" class and start taking patho, pharm, assessment, etc. So far I've found the professors super helpful and quick to respond to concerns and questions. There is always a q&a type discussion board you can ask questions on or the professors all provide their emails. I've always heard back within the day. You definitely have to be a pretty independent student to do an online program since you're not in a classroom being held accountable every week. It's up to you to keep up with the readings and PowerPoints and keep on top of assignments. But compared to other online programs I've heard about, Drexel seems a little more "personal" if that makes sense. I don't feel like they're just leaving me to teach myself and figure everything out. I very much feel part of a class. And once you get into pharm there are weekly synchronous lectures to attend online. So you still gat a classroom experience once you get further in.

Yup, before it's time to register you can look ahead and see the different sections and who the professors are. I don't remember exactly what my books were the first quarter but there will also be a link to the Drexel bookstore when you register for your classes that will tell you what books you need for each class and you can either buy them through there or find them for cheaper on Amazon or somewhere else.

Yeah I didn't find any other Drexel people on here when I started either haha. I took 6 credits the first quarter, it was an ethics class and one on contemporary issues in healthcare. Both were actually pretty interesting

Congrats!! I don't remember exactly what happened afterwards. You have a certain amount of time to accept the offer of admission and then I feel like it's radio silence for a little bit until things get closer. They give you info on how to set up your email and accounts and then you'll receive an email from your advisor sometime mid summer about how to register for your first quarter. I also believe there was an online orientation session in there somewhere as well. I find Drexel to be really good with communication so they will keep you posted on what's needed from you and what's coming next. Congrats again!

I don't believe there is a full time option, at least there isn't for PNP. There is a helpful quarter-by-quarter plan of study on the website, and they pretty much follow that to a T. You can work with your advisor to move things around if you need to but most don't. I started in September 2017 and will be done June 2020. So far it hasn't been too hard to juggle school/work/life, but I did just switched to part time this month. I definitely could have managed full time until clinical if I really wanted to, but we were able to swing it and since I'm on nights I was feeling like it was just in a 24/7 cycle of work, sleep, school and didn't have a ton of free time. It's definitely relieved some stress, but I definitely don't think it's necessary. Most people stay full time until clinicals start and do just fine. And I'm a little confused by your last question about the first exam. Right after admission? Or do you mean right at the start of the first quarter? Either way, I haven't actually had any exams yet since the first 3 quarters are all writing-based (at least for the PNP program). They get all the general MSN classes (research, ethics, etc) out of the way right at the beginning. So far my classes have been primarily a mix of discussion boards and one or two papers or projects. Next semester I take Patho, so obviously that will change then. I will say overall I've been really impressed with the program so far!

Hi! I started Drexel's PNP program last fall. Can't speak to the FNP specific stuff but these first few quarters are the same no matter what track you're in so I'd be happy to answer any questions!

I live in Denver and applied to CU's PNP program but was really unimpressed with my interaction with the staff during the application process. I basically sent in my application and then several months went by without any word from them. The couple of times I reached out with questions I received really canned half-asses responses. It kind of turned me off and I wound up never even attending my interview and enrolling somewhere else instead. I'm currently attending Drexel University, even though I'm paying quite a bit more there, because they actually seemed to care about my success in the program. They called me after receiving my application to discuss next steps and answer any questions, they had an online q&a session, and I just generally felt supported through the process. Only in my second quarter but I've been happy with my choice so far! My coworkers who attend CU don't really have great things to say either. They agree that they are pretty unhelpful and told me they basically are just told to read the book and teach themselves everything. Some of their exams are open book too, which I thought was weird. I've heard them make comments that they're shocked the program is ranked so high because they haven't been impressed. That being said, in state tuition is very affordable, they find you preceptors, and if you're motivated to learn and willing to teach yourself I'm sure you could be successful in their program.

Ok well then what schools are you considering? What specialty? Your post is just too vague.

I'm sorry, but this is what Google is for. Also there are hundreds of discussions on these forums about the various school options. Going back to school and eventually working as an NP is a big responsibility, you should be able/willing to do your own legwork.

I was surprised to find out I was accepted after only a week, and I'm not really sure what I did to stand out. I have 4 years of pediatric nursing experience and my undergrad GPA was a 3.6 I think. I think my essay was pretty strong - I just did my best to demonstrate my passion for pediatric nursing and how I was ready for the next step in my education and nursing practice.

Yup I'm quite a bit out of state, and unfortunately don't work at a partner institution. I know a lot of programs now require you to find your own preceptors, so it's not necessarily a negative toward Drexel, but the other program I applied to does find them for you so it's just something I'm taking into consideration. I hear it's a pain in the butt but that everybody finds one eventually as long as you put in the time and effort to make connections.

That's so great to hear that you were happy with the BSN program! Do you know anybody who has gone through the NP program already? My only real concern is finding my own clinical placements. I'm trying to decide between Drexel and my local university... however I've been much more impressed with my interactions with Drexel so far and have heard better things about the program overall. The only (big) downsides are having to find clinicals and the cost. However I also won't find out if I get into the other school (for Spring 2018) until September long after I would have to give Drexel my decision, so that makes things tricky. Basically I need to accept Drexel's offer or take a gamble.

So I randomly just logged into Discover Drexel, not expecting anything, and it says I was admitted!!

Thanks for the update! Hopefully we'll hear back soon!