FNPDreams

For Lisa above… program was OK. Honestly I don’t think what you learn in these programs allows you to feel competent managing serious mental illness. Once you graduate, you definitely need a mentor and to gain experience in the field. I already work as FNP for past 5 years so have some experience making independent decisions. I would say most important is to find a preceptor who likes to teach and allows you to work with patients vs. just observation. You need to feel comfortable performing psych evals, establishing a working diagnosis & making clinical decisions. All these programs are what you make of them. Most will not prepare you to feel comfortable working independently right after graduation. There is a learning curve for sure.

Finished last Summer. Had to find my own preceptor…sat out one semester because couldn’t find child/adolescent preceptor. I don’t know how this current program is working as we were not part of that cohort & had NO help finding preceptors. I’m embarrassed to say I have not taken my boards yet (work as FNP currently). Program was OK…I am not a fan of online…some of the content was outdated on their learning platform. Most of what you learn will be on the job…I.e. how to cross taper, which SSRIs to prescribe & why etc etc. Exams are proctored with outside service using webcam. Included all: quizzes, exams, discussion board & papers/PP presentations. No financial aide for post masters except somehow Johns Hopkins is approved for their program (I was on their waitlist…close to impossible to get in). Hope that helps! Good luck!

I am pretty sure the Covid grants are for students in a certain income category who were enrolled in degree programs. I want to say undergrads too. I don’t think I would qualify. There is a new President so maybe he is overhauling programs and policies...hard to say. Thanks for your support!! ??

Thanks! ? I am in my second to last semester in Fall. I hope I can continue. Usually in a program like this financial aide is just Federal Loans. I was going to try and cover it myself. I will ask. Very poor communication. It was like that from the beginning. Many of these programs are not well organized.

Honestly that’s just even more upsetting because I tried to tell them that I thought they were incorrect since other schools were doing it but they were adamant that the program didn’t qualify. I’m so frustrated. We are being told it’s a “different program” but I don’t see any difference in the curriculum or the tuition. I’m going to call financial aide and ask now. I just feel like the forgotten stepchild! Like what program did we enroll in this year and why??!!

Hi Dayzee NP, I believe you are correct about the residency. There is no on campus requirement. As far as preceptors, that is not true. They provide NO assistance at the moment and will not for the current cohort going forward. Communication is not the best. We were told telehealth was not acceptable but apparently it is...after beating my head against a wall trying to find someone. I’m honestly not sure how that would work either. I am facing potentially a very long commute for clinicals right now. You cannot use financial aide for the certificate. Only for MSN, DNP degree program etc. Many certificate programs have the same stipulation. Johns Hopkins does allow it but it’s extremely difficult to get in. U of Cincinnati and U of New Hampshire also do not allow financial aid (Federal Direct Loans). I am a little frustrated myself right now to be honest. Best of luck whatever you decide!! Honestly nursing needs to get its act together. We are always playing catch up with our educational process. Just a disorganized approach IMHO!

The letter we received to prepare us for rotations states Telehealth is not an acceptable clinical site. So I do not believe we are allowed to use.

Hi there. Sorry I haven’t had a chance to comment. I asked our current contact person about this. She said this is a “new” program although the content is the same. I am a little upset because we pay the same tuition but will not get any assistance and also we do not continue clinical over the Summer. I have Fall & Spring left but I’m facing an hour+ commute for rotations this Fall vs. postponing. I guess they decided people needed help with rotations but it should have extended to the “older” cohort. For my previous FNP program, we paid $500 “lab” fee which was used to pay the preceptors. I hope Wilkes is successful in securing preceptors for all the students they are accepting. It’s not easy to find these folks!! Good Luck in the program!

I am in Wilkes. I am in post grad program. Program seems fine but I’ve only taken Psychopharmacology. I am having problems finding a preceptor though which I need by Sept.

Yes they are proctored @ $15 each. It is through RPNow. Was a bit confusing to figure out how it interfaces with their online delivery system L.I.V.E but I finally figured it out!

It is entirely possible that they are redesigning the program and in fact are offering this to new students. Is it fair? Not really, but as I mentioned, my prior FNP program charged us a fee for each clinical rotation which they then utilized to “pay” preceptors, so perhaps they are thinking along those lines. I thought I read that for accreditation, programs were supposed to start doing this. I only need a few courses since I had the 3 P’s etc. from my FNP(which was also post grad). Students who are not already NP’s are a bigger profit center for the school and maybe they are offering this as an incentive. The psychopharmacology course I have taken was challenging but typical of online curriculum. My MSN was an on campus program (before online) and I definitely feel I was more engaged etc. but things are different today. My FNP was a hybrid, and I was required to be on campus all day x 6 days per semesters. If you missed class they had the option to fail you from the course. Even that program has migrated to fully online. As far as I know, Wilkes only requires one visit to campus during health assessment to assess skill development. I think it is on par with other PMHNP programs and at least they offer exams etc. Johns Hopkins charges twice the tuition and they don’t test people. Is it better? I don’t really know! You are going to learn most of what you need from your preceptor. Plus, I do not have a psych background and it sounds like you do, so that is a huge positive! Just start as soon as possible to secure a preceptor and you will be fine with Wilkes. EKU had suspended their program at one point so I wasn’t aware it was back up and running. I don’t know much about it. Liberty U. has a new program heavily faith-based so you’d have to be OK with that. Good Luck!!

Just to confirm that this is the post graduate PMHNP program Wilkes offers? As far as I know no one has offered to find me a preceptor. They actually told us if we need to defer until the Spring semester due to inability to secure a preceptor we should notify the program director. Are you by any chance located in PA? Perhaps they are helping residents of PA only? I guess that’s possible. Yes, I would definitely confirm this. You can say you’ve heard from current students that they are struggling to find preceptors for Fall.

Hi! WOW! really?! They are not doing anything for those of us already enrolled in the program. I’m knocking my head against the wall trying to find someone!! I wish they would help us too! I would want to see that in writing somewhere. Also remember that does not mean they will find someone within a reasonable distance. It could be hours away. Even in my FNP program that actually charged us and paid preceptors, I found most of my own! I know Wilkes doesn’t accept Telehealth

You do what you have to. If you start early...keep good notes on who you contacted and when etc...hopefully you will be OK. I have heard people say they go in person which unfortunately is not an option at the current time. Make sure you have a good CV put together. I have streamlined the email that I’m sending to just the important bullet points. People are overwhelmed with emails right now. Always plan to follow up any email you send with a phone call. Other people may have some other ideas that worked for them.