Sunflower3

llg, "We need to combine the best of what the university-based programs have added to the profession and combine it with the best of what the diploma schools offered." I could not agree more with these comments. I attended a recent conference where the concept of 'Dedicated Education Units' was discussed, and I'm now in the process of replicating this model at my organization. Essentially, it involves cross-training of the experienced staff RNs (who are interested) to be adjunct clinical instructors, with a 1:1 student/RN ratio. The clinical faculty are present on the unit and function as faculty oversight for the rotation. They provide weekly objectives to be covered during a given week's rotation. Expected outcomes are that everyone wins: better student clinical education means higher quality new graduate RNs=better patient care outcomes. Schools of Nursing make the best use of their faculty resources, and the staff who choose to participate gain 'points' on the clinical ladder program at this organization, gain CE's for the training, etc. Thanks, Sunflower3

Suni, Have a calendar for each class and enter due dates of the weekly readings and assignments found on the course outline or syllabus. Refer daily to this calendar so you can plan ahead to work the assignment due dates into your schedule. This should help to keep you 'on track' to keep up with the workload of the course. Sunflower3

Are other certifications, such as in Health Information Technology, useful in this field? At my facility everyone is encouraged to gain certification in their field and for those just starting an Informatics position, this may be an option. Just a thought, Sunflower3

RNInformatics, This is great information-thanks so much for sharing these survey results! Sunflower3

ANALYNEB, Your best bet is to contact the staff development/nursing education dept. of an academic medical center, since they are used to providing practicums for students, of all disciplines. If they have an Informatics dept, they can assist you. If they don't yet have this dept., the staff development or IS depts that work with clinical systems will be your next point of contact. Hope this is helpful, Sunflower3

Glad to assist. All the best to you, in your educational pursuits! :) Sunflower3

My Master's was in Nursing Education, not advanced practice. So the focus for my DNP is Nursing Leadership. Between tuition reimbursement from my employer, and the two scholarships, I will have about $5K that I will have to pay out of pocket. An NP friend of mine is getting her DNP from Case Western Reserve's FPB School of Nursing. She got scholarship assistance and tuition reimbursement from her job, and will have no student loans when she graduates. At the doctoral level, schools of nursing receive funding from the government to assist students with tuition, since there is a shortage of doctorally-prepared nurse leaders/educators. Sunflower3

MagnoliaNurse, Yes, $1K/credit hr is steep. The good news is at the doctoral level, there are scholarships and grant funding that your school has access to, to assist with tuition for students at this level. After inquiring about this at my school, I was supplied with two different sources for scholarships, in addition to my student loans, so I will end up paying about half of what the original cost was stated, for my DNP degree. Sunflower3

AnnieB2, When shopping for an online degree, first ensure that it is CCNE-accredited. After you've established this requisite for quality, then look at the curriculum and it's focus (there are schools that provide two tracks: Advanced Practice for NP's and Nursing Leadership for all others). Then, decide if the program meets your own qualifications. For myself, that included studying at a school that had already established itself in the 'brick-n-mortar' format; essentially, I wanted the online program I attended to be an extension of the ground university, reflecting the same curriculum but provided in the online format. Pros: Online degree programs offer the most balanced approach to graduate learning-you can log onto your class from the comfort of your home, without interrupting your schedule for your job or family obligations to attend classes. As long as you meet the required weekly assignments, you will progress just fine. Cons: In order to be successful in the online learning environment, you must be self-driven and goal-oriented. You will be provided time frames for assignments that must be met, and it is up to you to actually follow thru with the assignment. Also, online programs tend to be more expensive in cost, since you are paying for the convenience factor associated with flexible schedules. For some learners, online degree programs can be isolating, since you are not attending a physical classroom, so learning from others can be limited. Lastly, most online graduate programs are fast-paced and accelerated, with a lot of information being covered in the 8 week session. Again, being an independent learner is the requisite for success with these programs. Evaluate your own learning style, job requirements, and family responsibilities when deciding if the online environment is right for you. I have been successful in the online classroom because I meet the above requirements for independent learning. I like the flexibility to tailor the weekly assignments around my children's school schedules/my work schedule. The support of my husband, academic advisor, faculty, and IT dept. have made for a successful journey in the virtual classroom. Hope this helps, Sunflower3 :)

Your school will give you ideas for sites that would meet the requirements. For my MSN, I was in the Nurse Educator track, and I spent some time in the Staff Development dept of another hospital, developing inservices and participated in their annual competencies. For academia experiences, you would contact the clinical coordinator of the college/university where you would want to gain the experience, asking them for their recommendations. They are usually glad to do this, and the experience is invaluable. Lastly, do know that you may need to initiate the contract process between the school and the clinical site, if this is required, for you to perform the clinical on-site. The school will provide the documents needed, you would simply need to follow up to ensure that the process is completed before your clinical is due to begin. Again, your school will assist you with this process. Best of luck with your future educational pursuits! Sunflower3

I did the online RN-BSN degree program at Regis University in Denver, CO. That program had 105 practicum hours. For the Community Health class, I spent 40 hours with a local school nurse. It was a high-quality program. I went on to get my MSN degree there, and am now in their DNP program in Nursing Leadership. It has been a positive and satisfying experience learning online. I would highly recommend it. Hope this helps, Sunflower3

Thanks babysaverRN! Glad to see that the funded ratios are below 100%! Congratulations to everyone who has received the award, up to this point. Sunflower3

BabysaverRN, Thank you for sharing this update. Would you mind sharing your debt ratio with the group, so we can understand what ratio is currently being funded by NERLP? For example, mine is at 67%. Thanks, Sunflower3

rninformatics, This is very good advice~thank you for sharing. I'm being considered for a Director-level position in Informatics that would combine clinical simulation, for a group of Clinical Analysts at the organization where I currently work as an Educator. In the past year, I've been working with the analysts (who currently report to IS) to streamline documentation requirements for nursing students and RNA's, in addition to my current Educator role, so I'm confident that I'm up to the challenge. Any advice you may have re: job description would be appreciated, since this is a new position and I may be assisting with writing the job description. Thank you, Sunflower3

llg, Thanks for the insight. I am using my expanded knowledge gained from the course to study the areas I am a bit weak in. Were you able to identify test questions that were being piloted (not included in the 2008 version of the study guide)? Sunflower3

Everyone, I recently took a prep course for this exam, and am planning to test as soon as ANCC approves my application. Has anyone here taken this exam recently? What was your experience? Thank you, Sunflower3

Everyone, I, too, checked my application and saw this. I just got off the phone with a very nice rep who logged into my online application, discussed this with his supervisor, and the response I obtained was that since my application was submitted on March 7, 2010, my application is 'fine' since the Nurse Faculty program was not available for applications in March, and I had applied to the NERLP. I was told to 'wait for the verification email for further instructions'. Hopefully, this is a good sign. When I asked if I would be receiving funding, I was told that 'that information is not available at this point' and that Sept. 30 was the cut-off date for verification emails. Thanks for sharing this information with the group. The rep did share that they had been on the phone today with others who had noticed this, as well. Hopefully, we will all hear something soon. I am happy for everyone else who has received funding!! Sunflower3

lkmrn, Thank you very much for sharing this. I have sent you a PM. Sunflower3

KuriousRN, I was a civilian Navy Nurse during the first Gulf War, and worked at Naval Hospital in Portsmouth, VA. I remember the hiring process being about as lengthy as any other, but keep in mind that there is usually more paperwork when you work for the military vs. civilian hospitals, in general. I lived in the area at the time, and there was no contract to sign. When you are a civilian contracted nurse for the military, you work on a military base, but for the third party company that hires you. So it's a job like any other in that you can leave at any time ( you should give adequate notice, however). I highly value my experience at the Naval Hospital and would recommend the experience to any RN. You get to have the best of both worlds-provide nursing care to patients in a world-class facility while serving your country, without the contract experience (being moved around PRN to different areas of the country/world), etc. Hope this helps! Sunflower3

051507: Would you mind sharing your debt:income ratio with the group? This helps the rest of us to know what our chances are to receive this funding, based upon the ratios currently being awarded. The last ratio funded was 137%. Thank you! Sunflower3

The discouragement you've received is probably due to those nurses who wish they had the courage to advance their own education/career outcomes. I concur with everyone here who says to 'go for it' and never stop learning!!! In my first nursing degree class 21 years ago, the oldest lady in the class was 65 years young, and was at the top of our class, in terms of GPA. She was financially set r/t husband's great job, but had always wanted to be a nurse, so she did. She would invite the rest of us to her house for study sessions that would include her awesome fresh-baked cookies.....in this group, generational differences were celebrated. I turned to online learning years later for my advanced degrees in nursing. It's an ideal venue for the adult learner, since everyone learns from other's experiences. You can shop around for CCNE-accredited programs that have a curriculum you find exciting (and avoid those with components you find undesirable, such as organic chemistry). All the best to your continued learning efforts!! Sunflower3 :)

Mambonurse, Contact your Nursing Education dept. If you have a coordinator for student affairs, they may have learning modules that corresponds with a particular clinical nursing focus. If these are not available, you can create them by utilizing your particular organization's unit-specific policies, listing objectives for the observation, provide a list of corresponding web sites/professional organizations, and include 2-3 questions to stimulate critical thinking, pertaining to their observation. Hope this helps, Sunflower3

Thank you for sharing this. My dates have also changed, from March to May. Late April was the Credit Bureau inquiry, also. Hoping this is a good sign, although I haven't received any emails from them yet. Sunflower3

"However, have you looked at what new school teachers or social workers make? Even in a high cost of living area they will not come close to $60,000+ for many, many years, and they still have all those student loans." In response to the comments comparing nursing to the teaching profession, you have to consider that the $60K that a teacher makes is over a 9-month period, with 2 weeks off at Christmas, all legal holidays, a week off for Spring break, school called off for incliment weather (we nurses collect disciplinary 'point's for calling in if we can't drive in the deep snow or icy weather conditions). Teachers have a union that protects the interests of their profession, not of just a particular school. At best, nurses have to get lucky enough to be employed by an organization that has a union to represent the organization's nursing staff. This is the difference between these two professions, at least in the compensation arena. When you consider the high levels of responsibility a nurse handles when providing patient care/ shift work, etc. for the level of education expected (the BSN degree is the entry-level expectation for Magnet-seeking organizations), nurses are not compensated appropriately, in my honest opinion. Your thoughts? Sunflower3

What was the email address that it was sent from? This would be helpful, as I check my spam box. Thank you! Sunflower3