Potato13

Hey everyone, I'm a RN in SoCal who has been wanting to go into public health. While looking at the BRN website it looks like I would need a PHN certificate to practice. One of the requirements for the cert is a nursing degree that "includes coursework in public health nursing, including a minimum of 90 hours of supervised clinical experience in a public health setting(s)". I went to nursing school out of state and my program did not include 90 hours of clinicals in a public health setting (it was more like 32 hours...yikes). I graduated during COVID as well, so our clinical hours were cut short although I did have to complete a general public health course as part of the program. Does anyone have experience with this? Does this mean I would need to go back to school in order to obtain those hours? Additionally, I need to complete the 7-hour mandatory reporting CEs for CA for the application. I've been searching for legit companies that offer this course but having trouble finding one that is verified through the DCA license search. Does anyone have any recommendations? Thank you for your help!

I can only speak to my experience so far in the program, but in general, I love my cohort and most of my instructors are really great. A couple of the instructors in particular go above and beyond to help us succeed, which is so appreciated in this type of program. However, in my opinion, the program at the administrative level is very disorganized, which adds a lot of stress for the students. We have had several instances where they schedule an event or meeting last minute, and we are expected to drop everything or face consequences. They give us incorrect times or dates on our calendars, and have also double booked us for mandatory events. My cohort has expressed frustration to both the administration and a couple of our instructors about the lack of organization from them, and have essentially received a shrug in response. It is a "self-directed" program, and while we do have to be very organized in order to succeed, we feel the leadership should exemplify the standards they expect us to uphold. Tutoring is limited and on a first-come, first-serve basis. Exam reviews are not helpful as you are not allowed to see the questions you missed and the answers you chose--however, I don't think this is specific to GCU. If you learn best in-person, I would suggest a program that offers in-person lectures. Labs and clinicals are in person, but the rest of the didactic is not. Professors are supposed to hold weekly zoom meetings to go over the material. You will be spending a LOT of your very valuable study time completing discussion questions and replies--32/week (for level 1). Some of us that are using loans or scholarships to help pay for tuition have had a really hard time working with the university. Many of us weren't notified of our acceptance to the program (even though we'd had a provisional acceptance for months) until we had to force it out of our admissions counselors. Additionally, make sure you ask about orientation if you're moving out of state. They didn't tell us about it until the week before, which cost me quite a bit of money since I had to scramble and rearrange my move. I am really not trying to be a Debbie Downer here. I think GCU prepares students well for nursing, and they aren't actively trying to fail you or anything like that. Every program has its pros and cons, but there are programs out there that have their act together. It is a new program, so it's expected that there's a few bumps in the road. I would try to speak to some students at ASU and see what they have to say about how organized their program is. I really do think it makes all the difference. This is just my/my cohort's experience. If I had known what I know now, I would have gone to a different program. We're at the Phoenix campus, but I had spoken to a student at the Tuscon location and they liked it. Wherever you decide to go, nursing school is a lot of work. But it'll all be worth it in the end.? Best of luck in your decision!

I think this varies by cohort, but I started out having lab one day a week. A few weeks into the semester, I am on the Boswell campus for exams, labs, practice labs (not mandatory), sim lab, etc. on average 3 days a week, sometimes 5. The number of clinical days varies by semester. There are no in-person lectures, but professors hold group office hours once/week to go over material. Hope this helps!

Thank you!!

I've read on here that one of the main complaints of the Phoenix program is last minute scheduling. We were told that we should not ever plan to leave the area during the semester--even to visit family out of town for a day or two-- "just in case" we are called in for something (unless I really misunderstood what they were saying). I understand that most of our "free"/ non-clinical time will have to be dedicated to studying and assignments in order to succeed in the program, but I also know having to be on call is not typical of ABSN programs and seems very controlling and disorganized to me. How has your experience been with this?

Hi everyone, I'm starting the ABSN program next month in Phoenix. If anyone here has already completed level 1, I'd love to ask you a couple of questions (is there a DM function on here??). I attended the information session and have a couple of concerns, and would like to hear a student perspective!! Thanks!

Hi! I am in my finals week of the course right now, and I think I've improved significantly in my critical thinking skills and figuring out a study strategy. One big challenge for me this course was figuring out what concepts were important for me to study. We did not get any instruction or direction from our professor, we were only told to read the textbook. Well, obviously the textbook has a LOT of information, and we went over several chapters per week, so many of us struggled with the first exam. Since then, I've invested in a review book and joined a study group, both of which have helped. I will certainly be utilizing this site when I start my program this fall. I am nervous but I know I can do it! Thank you all very much for your help!

Thank you so much! I've gotten more into the swing of things and found more of a study groove for this course. ? Good luck to you as well!!

Anyone know the policy on rescheduling exams and/or clinicals? I'm definitely not ~planning on missing any, but what of you're sick, or some big life thing comes up? I know some programs have really tough policies on this so I'm just curious. Hope ya'll have a great weekend. ?

Hi everyone, I'm finishing up my last 2 prereqs for my ABSN program starting this fall. I'm really excited for it, and also pretty nervous. I took my A&P courses a few months ago and LOVED them. I did really well in them. However, now I'm taking pathophysiology and I'm struggling a bit. I don't have a bad grade (pulling a B+ at the moment), but it feels so much more challenging compared to my other classes. My classes are completely online, so no lectures, and the prof. doesn't give any direction as to what concepts to focus on. I'm taking microbio as well, and it seems so easy compared to patho. The problem isn't that I don't find patho interesting--I love learning about it--but the exam questions seem SO much harder than any other class I've taken. We have to complete some practice NCLEX questions each week (which don't really count for anything), and they seem easier in comparison. Anyway, my question is, did anyone else find patho challenging but still do well in nursing school? The class is only 8 weeks and I'm having trouble absorbing all the information this quickly. I'm starting to get nervous with how I'll handle all the other classes when I actually start the program. Thanks in advance!! ?

Thanks so much for this information! This is so helpful! Would you say the workload is doable with proper time management? I’m prepared to devote almost all of my time to studying, but would still like to be able to have at least a little bit of time to take care of myself (I.e., squeeze in a couple of short workouts, maintain a decent enough sleep schedule, maintain the important relationships in my life). I’ve heard all the horror stories about ABSN programs, so I’m hoping it’s not as bad as some people say it is haha. Also, I’ve heard of some schools requiring at least an 80% in classes/ on exams to be considered passing. What is GCU’s requirement on this? Thanks again! Good luck this semester!

Hey everyone, I'm finishing up the last of my prereqs to start in Phoenix this fall (2021). I've heard some iffy things about the accelerated program, but it's hard to tell if that's the general consensus or not. I would be moving from San Diego, so I'd like to get as much information about this program as I can before it starts. I am very curious as to what their ABSN's NCLEX pass rate will be. For students that are currently in the program, do you get any breaks during the program? I know there aren't really any breaks between semesters, but, for example, I know a girl completing an ABSN program here in CA, and they got 6 weeks off for Winter break and a couple of weeks off before their last semester. My academic counselors seem to not have a good clue about what's going on with the program so I'd just like to get a better idea of what to expect. Are the faculty supportive? With good time management, is the workload doable? Thanks in advance!