AliceBack2It

Oh OK. It’s been 11 days for me so I’m going to assume I didn’t get in…

How long did it take to hear back?

I find it really interesting how most people who read this found it beneficial to nitpick every word I said, tried to tell me what my experience has been, and rarely offered any constructive advice (the thing I actually asked for). I’ve decided to pursue a master’s degree in another field. Thanks to everyone who made me realize I’d rather be surrounded by less judgmental people! -Alice

Thank you for telling me about the program I attended.

I don’t see how what you said negates what I said. We started out with 30 or 32 students (I can’t remember exactly), then we probably lost 6-7 throughout the program. I still think it falls within that “70%” range. I know the students who passed the program are now using supplemental material like UWorld to study intensively for the NCLEX. I think that says more about their drive to succeed than it does about the quality of the education the school provided.

I’m just curious if you’ve ever battled major depression to the point that every day you have to fight with your brain to keep putting one foot in front of the other? If you haven’t then I don’t think you should pass judgment. Like you said, we all have our challenges. I don’t doubt your experiences have been difficult but you’re trying to compare two things that are vastly different. You may have a lot of experience but you haven’t had my experience and vice versa.

Disorganized and chaotic program. It had nothing to do with anyone’s academic abilities. I think you are using your own frame of reference from however long ago you graduated. If you have 51 years of experience, what year did you graduate and what was your nursing program like and was it all remote on the internet? Was it in the middle of a pandemic?

Well, good for you. I misunderstood when you said second career. I thought you meant second degree. However, you got to experience almost your entire program before the pandemic. The schools closed in March. You had to change to remote half way through your final semester. I had 2.5/4 semesters remote. My final year, which I think is the toughest, was a total wash.

Accelerated nursing programs are not the same as associate two-year community college programs. I would expect a bachelors level accelerated program to provide their students with a higher quality education. I don’t know where you went but around here if it is at a private institution can run upwards of $70,000 You’re comparing apples and oranges. My experience was subpar. Yours probably wasn’t.

No. Everyone in the program struggled. That is an indication the structure of the curriculum was subpar. Also, I’m not complaining about courses moving to remote learning right after the pandemic. I fully understand that it was something no one expected and the instructors had to come up with new ways to conduct the courses. However, this wasn’t RIGHT AFTER. This was 300 days later, in our final semester. Our mental health clinical was a Zoom meeting. There was NO LOGIC REASON for that. Also, there were no lectures when that could’ve easily been done through recordings. You seem to making excuses for lazy educators. Are you one?

Thank you for that comment, Mike. I appreciate your compassion. Covid was so difficult for me on many levels and I think that it really needs to be considered a factor. I felt very underprepared to become a nurse and many colleges didn’t do nearly as much as they could have to accommodate us. Not to mention all of the stress and anxiety associated with trying to enter the medical field as a nurse in the middle of a deadly pandemic. Again, I’m not using it as an excuse but definitely a factor.

Nothing was converted into in-person besides our clinical but even that was a bad experience. Our program weeds out people that they don’t think will pass the NCLEX to manipulate their pass rates. I’m interested in seeing the statistics for 2021, as our graduating class got cheated out of many important learning experiences and the faculty was just a bunch of lazy millennials who wanted extra income. Also, they require some intensive ATI virtual program to supplement their poor teaching so that ATI can help bulk up their pass rates. Such a scam. My original post asked for advice on how to move forward, not to dissect every minuscule thing I wrote and cynically question whether I’m being forthcoming or not. Your comment was the metaphorical equivalent of beating someone up and then putting a bandage on their wound. Is your comment that my background in psych being an asset genuine or sarcastic? I can’t tell.

That’s kind of what I was thinking of doing, Neo Soldier. I’m just not sure if that’s a waste of time or not. I don’t think my chances of getting into an accelerated program are all that great given my low undergrad GPA and I don’t want to commit myself to a 2 year associates program again. Lots to think about. Thanks for your advice.