RobertS1030

I really wanted to go to Vanderbilt, but another school made me an offer that I couldn't reasonably turn down, and it offered 100% on campus with an expectation of some serious research and somewhat more in depth experience on the generalist nursing side, which interests me the more I think about it. It was just a personal decision for me since post-graduation income isn't a huge issue; I'm attracted to hospital nursing and the lifestyle potentially involved; I like the idea of working while doing my DNP/post-master's certificate; I'd like some experience before getting a NP credential (which was hard for me to admit); and I really want to use this to fully experience grad school and the challenge of pushing myself to get involved in things like research - I already have a graduate degree in another field, and did well in that program, but I'd like to experience grad school once in my life as a (sort of) mature person who's had some responsibility, instead of as a drunk 21-year-old new to the big city (though that's also a wonderful experience in its own right!). It seems like comp sci and nursing might have some useful intersections in health technology and data science! It's a hard decision to make, I know - I don't have your comp sci brains, but it kind of depends on what you see yourself doing later, the options you want, the kind of advancement and position you expect, whether you're comfortable with "buck stops here" type responsibility and professional judgment with respect to actual human lives (something I didn't appreciate until I started practicing in my original career; it's hard to know just how scary it is when you've only ever been a student). One thing I can say looking back as an older person now is that you probably won't end up where you think you will now (I mean that in a good way), you'll be amazed in a few years how much serendipity determines your path, and that life is long and has lots of opportunities to try again - including changing careers or integrating a new one into what you do. Good luck!

I'd recommend checking your application in their system periodically, because I never got an email saying that mine had been updated - I only heard here that decisions were coming out, so I checked. I just gave up my spot (after accepting initially) in the pre-specialty AGPCNP track, so hopefully that frees up a seat for some of you. I was really looking forward to meeting you all and Vanderbilt was my tied-for-first choice, so maybe I'll end up there eventually. Good luck to everyone!

Armchair diagnosis is a dangerous thing. I can't speak to nursing in particular since I'm just starting out, but I was a lawyer for ten years doing mostly public defense, and had a lot of contact with individuals with "formal" ASPD diagnoses. As a professional, you do have to be able to put yourself in someone's shoes to assess their needs (or at least it's helpful), and be willing to provide the "soft" skills like comfort and reassurance. My problem was opposite to yours - I took clients' screw ups as personal failures, and took them home with me (figuratively), with a lot of trouble letting it go. I still get anxious just seeing courtroom stuff on TV. It sounds like you're able to empathize in the sense of willingness to perceive others' needs and address them. The ability to maintain objectivity and emotional distance might be a plus. I question whether ASPD is an appropriate label for you (we all have some antisocial traits) - ASPD isn't just a lack of empathy or emotional entanglement with others. It's also characterized by a persistent disregard for the rights of others, emotional manipulation, behavioral issues, etc. I'm not an expert, but I did work with psychologists and ASPD individuals quite a bit doing criminal defense, although there are higher functioning folks than the ones I met (mostly in corporate boardrooms and high office, hah). So maybe don't label yourself and just be aware that you may have to make an effort to double-check that you're accurately assessing psychosocial needs and addressing them.

$1,826/credit hour x 72 credits = $131,472 total tuition, less any scholarship, plus living expenses and the like.

I believe her question was regarding the significant tuition cost of a faster program versus a more traditional route - the info about the post-grad job offer and living expenses was just extra info and context. I don’t see anywhere that she said the tuition is paid for; hence the question about whether it made sense to take on that debt. It seems like people here are really interested in crapping on direct entry NP programs for some reason. Are there a lot of people in this profession with inferiority complexes?

I was soooo close to applying for the psych program because of my background in social work and the need, but honestly I don’t have the stamina after 10 years of public defender work to deal with what you see, and I was also interested in more general health equity. Though I screamed loudly to every nurse I met in the Bay Area that they could make a freaking fortune in rural northern California doing psych NP work, and I’d still give up a toe to know that my former clients could actually see a psychiatric provider in person, rather than lowest bidder doc-in-the-box. So that’s my rant about how much I appreciate psych NPs:) I decided to do adult/geriatric primary care, but I’d like to find a setting that involves multi-disciplinary practice and facilitates access to specialized psych care. So that’s a long way of saying adult primary care, but with a special place in my heart for screening for mental health issues and getting folks the help they need. I’m also really looking forward to our prespecialty year!

Let’s put it this way - when I was a lawyer and was notified of a complaint to the bar that I knew with certainty to be frivolous, the first thing I did was … hire a lawyer. $900 isn’t much if it preserves your livelihood. And yes, absolutely do not talk to anyone without a lawyer. If you haven’t been told of a complaint, you might just want a consult to get a lawyer familiar with your situation and settle your nerves (the best advice my lawyer gave me: resist the urge to “do something”, because you’ll probably make it worse). A lawyer will help you understand, as I always helped my clients understand, the art of responding honestly and candidly to questions without offering additional information that could prompt further action (if it’s like the bar, you do have to cooperate; there’s no right to remain silent, but there’s also no obligation to confess every bad thing you’ve ever done that they aren’t investigating). Explain up front that you’re worried about costs, and come to an understanding with your lawyer about how to use their time (your money) efficiently. A consult alone shouldn’t be very expensive - mine were usually free advice with a “call me when you actually get contacted and we’ll worry then, otherwise keep living life.” Good luck - my hunch is that you’ll be fine if you resist the urge to go it alone.

Some people here are adding useful info you might not have considered, but it seems like a lot of people are intent on poo-pooing the scenario you’ve offered without answering your straightforward question. Hmm. It sounds like your current company really likes you - is their job offer for real, and will they be there in two years? As a former lawyer, I can tell you - get it in writing! Especially if you’re laying out $160k in reliance on it. To your question - it might be useful to think of it in terms of opportunity costs, if you want a purely economic answer (though there’s more to life). Your options are do nothing, do the expensive but faster program, or a less expensive but slower route. Let’s look at it over the 5 years you mentioned: I don’t know what you’re making now, but let’s say you’d keep making that plus raises, which you’re giving up by changing careers. Second option - you forego any salary for two years of program, and earn $200k a year for the next 3 years = 600k - 160k tuition = $440k net benefit, less any salary you missed out on for two years of school. Now do a longer route, let’s say you spend $12k on an 18-month accelerated BSN program during which you don’t work, then you go to work doing bedside nursing at a salary of $100k/year (insanely high for my area, but not so high for others). You also spend 3 years doing a part time program during this time at $12k a year (based on grad school tuition in my state, which I think is about the cheapest in the country). Then you take your $200k/year job for the last 6 months of our hypothetical 5-year period. So that’s $400k salary (3 years RN; 6 months psych NP) - 48k tuition = $352k net. Of course, you can play with this endlessly, it depends on a LOT of assumptions, and there are ways to do it all more cheaply. Plus at the end of the day you won’t have a Vanderbilt degree, depending on how much that matters to you. I’m also starting Vanderbilt in fall (without a post-grad job offer!), so I for one think you’re making a good decision:)

I got in for AGPCNP! If you didn’t get an email check your application anyway, mine had an update but no email. Is there a FB group yet? It might be nice to get ideas on where to live and whatnot in Nashville.

Hey emstofnp, The admissions stats I saw for 2020 said that about half (321 of 613) of prespecialty applicants get either admitted outright or on the waitlist (they didn’t give specific numbers for each)and they enrolled about 23%(142) of those who applied - so I assume that they admit slightly more than 23%, waitlist about another quarter, and reject about half. I have no idea what the chances of getting in off the waitlist are. I spoke with one of the specialty directors last year (not FNP) and she said the prespecialty seats for Nashville area specialty year are the most competitive, prespecialty seats for out of Nashville specialty year slightly less, and that if I wanted to apply right then I should because after the accept/deposit deadline passed she thought she might have some seats open (although they were full at that moment). Someone who was already an RN was told there still were seats open for that slate of applicants. This was March of this year for 2022 entry (I waited to apply for this year because I wanted my prerequisites done to show I could be a good student after being out of school ten years, and had some family stuff going on). Sorry I don’t have better stats,they’re kind of tight with them (it isn’t like law school, where every school uses a common app system and they break down admission rates by GPA and LSAT score for every school!). For what it’s worth, your GPA is above average (the average for admitted/waitlisted prespecialty was 3.72 in 2020). And you have infinite times more healthcare experience than I do, because I have zero, and it seemed like a few people applying had zero and they still encouraged applications (they said the pandemic cut down on volunteer opportunities, and implied that some more menial healthcare work wasn’t all that relevant to becoming a APRN). I did practice law for ten years in non-profits and do a lot of mental health work in the criminal courts, and my BA is in social work from a middling state school. So you sound like a very strong candidate to me! Being an EMT is pretty freaking cool, so you obviously have the academic ability and interest. I know it doesn’t help a lot but I’m also beside myself with anxiety since Vanderbilt is by far my first choice.

Hi Donna! I also applied to AGPCNP pre-specialty entry. I’m really interested in adult/gerontology primary care in the rural area where I live. Vanderbilt’s my first choice by far, and I’m super nervous now that I found out we should get decisions in the next couple of weeks.

Hi everyone, I’ve started down the path to a career change from law to (I hope) becoming a primary care nurse practitioner. I am having trouble thinking of meaningful ways to get nursing/healthcare exposure that would add to that part of my application. In January I’ll be moving to southern Alabama/north Florida area and will have a lot more time available for volunteer work before I do my applications in the fall. I am just kind of at a loss as to what an admissions committee might find meaningful. A lot of things like shadowing or volunteering at a hospital don’t seem particularly educational or to test whether someone really wants to be in a healthcare occupation, though I have no idea because aside from working with a lot of healthcare providers in my current job and briefly being a medical social worker I have no healthcare experience. I have some more background on me below if it’s at all helpful. I really appreciate your advice and thoughts! I am looking to apply to an MSN program for folks with non-nursing degrees in Fall of 2022 (to start 2023). I have an undergrad degree in social work from an OK school with a good GPA (3.8) and a JD from a good law school with a good class rank (top 25% of the class). For the last 9 years I have been a housing rights lawyer in Northern California (5 years) and most recently a deputy public defender in a small Northern California town (4 years). I’ve done a ton of work with clients in alternative courts like behavioral health court and mental health diversion. I would really like to become a NP providing primary care in a rural setting, most probably south Alabama where I am from. I’m working full time as a public defender and taking 3 prerequisites right now (anatomy, physiology, nutrition) and will finish Microbiology, statistics and human development in Spring. So far things are going OK - it’s really hard juggling it all but I’m making A’s and really enjoying the material. In January I’m moving to my father’s timber farm in south Alabama and helping him, building a house and probably looking for part time work.