WyndDrivenRain

No, this is not related to the psych classes. It is a problem in the research class.

I owe you a huge apology! You were right! This semester has turned out to be a flaming nightmare, so bad in fact that I am withdrawing tomorrow. I would post more about it, but I'm just not ready, I'm too hurt and too angry. My 4.0 and my money are going somewhere else. Sue

I graduated in 2010 from the RN-BSN completion program. Yes. I was accepted into the University of South Alabama and several other state and private school graduate programs. It was no problem. I loved Chamberlain and felt completely prepared for graduate school.

Agreed. I graduated from chamberlain RN-BSN in 2010 and it was a great program. I'm doing my MSN-NP right now at another school and since Chamberlain is starting a DNP program soon, I hope to go back there to complete the DNP. I thought it was a great program. You get out what you put in.

No, you do not get to review your individual exams. They do an exam review in some classes, they send a list of topics that students have missed on the exams. If more than 3 students miss a question it goes on the list for review. Some classes have no review, like policy had no review of the final and roles had no review of the final. They were open book though, so I doubt many students got that many wrong. I did not take patho, pharm or theory at USA, I transferred those in. So maybe those are some of the classes with no review at all. It does seem to be a big pet-peeve of students. Now I attended an FNP program at another school that had the same policy, they never even did an exam review. So I don't know how common it is. It is probably why it doesn't bother me, I have never been at a school that did allow students to review exams.

I have been in the program a full year and I have had a prompt response to every email. I have had to call graduate advising more than once to get a hold of someone, but even the graduate advisor is super nice. Yes, I feel I am learning. I do hear complaints from other students, I don't know why I haven't had any problems. Even my secure exam proctor worked as soon I plugged it in and set it up. So many other students have had nothing but problems. I have not contacted faculty for that much, I have not had a lot of questions. When I have had to contact faculty, they have all been very nice and responsive. Maybe I have just been lucky! To be fair to those students who are having problems, it isn't the program for everyone. It is very hands-off, it is for students that are very self-directed. I think they could make that clearer before students apply. For me, that works. I don't know if there are more unhappy vs happy students, I do know that much like most things in life, you generally hear more from people who are unhappy than from those who had no problems. So I'm not surprised the voices of unhappiness are numerous out on the web. I don't find the material hard to learn, just time consuming. Congrats on the new family member. :)

I have never received a response that was hateful or negative, the only thing I have seen them be unbending on is timing for exams. Access to the exams for review is an issue for many students, I know. My classmates go nuts about it too, maybe I'm just more laid back. The communication I have had with people at the school has been good. I'm sorry it isn't going well for you.

I'm in the psych NP program and I don't find them to be unsupportive. I have to say my experience has been good. They are not warm and fuzzy though, I'll give you that. It is an extremely self-directed program. Exams are tough and I'd agree sometimes seem to ask questions that I'm 100% sure is not in any of the material for the exam, and the secure exam proctor can be a bit unsettling...but to be fair they are doing this to protect us and their reputation. I don't mind the secure exam proctor, we need to know this stuff. The difficulty with placements is happening at all schools and in all specialties. I have been in the program since August 2011 and I have not felt a "generalized contemp for students", it reminds me of an old school nursing program, just fly low and do what you need to do and it is fine.

Congrats everyone! I started at USA in the psych NP program in fall 2011...I love it!! It is a great program!

I am in the Psych NP program at USA right now, started in August 2011. I love it. I really have no complaints. It is a very self-directed program, but the faculty have all been approachable and helpful and the Psych track coordinator is wonderful. I hope that helps. Good luck in your school search.

Patho can be tough. I think working full-time and trying to find time to study is really hard. Can you cut down your hours at work? I wouldn't judge the NP role from a patho class. Do you think you'd be happier with another advanced practice specialty. I started in FNP and switched to PMHNP, which was my nursing area and I'm much happier. I'm at USA and my program is time consuming, but because I'm in an area that I enjoy and want to be in, it makes it much easier.

Thank you Zenman. Email is on the way. In fact it should now be in your box, sent it about 15 minutes ago. Sue

Hi everyone, Long time all nurses member here and I have run into a problem. I'm finishing up a roles paper in my NP program and it requires me to interview an NP. I have had 3 NPs back out on me due to just not being able to give me 5-10 minutes via phone or even email after they said they would. I'm a psych NP student, but I'll take any specialty if someone will just give me 5-10 minutes. My questions revolve around looking for your feedback on counseling/teaching/guiding patients/family members with chronic sorrow to develop more appropriate coping mechanisms and looking for a little feedback on EBP and research that you use in practice. I would also need to supply your contact and credential info to my professor. I'm really in a jam, my next option is to just go to the local hospitals and troll the halls until someone helps me! I need to turn it in this weekend and want to wrap up this last piece ASAP so if anyone can help me, please let me know. Thank you so much. Sue

I'm attending a distance program for PMHNP. Exams are monitored via camera that records sight and sound around the room, requires fingerprint and facial recognition verification every time, and no open book exams.

University of South Alabama has instituted proctored exams in their distance programs for just the reasons stated above.

It really depends on the job you have as a nurse. I worked holidays my first couple years but then I moved into positions that didn't require I work on holidays. I used to volunteer to work 11-7 the night before Thanksgiving or 11-7 Christmas eve so other people could have the night off but other than that I didn't work holidays. You have to find the job that goes with your lifestyle. You might not get that out of the gate but within a few years you'll be able too.

I am taking health care policy. It is a lot of work. You need to be very self-directed, but I'm very happy with the program. Sue

Congratulations!! :yeah:

Yes, you can! Chamberlain in a wonderful program. I graduated in June of 2010 and am now in my second year of a NP program and Chamberlain completely prepared me for grad school. One course at a time is a excellent way to do it. It will change how you view yourself as a nurse. It made me very cognizant of the need for nurses to be change agents and not just clock punchers. Best of luck to you! Sue

Congrats! I'm glad you found what you were looking for. Hopefully the drive won't be too bad. Sue

I'm pretty sure UAB has one too. Arizona State University has one. I'm sure there are a few more but those are two I know of. Good luck!

It is called ENP network. http://www.enpnetwork.com/ They have a preceptor directory.

Have you tried any of the drug and alcohol rehabs in MA or RI? Even if they don't have a psychiatrist or psych NP on staff they generally contract with at least one to come in and do psych evals for their patients with co-occuring disorders. Maybe they would have some leads. Have you joined the state NP organizations? I know the MA one allows you to send out a preceptor request letter that gets mailed to all members. I get them all the time. I hope that helps. Sue

Carts need to be locked. The med room needs to be locked. I have worked with nurses who abused and stole everything from methadone to seroquel to benadryl...Do not trust anyone. Always count your narcs, always. NEVER give your keys to another nurse, ever. Addiction nursing is my speciality and I can't emphasize strongly enough that you need to do these things all the time. To be honest, I would quit, like yesterday. Even if they trust each other(Which is no excuse!!!), they are hiring in new people and not counting? Are they ALL crazy?? You need to talk to whoever is in charge of staff education. This facility and these nurses are in desperate need of an inservice on how prevalent diversion and drug abuse is among nurses. Crazy. Sue

Have you called them? or checked your status online? You can call admissions and they will check your status. If a decision has been made, they will tell you what the decision is. You should call in case it was lost in the mail because all the paperwork has to be in by July 15th, if you plan to attend. Good luck! Sue