mafafa1981

You guys: Don't freak out!!!!! I took Epi 100 for my public health degree and it was not bad at all. Most public health classes are very general. You don't have to remember tiny details. Take the 100 course so that you can get a REAL notion of what Epi is. Don't take the N50 course just because people say it's easier. TRUST ME, if you got into MECN, then you have what it takes to get an A (or at least a B) in Epi. I have the reader for the course and I'd be happy to give it to you so you can get started ahead of time. You're all big time now and if you think Epi 100 is going to be hard, then you should get prepared for advanced pathophysiology and pharmacology...that requires more study time (WWAAYYYY MORE) than Epi 100. My med student boyfriend agrees. He took Epi 100 and also taught the nursing students. Epi is a GREAT foundation and I think it's a must! Who's teaching Epi in the summer? I may know the professor. If you take the course and need tutoring, you got me and my boyfriend to help you out...just chill!!! I'll be done with prereqs in June, so I'm relatively available over the summer. Dahianna

Hi! I almost feel bad writing because I was one of those students who got in. I actually found out by accident that I got in when I called the SON to ask whether I should fill out the FAFSA. However, I was also able to download the acceptance letter on gdnet that night. Keep in mind though that I had already been a student there and I may have gotten the letter sooner because UCLA didn't have to create a file for me per se. In other words, I was already in the system and it was just a matter of sending out an email. All I can say is that there were probably more qualified applicants than there were spots. To those of you who haven't gotten the letter yet, don't lose hope. PLEASE. You should think positively and try to attract admission. Have any of you ever seen THE SECRET? If you haven't, you should check it out at Blockbuster. It has changed my life. It esentially teaches you about the power of the mind in atracting positive things to your life. I'll tell you a story that might shed some light on not getting an acceptance letter. When I was in high school, I was class salutatorian. I was #2 in a class of 404 students and was one of the best chemistry, physics, and calculus students. My dream was to become an engineer. As such, I applied to MIT in hopes of going to a world-renowned scientific university. I got through to the interviews and a few weeks later, I was rejected. I cried and cried and cried... I then was accepted to UCI, UCSD, and UCLA. However, none of these were my second choice. Berkeley was my second choice and I found out only until last minute that I got in. I went off to Berkeley and began a major in math. The first semester there, I failed calculus. I was like, "Whaaaaaatttt???????? I was the best math student in my high school!!!!" Well, I finally realized that EVERYONE was the best student in their high school and my counselor helped me find comfort by telling me this: "You should be happy that you are competing against the best of the best. What do you think life would be like if you were always on top? You would have nothing to fight for!" He was right! That experience changed my life. Since then, I've realized I can't be the best at everything and I won't always get what I claim to be dreaming about. In the end, I majored in psychology and all of my professors urged me to go into a PhD program. Because I wasn't sure psychology was my thing, I took a year off and went to work in a lab at UCLA (before even considering grad school). It was a fluke that I ended up working at the UCLA hospital! I could have very well found a job at the psych department at UCLA (away from the hospital). It wasn't until I was there that I realized that the reason I had liked psychology in the first place was that my true passion was in helping others... It's history from there. I went to public health school and then applied to nursing school. But what happened to that engineering dream??? Would I have been happy as an engineer? I may never know, but I do know that my experiences since I got out of Berkeely have helped me grow an become an independent woman who is happy. I am NOT saying at all that anyone who feels discouraged should find another field. What I AM saying is that things happen for a reason and the best thing we can do is turn bad things around and make them positives instead of negatives. Love yourself and know that even if you have not gotten an acceptance letter, you either (a) are on the waitlist, or (b) are not meant to go there at this point in time. Perhaps God (or whatever you believe in) has something stored for you down the line. My mom says "No hay mal que por bien no venga." This means when a bad thing comes your way, it's an indication of something good to come. Or in more scientific terms, life always regresses to the mean. That is, if we take the high road, have a healthy amount of self-respect/pride/love, then life will bring us back to that state regardless of the bad days that are sprinkled throughout. Hold your head up high. Believe in yourselves and great things will come. (And watch THE SECRET). I don't really know if this helps. I don't mean to preach or sound like I have a lot of knowledge about life. I'm still trying to figure it out! I just write what I think. I must say, I have gotten hooked on these forums and it may not be the best thing for me. I have one prereq to finish!!! I must study now... :) Dahianna

Nurse2481: Thank you for your response. I can definitely see where you are coming from with regards to all of the amenities that USD is offering you, and to be honest, you should choose the place where you feel most "at home." I can certainly understand that if you went to a private undergrad, you'll want to experience the same level of interaction with your professors and stay truly connected to the institution where you will spend most of your waking hours. If you are looking for everything that you described at USD, then by all means, don't go to UCLA. UCLA's resources are not confined to one building-- they are all over the Center for Health Sciences and even across the street into Med Plaza. As so, your learning will occur at many places, including other affiliated hospitals. I guess my take on the classes is biased because I went to Berkeley for undergrad and I'm used to working hard to be close with my professors and to get the most out of the classes. Nothing has ever been handed to me and I've had to learn to network, speak up, and really take a proactive approach to find great things in life. In my current job, all of these skills have helped me be very successful. I do want to say, however, that because my boyfriend (a med student) is a TA for the nursing students at UCLA, I find out about the interaction between the students and the professors there and it all seems to work well. The professors really do care about their students and they go the extra mile to help the students learn. You must remember that UCLA is a research institution, not a teaching one. In other words, it is safe to say that almost all professors there are working on original research and not there to teach per se. Yes-- you might get stuck with professors that can't teach (every once in a while), but in general you will be exposed to so many brilliant minds throughout your time there, that it will be invigorating, inspiring, and will actually have an impact the level of self-efficacy you feel. You may not get this at USD. I've noticed in my job at the hospital that the nurses who really move forward and rise to the top are those who can be strong in the clinic and in the research lab. In other words, if you're a great nurse on the wards, it gets you kudos, but if you are a great nurse on the wards AND can collect, analyze, and present data about how something you are doing changes the level of care you are providing, then that gets you twice the kudos because you are actively contributing to the field and spreading valuable knowledge. All in all, there is a reason that UCLA is the place where the sickest of the sickest come. They don't go to USD by all means (that is, if they have a hospital). UCLA is not going to baby you or anyone else. They will give you a lot of bang for a little buck. Sure--your co-worker is right. A lot of PH classes were taught with powerpoint and some of the professors were disorganized. However, the information was valuable and applicable to the workplace. And who can disagree with the fact that her degree carries a lot of weight? However, we cannot compare the PH school with the nursing schooll. They are TOTALLY different. All in all, UCLA is great if YOU squeeze the most you can out of it. Many students just take classes and go home. They become disappointed when the system doesn't hand them something on a sliver platter. This is a time in life to work hard and be humble and not to feel like we are so intelligent and priviledged that UCLA is below us. (Wake up and smell the coffee girl--it's UCLA!) This is the sense that I've gotten from students who have resented UCLA. The reality is--we know very little and having degrees behind our names right now is not an indication that we can chill out and wait for the nursing schools to offer us everything. Have you ever stopped to think why so many of those private nursing schools try so hard to lure you in? APU tried that with me, but when I mentioned it to my colleagues, they weren't impressed. I'd much rather take my money where the professors had to work their minds off to get there and not where they have the best fake cadavers and pristine classrooms. I really like our discourse and don't mean to sound rude at all. These are just my personal thoughts. I do understand your POV completely. You sound cool and I hope we end up as classmates. However, in the end, you should listen you what you GUT tells you. What does that inner voice say?? (By the way, I forgot to mention that I love the professors I work with and yes, I feel like I belong and like there is someone there to help should I need to reach out at some point).

I got accepted to the MECN program as well! I currently do research for two of the professors there (at the UCLA School of Nursing) and also completed my master's degree there at the School of Public Health. My day job is as a health educator at the VA hospital and I LOVE IT! However, I am EXCITED about the MECN program and I think UCLA is a great school and so are the professors. I've been hearing from people who got in and many of them shoot it down for being a new program, having terrible parking, and getting really crappy housing. I look at it a different way: the transportation office will actually give parking to those who really need it (i.e., people who live far and also professional students such as medical, dental, and nursing). With regards to the housing, you can find relatively affordable housing north or south of UCLA (only about 5 miles either way). I live in Palms (the student area below UCLA) and it works out just fine. With regards to whether it is a good program, there is no doubt that the professors there are world-renowned and that if they can give great courses to the APN students, then they can to the MECN students as well. Anyway, I'm not trying to sell UCLA to anyone. I would love it if people chose to go there not because it's a back-up school, but more because it's such a GREAT school. I don't know about anyone else, but I cried when I got in. I am thankful for programs like these that make it easy for people to change career paths and to live in such an awesome town. I'm up for the challenge and hope to come across other students in my cohort who feel the same way. Another last thought: Nursing is a helping profession that puts you in the trenches. We need to get some experience under our belts before delving into full-blown diagnoses and treatments (and quickly attained APN degrees). If anything, all of the challenges that the program has can shed some light on the types of working conditions we'll have in the real world--because they're not always pretty. I look forward to the program and hope to meet some great students at the #1 hospital in the West. :)

Hello All! I'm happy to know I am not the only one patiently waiting for a response from the UCLA MECN program. To those who applied and are posting on this site, I hope we all get in!! I only applied to that school, so I'm a little afraid that I put all of my eggs in one basket. I also completed an MPH at UCLA so I'm a little familiar with how UCLA works and what it's like to be a student there. My question: If we are accepted, we must complete a CNA course. Does anyone know if there is a place to take this course in the evenings and on Saturdays? I know that all of those who are accepted will be given an opportunity to complete it in September, but I will be out of the country at that time. Therefore, I'd like to complete it ahead of time. If anyone knows about a school in LA that offers a CNA course that I can work around my 8-5 current schedule, please let me know! Best, Dahianna