SurfaceToAir

I agree with FLTraumaRN. In addition, the director for a local program told me that one of the BEST ways to make yourself a more competitive applicant is to do well in a graduate level science course (ie: pharmacology or advanced pathophysiology). They want to see you can succeed in graduate school.

I am IN also :) (interviewed 9/19 with vikingirl)

Hey Jomo- good thing is you have PLENTY of time. To start, your score is acceptable by 90-95% of the programs in the country from their list of requirements. I studied for several months every day off to prepare (I had a tight deadline) and my verbal improved greatly. The benefit of a higher GRE score is that many programs assign a numeric value to parts of your application when deciding to interview and when making decisions. The stronger your GRE, the easier it will be to get an interview and to show off why you belong in their program. I bought Kaplan Verbal Prep book and I bought a Princeton Review book (math + verbal). I found it very valuable to use both books because one approach you may find more natural than another. I really drilled the math problems in the Princeton review book and the online GRE examples (ETS website) so the math portion went very well for me. Start working on your vocabulary now, it is the best way to increase your verbal score. Good luck!

Over the last handful of years several professions have gone to a terminal degree- the doctorate. When I was in undergrad, Physical Therapy was transitioning from Masters of PT to Doctorates. Also, I believe shortly before this, pharmacy became a doctorate. Most of us have all worked with doctorate prepared health professionals (PT's and PHarmD's) and it is not a problem. PharmD's are not called "Dr" and neither are the physical therapists. PT's still introduce themselves to patients as "hi I'm Jenny and I'm going to be your physical therapist today." I agree that yes it would be confusing if DNAP's were called "dr" in the clinincal setting but I do not think that is going to happen. :typing

Bigsky- go right to the ICU. Of all my friends from nursing school who wanted to work in the ICU, they went right into the ICU after graduating and have all done very well. Going to the floor first is not necessary if you are motivated and want a challenge. You may hear from some more experienced nurses and teachers/instructors that its a good idea and thats the way it should be...I completely disagree. I mean yes- anything in nursing is good experience but don't delay your advancement to do what everyone USED to do. When the nurses who trained me started in nursing, I dont think a single one of them started in the ICU. But now we all do and are becoming good critical care RN's. Good luck and have fun with the challenges ahead!

I almost went through a similar situation once. I was gearing up to apply to school and my current nurse manager was out of town for an extended period of time. I was worried since her recommendation was a requirement for application so I emailed one program I was interested in. Their response was "I would suggest that you have the Assistant Nurse Manager and have her explain that the current Nurse Manager if out on family medical leave. We will accept that." I think all your have to do is have a strong excuse for why the NM could not do it, tell the program in advance, and have the next senior person on your unit explain the same and complete your reference. Just be transparent about the situation. I do think it is strange that your previous NM has not returned you calls. Good luck trying to figure this one out.

Hey everyone, any word on interview letters and dates? I received an invitation to interview several months ago and emailed the program several weeks ago. They said that they were finding dates for the interview panel (Since many of them are practicing CRNA's and finding a mutual date is challenging).