audqyee

In the case for being a bum deal, it's really the opposite. In addition to what carolinapooh said, they will have pay the school once you sign the dotted line. In my case, I may have $30,000 from my RN-BSN and my first year of the DNP program, but that's preferable than a potential $80,000 of total student loans if I don't get in. Add to that, a difference of roughly $50,000 in student loans over 3 years plus the stipend they give you which is about $2,000 per month and the active duty pay of a second lieutenant for 45 days per year (which essentially they station you at school, so you don't have to leave) will turn out a pretty good deal overall. In response to the amount of quota they will accept, I think it's meant that they will accept 'up to' but not necessarily accept that many applicants. It was quoted that they needed 10 last year too, and they ended up accepting 4 applicants while I was apparently ranked #6.

Hi all! Just got accepted for the AF HPSP yesterday. From what my recruiter told me, they only accepted 4 slots overall for the DNP FNP program. I didn't get in on my first try last year. I'm slated to graduate May 2018. In any case. What the HPSP essentially does is pay the school directly for all your tuition and fees and your books. You will also get some stipend per month, roughly between $1-2k. You will be commissioned as an O1 (2nd LT) but then get promoted to O3 (Captain) upon graduation. The payback is 1:1 for the years with the minimum of 3 years. So what I'm getting is 2 years of scholarship with 3 yrs of service. I can also answer some questions too! If anybody else was accepted, I was wondering if you can share your timeline so I can compare mine to yours.

It is ironic in a sense (and I wholeheartedly agree with you too). However, I really wasn't clear when I said it earlier. What I meant is that, adding more science courses throughout the program and not condensing pathophys for one semester (similar to what pace med students go through) can be one thing and thereby giving students to fully absorb the material.. but I guess one can contend that pathophys should be integrated through the different clinical rotations classes as well which is what we're going through, but we're digressing. But I guess the point is that the more important thing is to learn pathophys in a clinical context.

@Twozer, what you just said, no, not really following. But I have a feeling that I will learn all those soon, if not then in another lifetime, but soon. In any case, thank you all for giving out your insight. Yeah, I was getting worried how we're just going through this course fast and I am not the only one who shares this sentiment. Glad to know all of these. I'm passionate about learning patho but at this rate, it seemed to suck my enthusiasm. Hopefully it'll get better as I go through the program. PS: I do agree about nursing needing more science. I hate fluffs. Medicine IS science and much of what we do are grounded in science.

--Background-- This is a question that has been bugging me. I'm currently in an FNP program and in a second semester that includes pathophysiology and health assessment. I already have some background in A&P and the basic fundamentals of pathology from pre- and nursing school 2-3 years ago and from having worked in telemetry and the occasional step-down units. But, I don't necessarily remember every exact details (example: Frank-Starling Law of the Heart, annuli fibrosi cordis, the different enzymes & cytokines, MSU crystals, the different resting membrane potentials, ion channels, etc.) I am concerned that I may come across as knowledgeably ill-equipped come clinical rotations as we're going through an entire (freakishly big) textbook fast and not really having enough time to realistically absorb everything. --Question-- In any case, for those who are already in practice post 1 year or more as an NP, how much do you remember in detail about your pathophysiology class from NP school? My plan is not to get stressed too much about not learning everything as long as I know the macro-pathophysiology of the more common diseases and focus more on diagnosing and treatment plan come clinical rotations. Review esoteric medical knowledge later on as needed and when encountered. Is this acceptable? Lastly, I guess the overall question is, from your wisdom and experience, when learning pathophysiology, what should students focus on for best use of time? I do appreciate any answers to these!

Wow, that post has been so long now. Hi Edna, I'm from Casa Grande so it was not a long commute at all for me. Regarding CAC's curriculum, it has been excellent. I learned alot and if I had a choice, I would definitely go with CAC again if I'm going to have an ADN again. Of course, I always prefer a BSN, just getting it done now and Banner prefering BSN grads nowadays. I'm already practicing for about 2 years now in Cardiac tele. I just moved as well from Arizona to California and I'm very happy at where I am at now.

So.. anyone applied to the second application date (June 29-July 3)?

I'm from an ADN program in Arizona. We started at about 30-32 and ended up 28 at graduation including 4 repeaters. Around 85% of us has taken NCLEX-RN and so far, we have a 100% passing rate. Our college really tried hard to retain as much students as possible and IMO, it paid off in the end since we feel we owe it to our instructors and our college.

Somehow.. this leads me to think about "happy endings" :)

All my life, I have been deprived of a quality gaming desktop machine, so one of the very first thing that I'm going to buy this year after I get my job as a nurse is a custom built desktop computer (I'm 22, btw).

Depending on the facility you're working on and depending on the group's rules and regulations you're working on, you might get to do some procedures such as suturing in the ED. Also, there is currently no nurse practitioner specialty that is specific for emergency medicine. Some emergency nurse practitioner programs offer FNP and ACNP. FNP prepares you for family practice, ACNP prepares you for adult critical care. ACNP also means you can only practice on patients age 18 and above. Having an FNP specialty means you can also see patients that are pediatrics. There are some NP's who are independent in specific states but they are a minority. Nurse lobbyists usually call the relationship between NP's and physicians as "collaboration" when in reality, it's always supervision.

@ladydeeb4213 - Being an ER nurse, you would only need an associate or a bachelor's degree in nursing. On the other hand, if you meant you ultimately want to become an Emergency Nurse Practitioner, then yes, you might need an FNP and ACNP degrees. Working as an emergency nurse would most likely help you before you proceed to an NP school since some programs require you to work as a nurse too. You shouldn't also rule out PA school too. After receiving your PA degree, you can work in any specialty without any additional training. As a NP, you are pigeon holed into one specialty and if you want to move to another specialty, you have to get an additional training. If you have an autonomy issue, NP might be the way to go since PA's have to work under the supervision of a physician. On the other hand, I think all midlevel providers (NP & PA) should have a backup and shouldn't work alone.

LOL! Sorry, didn't realized it.

To those who don't know anything better, foreign nurses are payed the same salaries are US nursing graduates. This does not, in any way, keep the salary of nurses down. From what I've heard, the immigration office are no longer offering any immigrant visa as of now (2010) for foreign nurses, only working visas. Still, the number of nurses are still in short supply. Rural hospitals are forced to hire foreign nurses to fill in their slots because no nurses would come work for them, almost all nurses dream of living in a big city. Also, as pointed out early in the comments, it's not THAT easy getting into the US. You have to pass more than just a couple of exams and accreditation. As for people who are talking about foreign MD's, clearly you don't know a thing about the process. Their medical education is recognized as long as it's accredited by the ECFMG. As for their specialties, they have to redo their residencies. There are also foreign MD's who apply to American residencies on a H1B (working) visa. That will be the only time the government is paying for them, as all medical residents in the country including American medical graduates. For those FMG (foreign medical graduates) that didn't pass the USMLE, imagine going back to the basic sciences after you've been practicing for many years including the residency period. The USMLE step 1 is the hardest for them since it concentrates on the basic sciences. The second and third USMLE's might be better for them. Try studying for the USMLE while feeding a family without any help. Also, depending on the circumstances like having your wife as a stay at home mom because you have Do you really think that it's not degrading for them to be called a nurse when they're MD's or that a young doctors orders them around when they're the big-shot surgeons? The truth is, there are a lot more reasons behind their actions. You're only just scratching the surface. In my opinion, hiding their MD's really means humility. You have to get over yourselves in thinking that only American nursing graduates can do the job perfectly. That's arrogant thinking. Oh, FYI, I'm also an American nursing graduate. I know these things because I have friends and have been reading a lot in the studentdoctor forums.

I originally applied to UA for their nursing program, but I got denied after the interview. Found out that CAC has extended their deadline application on March 31, 2010, just 6 days before the deadline without a HESI, and an information seminar. Finished all of my other class projects on April 1. Went to CAC on April 2 to ask if I could still submit my application if I attended the information seminar the next day after the deadline and she said yes. Studied until my eyes fell off from April 2-4 for the HESI. I took the test on 12 noon on April 5, passed, and submitted all of my files at around 3 PM. The deadline is on 4 PM. Attended the nursing information seminar the next day. Got accepted at around the second or third week of April. So, are you worried that you don't have enough time?