JOHIO

Hello! So I finished that program last January. It was challenging but not impossible! I worked full time nights during most of the program but I don't recommend that, it was just awful and I found that they were not very accommodating to those of us who had work/family obligations. Plus I was an absolute zombie for the whole 15 months it took to finish! If you're able to only work part time (or better yet prn) I think you'd be better off. The clinicals were all over the place. They didn't do a great job of finding placements for everyone and there were a few nervous weeks when several of us didn't have any placements at all! I had to find my own clinical sites a couple times but from what I've heard we had it better than people at some other schools. My favorite clinical site was at NEON on the east side. i had a preceptor i loved and a setting/population that i was very interested in so i learned a lot. I also had placements at teen health clinic in lkwd, a private peds practice in loraine, an occupational health clinic by the airport and a nursing home/home health care group around parma. They do their best to place you where you have at least some interest. All in all I'm not sure it's worth the incredibly steep price tag, but I did walk out of the program with a ton of job offers so I'm happy about that at least! Let me know if you have any. Other questions! Good luck!

Hi moonischasingme1 Thanks for your interest! I'm happy to report that I did find a great job that I'm only just about to start. The whole job hunt went much smoother than I expected. I went on interviews while 7 and 8 months pregnant and to the credit of my interviewers, I was never asked about my baby belly. I did reveal that info when asked when I would be able to start and in each of the 3 interviews I had, I got job offers. I found that employers were more than happy to work around my timeline. As for the credentialing process, I found that employers will have you work off of your rn license until the requisite documentation is done. So that's easy enough. And I have been lucky to have been able to stay home with my healthy baby girl much longer than I thought I'd be able to! So I guess if I learned anything from all this, it's that employers are more flexible than I anticipated, and that life has a way of messing with your best laid plans (and it's not necessarily a bad thing!) :)

Thanks for the response tryingtohaveitall, I appreciate the input! So it sounds like maybe an employer wouldn't mind having a start date a few months after an interview takes place? Ideally, I'd like to stay in my current position until April when the baby is born, but I would like to start working as an NP after that, possibly late August. My husband is a teacher so he will have off over the summer either way, but it would be nice to know that I have something lined up before the baby comes. Do you think that it would be possible to secure a position on a timeline like that? Also, what part of the country are you practicing in and what area/population do you practice in? Was there any difficulty for you or your classmates in finding that first NP job? Thanks again for your response, I'm looking forward to hearing more from you :)

I am finishing my FNP program in December and will (hopefully) pass my certification boards the end of January, I am also expecting my first baby in April. I am currently working PRN as an RN so I will not have any maternity leave. I am hoping to have either an NP job lined up to start in January or an NP job that will allow me to start later in the summer. I am so excited to start my new career and as long as I can find a job my husband will stay home w the baby, so there's zero temptation for me not to return to work after the baby is born. I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with this type of situation or any advice. Specifically I'm wondering about: 1. Interviewing while pregnant (pitfalls to avoid, how to tell employer); 2. Whether employers would consider hiring me at all, considering the situation; 3. Whether an employer would be more likely to offer time off after starting in January (since I won't be eligible for FMLA yet) or postponing the start date for a few months? Thank you in advance for your help!

I will start the FNP program at Case in August and I can't wait! I remember speaking with the director of the MSN Psych program during an open house last winter and she said that her cohorts have been very small (I think she said only 6 last year) and that she accepted everyone who happened to apply. I guess the psych candidates were really well qualified that year. She also mentioned how closely her students work with the med school students and faculty. It sounds like a great program! As far as the application process, I completed my application materials for fall in Feb/Mar and got my acceptance letter the beginning of May. I also applied for aid and a scholarship that my advisor told me about in the beginning of June. I just today heard about the scholarship (I got it!) but still have not heard about financial aid. Sorry I don't have more info about that. Hope this helps and best of luck!

hi there! i actually started phase 2 this past january so i'm getting ready to finish up my 2nd quarter now. here's a breakdown of the classes you'll have from another student who has already finished the program: -assessment – be ready to work for an “a”. tons of material (textbook, powerpoint slides, lecture notes) to read for each test. the assessment lab can be nerve-wracking as you perform physical exams on a fellow student (and they perform one on you). this helps you get used to touching & interacting with strangers in a clinical setting, before your first hospital clinical. -interventions – this is also challenging. lots of reading in this one. expect 2 of your 10 scheduled clinical days to be sessions in the skills lab at proctor hall. -statistics (graduate level) – if you haven’t had an undergrad stats class, you’ll probably be lost in this class. even if you did have an undergrad stats class, you may be frustrated/lost in this class. highly dependent on the quality of your instructor. -research (graduate level) – not quite as bad as stats, but still a bit frustrating. you’ll actually learn something in this class, however. (statistics and research were each five weeks in length in 2007 -meeting twice per week, i presume - whereas in 2008 those classes lasted the full 10 weeks, with each one meeting once per week.) -community nursing – easy a. you take this for 5 weeks in quarter 2, and 10 more fun-filled weeks in quarter 3. depending on your community clinical site & preceptor (3rd quarter only), you’ll either like it or hate it. overall, though, still an easy a. -socialization to professional nursing – easy a. -ob – get ready to really work for your a. -pediatrics – also fairly challenging. -adult health (health patterns b, 3rd quarter) – a challenging course – you really start to “put things together” in this class, using your past classes to answer test questions in this one. -psych/mental health (3rd quarter) – easier than many classes, especially since the final exam is pure nclex questions (you’d better practice these ahead of time, though, to get in the right frame of mind). get ready to really work, though, when doing the “reflection paper.” you’ll need to look inside yourself to do well on that paper. -leadership/management in professional nursing (4th quarter) – easy a. lots of classroom discussion/projects, few if any tests. -health patterns synthesis/integration (didactic & seminar, 4th quarter)– challenging, since you’ve got to recall & really “put together” information from your prior classes. here are some general thoughts i can share about the program: 1. it's super unorganized!!! don't get me wrong, you'll get all your clinicals done and everything falls into place eventually, you just can't ever plan on knowing your schedule more than a few weeks ahead of time. some people get really upset about this, but i think it's worth the frustration just to get the degree so quickly and not have to wait to do clinicals. 2. there's a ton of reading, and if you really want to learn how to be a good nurse, you need to do it all! 3. if you go with the flow and don't get on your classmates'/instructors' bad side, things will be much easier for you. there are a few people in our cohort who have burned some bridges already. overall, our group is really supportive of each other and we always have each others' backs. bottom line: it's unorganized, it's stressful, it's exhausting and i love it! i hope you have a good experience too! let me know if you have any specific questions, i'd love to answer them! -johio

Good luck with your prereqs H.D., I had a quite a time getting into all the classes I needed at UC. They all seemed to be closed to "non-matriculated students". I hope you are having better luck!

Thank you, CrufflerJJ! Your PM was very informative, I read your blog from start to finish and feel like I have a much better idea about the program now. Thanks! Also, I already have the "survival guide" but thank you anyway. I'm curious if you have suggestions for reading material to help get a leg up before classes start this January. I'm not used to only working (i.e. not having classes or assignments to do when I get home at the end of the day) so I'm trying to keep busy! Also, I'd like to know about your own path after the Accelerated BSN program. Did you continue on directly into a Master's program, and if so which specialty did you choose? I apologize if this is too much to ask for on a forum like this. I don't quite know the ropes yet! Thanks for your time! J

Hello all! I just wanted to see if there are any soon-to-be accelerated students out there. I'm starting the BSN/MSN program at the University of CIncinnati in January and can't wait! I was hoping to get in touch with anyone who has been/is currently/is about to be going through this program. Hope to hear back! J