umbdude BSN, RN

What's your cumulative GPA? (including your undergrad business, nursing pre-reqs, ADN, and BSN.) Some schools might have a 3.0 minimum. But it's best to ask the programs directly. If you meet the 3.0 minimum, my guess is that schools will put much more weigh on your science and nursing grades. My undergrad in business GPA was just shy of 3.0, from 20 years ago. My GPAs since then have been high. Never had an issue with getting into nursing school.

How about outpatient?

To me, "helping people" and "calling" are pretty vague reasons to want to be a nurse. What you said up in quote are far more concrete and believable. Also, it is not evil to want a career that pays the bills and then some.

You weren't clear when asking your question. I can tell you a bit about BC. I don't know as much about the others but I got into BC, MGH, and NEU's traditional NP programs couple years ago. Your top priority should be to go to a school that 100% guarantees NP clinical placement. Some schools will mislead you to think that they place students, when in reality you have to do all of the begging to find preceptors. First off, forget about Regis College - its NP portion is self taught and does not secure clinical placement. It's also not considered a reputable program in MA. Not worth it especially for Direct Entry. PRO: BC is the quickest. Nursing administration and faculty are super organized. You'll find very few surprises. Professors are experienced NPs and most still practice. High caliber students across all programs. Clinical sites are 100% guaranteed! Finally, BC nursing is highly regarded in MA. CON: 1) Some might think BC's program is too fast; 2) Because you'll take many NP classes with experienced RNs, you will face some criticism from fellow students or even preceptors, but generally people are friendly; 3) Classes are in-person (even for fluff courses), and some people don't like that; 4) There's a bit too many theory courses in the NP portion, but I think it's comparable to other schools? Simmons has a decent rep in Boston and is bolstered by its proximity to top-tier hospitals. I've heard that students had trouble with NP clinical placement, but not sure if that's the case now. When I interviewed NEU, I really liked it and was impressed. Consider that NEU might require that you work 1 year as an RN before going into the NP portion, and I think you might have to reapply? Keep that in mind. UMass Worcester is probably the only school that is housed within a medical school/center. There might be advantages. I would ask whether they guarantee clinical placement. MGH IHP honestly was unimpressive during my application process. (1) They royally messed up their open house presentation, wasted my time, and was unapologetic; (2) They were late in delivering acceptance letters and the letter was poorly written. All these reflects the culture of the program. I've also heard negative things about it being disorganized. Also, it's more expensive than other programs (at least for traditional NP). As soon as I got into one school I immediately eliminated MGH.

I think $75-$100k for a Duke NP degree is worth it. Most decent and nationally-known NP program will cost $60k+ anyways (excluding state schools). Anything beyond $100k for a MSN-NP degree is way too much though. I've found that grad school professors treat students with more respect. Top programs usually have very supportive faculty and staff.

I would be wary. A lot of online programs say they'll offer clinical placements, but in reality they only offer you assistance when you go around begging for preceptors. Simmons might place you but you probably have to travel to MA (if you move away). This is an important question because if you are not guaranteed clinical placements, it's not worth going to Simmons. It's a very expensive school and you have other choices.

I voted to drop out, but thinking more carefully, it's hard to say either way. I think the biggest problem isn't so much the $100k DNP, but the $100k MSN that does not lead you to an FNP. Question this: After you spent your $100k for the non-NP MSN, how much will it cost for you to get a post-master cert to become an FNP? If you ultimately will go back and get a DNP, how much would that DNP cost? The post-master cert with a DNP later on might end up costing you around the same (~$100k), but it'll take you much longer. You also have to consider whether the post-master cert program will find you preceptors and if those programs would even allow post-MSN grads who aren't NPs to apply. A post-master cert from a decent school will likely cost you quite a bit of money. Look around for those programs now and see how much they'll cost you. It might be financially painful to stay in your current program, but it might end up being the better option because you get higher earnings much sooner. You might also want to talk to your advisor and consult with other students or recent graduates.

How about writing an anonymous Op Ed in a large local newspaper detailing how this endangers patients' lives? You could name the hospital, but that risks exposing the staff.

No. It won't make you more in demand. My view is that MSN/CNL is a massive waste of time and money.

haha thanks!

A whopping $0 is what we're getting this year, on top of $0 raise. Worked in healthcare for 4 years now and the most I got was maybe a $25 gift card. Missing the days when I used to get $12k-$16k (top $18k) annual bonus plus a pension contribution that was 20% of my salary+bonus. I wasn't even a revenue generator.

If you ended up with a 67 in A&P 2, it means that you are far from proficient. Adding another course will most likely do more harm than good.

^^^ hahaha...I just saw this in a TV series I watched (I think it's Manifest). I had to stop and tell my SO, "we don't inject patients in the neck in real life, just so you know."

Some character did 5 chest compressions (yes, slowly with bent elbows) then pronounced, "I'm sorry, but he's gone."