Junebug0710

I am in the second semester of 7. They do not help at all with preceptors. They do have a document that lists where prior students had preceptors, but that doesn't necessarily mean they will precept again. Also we got an email saying they were tightening the standards even more for preceptors. They are pretty strict about who precepts you, their experience, the documentation they need to be considered, etc which is good because they don't allow just anyone to precept but challenging at the same time. I haven't gotten to that part yet though. I am just in the online class portion and it is going really well, completely doable so far. My three teachers have been really responsive, I have never waited long for a response. Really interesting classmates too.

Hello, I am only on my second semester but will try to answer these for you. -How competative are the admissions? Acceptance rates No idea. You could call admissions and ask them, they are very responsive to questions and helpful. -Did you work? If so, how many hours? Currently work FT 3 12's night shift and am managing it really well. I get the feeling that once the clinical portion starts I will need to drop to 2 12's. -Do you like the program? So far so good. I am in my third class. Well organized and really responsive preceptors. Classmates from all different backgrounds and areas of the US. Ive had zero issues so far. -What is the job market like after? I feel like this depends more on where you live and where you are trying to work. However I am a member of several online NP forums and it looks like most people have several job options within a few months of graduating. -How much experience did you have as an RN prior to acceptance? Did that affect your admission? I had 1.5 years acute care experience. Most schools I looked at required 0-1 years of experience. -Did you have an ADN or BSN prior? Yes, BSN Good luck!

I am curious to hear from current NP's what would or does interest them about being a preceptor. Would love to hear specifics (for example, if it is extra pay...how much?). For example, on the floor I work on (as an RN in a hospital), we get paid an extra $2.00/hr for 8 hours. After taxes it covers a cookie and a latte (: So, no one really does it for the money. However, the benefit is that you sometimes have a lighter patient load and it is a good break from pure patient care, on top of the desire some nurses have to teach. There is a lot of talk on these forums about the lack of NP preceptors, so I am wondering what would make it worth it for you to want to precept. Thanks!

While every person on this site has individual circumstances/ preferences, for me personally it was important to have some on campus visits. I was admitted to Gonzaga and another NP program that only had 1 on campus visit throughout the program. Gonzaga has 8. Does the idea of 8 weekend trips to Spokane thrill me? Not really....but, I feel like it is a good system to keep me on track throughout the program. They have an entire term dedicated to the health assessment. You go on campus at the beginning and end of each of the 4 clinical terms and they test you according to where you should be. Since there is basically no school oversight on my preceptors, I felt this was an important check and balance to make sure that I am progressing and learning assessment and clinical skills like I should be. To me, the 8 visits on campus are worth it as a compromise to not going to a full time on campus program that does not allow me to work.

I'm doing 3 12's, nights. I am in the online portion of my program and it is working just fine. Once I hit clinicals next fall, I will likely move to day shift and possibly drop to 2 12's. Night shift wastes a day a week for me on my "flip" day where I come home from work, sleep until 1, am up until 9 like a useless zombie and then I go back to sleep. Once I am doing clinical and working I'll need an extra day!

Not an alumni but was recently accepted and will be starting in January. You should join the facebook group if you haven't already! Looking forward to meeting you!

Med tele. Max 4 on days, 5 eves, 6 noc. No CNA on noc

On a medical tele diabetic renal floor. Night shift is 5-6 patients per nurse with no CNA.

2015, I'm going to gonzaga

I just logged in to post about the same thing! Thanks for posting this.

Thank you! Running through a mix of excitement and nervousness. A big part of me feels like I should ask the schools "are you really sure?" Haha I still can't believe it!

Thanks so much for your responses!! I was about thisssss close to putting my deposit for Concordia and then I found out Gonzaga has students in Portland and you can coordinate practicing/ studying with them. Because they are a cohort the students also seem to have a great time doing everything together on the weekend inversions. Also because it is more local there are a lot of predicting clinical contracts with the area I live in. I figured the additional support was worth the cost. So I picked gonzaga. I think I probably wouldn't go wrong either way. Both are great schools!

Great news! I am in a position to decide between attending Gonzaga's MSN FNP program or Concordia's MSN FNP. Didn't think I would be in this position! Now I need to make a decision and my husband and I are both having the hardest time! Would love to hear your guys' input. And just for some context, I live in Portland OR and will be working full time (3 12s) at least until clinicals. Gonzaga: 1. Cost: 38,000 + the cost of 8 weekend trips to Spokane WA (5ish hour drive) 2. Time: 2.5 years full time, 8 weekend on campus intensives 3. Reputation: Excellent reputation in the Pacific NW 4. Cohort model 5. Have heard nothing but excellent feedback about the program experience 6. Board pass rate: 98% Concordia: 1. Cost 26,000 2. Time: flexible with 2.5-4 year progression plans and one 2 week on campus intensive (family lives in Milwaukee so there would not be an additional cost) 3. Reputation: Not as well known in the Pacific NW 4. Not a cohort model, you progress as you would like 5. Spoke with recent alumni who also had nothing but excellent feedback about the program 6. Board pass rate: 98% What is important to me is having the best academic preparation and being set up for success as a new grad. Also cost is important as I will be paying a portion as I go and taking out loans for the rest, but ultimately this is not the deciding factor. Any input you might have on this would be greatly appreciated!

I have a bsn so I'm looking at just the msn portion. I emailed an admissions advisor for a sample progression plan, ill let you know when she responds. Also I checked more into the precepted hours and its a little confusing. It says "2-4" credits for each clinical course and then says 60 v 120 v 240 hours. So depending on this range it would be anywhere from 360-720 clinical hours. But, you would have to take 4 credits from each clinical course to have the full 44 credits needed to graduate. Can anyone explain this?

Oh and Gonzaga is not done in one year. The progression is 2-3 years based on how many classes you take at a time. The clinical time listed is 360 hours but this does not include the 16 days you spend on campus in labs and simulation.

I'm leaning towards Gonzaga. In fact I dont think I'll apply to the other two. I have met two people who used to be professors for the OHSU program and while it has a great reputation and great rankings, they have said (along with people I work with) that due to some changes in program structure the last few years have been really disorganized. They also don't allow you to go part time and unfortunately I will have to work throughout any program I choose. WSU is a DNP only program which I am not convinced I want to commit to right now, as well as requiring a graduate level statistics course to be able to apply. The more I research Gonzaga the more I am drawn to it. But ultimately I think with any program you get out what you put in so I'm sure any of these schools would be great!

I work at Providence Portland and really enjoy working there. As far as pay for the metro hospitals, it seems to be all about the same. Some are unionized and pay a little higher but then you have to pay union dues so I think ultimately its a wash. I have plenty of co workers that commute from Vancouver and they dont seem to mind since its only 3 times a week (which includes every other weekend and there is no traffic on the weekends). I think you'll enjoy working in Portland!

Very satisfied

Hello! I am currently applying to the FNP programs at Gonzaga (online), Washington State University Vancouver and OHSU. Would love to hear from anyone who is currently attending or has attended these programs for honest feedback. Thanks in advance!

Interesting topic! I found a page that provided this information: Residency Programs for Nurse Practitioners The following programs were available as of December 2012: American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases NP/PA Clinical Hepatology Fellowship Program Boston Children’s Hospital (Massachusetts) Pediatric NP Fellowship Capital Health (New Jersey) Neurosciences NP Fellowship Carilion Clinic (Virginia) Emergency Medicine NP and PA Fellowship Columbia University Medical Center (New York) Critical Care NP/PA Program Community Health Care (Washington) Family NP Residency Community Health Centers (Connecticut) NP Residency in Family Practice and Community Health Emory Center for Critical Care (Georgia) Critical Care Residency Family Health Center of Worcester (Massachusetts) Family NP Residency HealthPartners Institute for Education and Research (Minnesota) Psychiatry PA/NP Fellowship Program Hurley Medical Center (Michigan) Trauma Advanced Practitioner PA/NP Fellowship John Hopkins (Maryland) NP Fellowship in Gastroenterology & Hepatology Lahey Clinic (Massachusetts) NP Fellowship in Dermatology Massachusetts General Hospital NP Fellowship in Palliative Care Mayo Clinic (Minnesota) NP Clinical Residency Program (other Mayo Clinic NP programs are in Arizona and Florida) MD Anderson Cancer Center (Texas) Post Graduate Fellowship in Oncology Nursing for Advanced Practice Nurses Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (New York) NP Fellowship in Pain and Palliative Care Methodist Hospital System (Texas) NP Program Fellowship in Transplant or in Neurosciences Penobscot Community Health Care (Maine) Primary Care NP Residency Program Santa Rosa Community Health Centers (California) Family NP Residency Program St. Luke’s University Health Network (Pennsylvania) NP Residency in Trauma and Surgical Critical Care UCLA/UCSF/Glide/Union Rescue Mission (California) Primary Care NP Residency University of Maryland Medical Center Critical Care/Shock Trauma Center Residency Program University of Miami Hospital and Jackson Health Systems (Florida) Acute Care/Adult NP Residency Program

24.00 seems low. Providence starts RNs at about 33.00, OHSU is the same. Maybe the salary increases once you finish the residency?

Several coworkers and I were talking tonight about places around the US that are the best places for nurses to live (in regards to pay/ cost of living and ratios). A new nurse came here to Portland, OR from North Carolina and said our job situation was the best he has ever seen. A traveler said she thinks she agrees. New grad pay is $33/hr, $1.00 weekend diff, $5.60 night diff. Ratio for med surg telemetry is 1:5-6 on night shift. I'd love to hear from others all over the US and see what it is like where you are at! Maybe someday I'll end up in your area :)

Hi everyone, I am a nursing student and have found that I absolutely love patient and family teaching more than anything. I was wondering what type of nursing specialties have this...one of my teachers mentioned becoming a Certified Diabetic Educator, but I was wondering what other jobs/specialties would fit this as well, including jobs that require advanced degrees. What do you guys think?

Hello everyone, I will be starting nursing school in January for an 18 month BSN program. I received a scholarship where a hospital pays for all of my tuition in return for a 3 year contract :). I am very excited to start in the nursing field! I am starting to try and plan out the financial aspects of schooling and beyond. In the area that I am in, new nurses start at about $29-30/hr, not taking into account any differentials. The scholarship that I received is set up as a loan forgiveness plan, which means it is taxed every pay check for three years. According to the "scholarship liason", this translates into about $200 less per paycheck for a nurse "scholar" who is working the exact same floor/shift as a non "scholar". In addition, I will likely have about $35,000 in student loans to pay for living expenses, books, supplies, and all the school "fees". When I calculate this all out, I would basically make the same net check as I do right now if I am only working 72 hours per pay period as an RN vs. 80 hours per pay period right now as an office manager. Also, the company I currently work for considers only 40 hours a week for a "full time" status, anything from 30-39 hours a week is considered "benefitted part time" status. So, for my question: for those of you who do 12 hour shifts...does your hospital operate in such a way that you actually end up working 80 hours per pay period or is a 1.0FTE as an RN considered 72 hours per pay period? Are there additional expectations that make your work week longer? (charting, staying longer on a shift, working an 8 hour shift every two weeks, etc)? I know that not all hospitals are the same but figured I would get a general idea. Thanks!

Hi Angie! I will be starting UP in Spring as well. When I found out I got into UP, my husband and I decided to move close to the school. If you are not familiar with the area, I would recommend searching the area "Portsmouth" on Craigslist. I think the closer you are to the school the better. One recommendation would also be to not live on the East side of Lombard. The west side of Lombard is closer to the school and does not have as much issues as the East side. Just my opinion now that I have lived in the area for about 4 months. I am going to be taking Old/New Testament while in the program. I am a Providence Scholar and if I take it during the program curriculum it will be included in the scholarship. I know it will make one of my semesters just that much harder but UP is expensive! I can't believe we only have three more months until we start! Looking forward to meeting everyone :)