innatchka

Don't know where you're willing to move to, but California State University Los Angeles has an Entry Level Masters in Nursing that consists of a 15 month accelerated RN, followed by 2-3 years of the NP track. Our school offers the psych NP.

OP, I was standing quite literally where you are this time last year. I have a BA in Psych and was accepted to CSUN's ABSN and CSULA's ELMN program. I ultimately went with the Masters program because I didn't want to have to do the whole application process AGAIN, and I do eventually want to work as an NP (though the more I learn about nursing, the more I can see myself being a bedside RN for awhile). We're almost done with the RN portion and I really love my program. That said, it is tiring to be in school nonstop and think that even once we finish the RN, we have two to three more years before we're awarded a degree (we can take the NCLEX and get our RN, but we won't have an ADN or BSN or MSN to back it up until we graduate.) As for others' reactions to the program - they've been mixed. I've met some RNs who seem to like to discourage you and tell you that you shouldn't even attempt a Masters in Nursing without quite a few years of RN experience. I've also heard of hospitals who like the students from our program and appreciate that we want to further our education. I would suggest making a list of pros and cons about both schools. It should include even seemingly unimportant things like semester vs. quarter, distance from your home, cost, etc. Either school will help you get where you're going, so you might as well go to the one that has the most pros. Good luck and welcome to nursing school!

I don't recall any specifics re: health insurance, just that we have to have it and show proof as part of our health clearance packet. In terms of financial aid, you can get a max of $12,500 for the first part of the program (depending on your EFC you may get more or less of that amount subsidized). It's disbursed over 4 quarters, which means that you won't get any more federal aid until you pass the NCLEX following the first 15 months. Many of us took out private loans (e.g. Wells Fargo MedCAP), and I made sure to take out enough so that I could cover tuition for the whole prelicensure portion and have money to live on. If I budget right, I shouldn't have to take out any more money for summer - I got my last disbursement this Spring quarter, but I should have enough left to pay for summer out of pocket (instead of showing the school proof of financial aid coming). However, some of my classmates are talking about taking out additional private loans to cover summer. Going to the FA office is definitely easier than calling - at least you get to see someone in person. Still, there's been a lot of confusion regarding our program and the fact that it's under Extended Education, so you may still get some blank stares and people sending you back and forth to different offices.

Yep - it's mandatory. I get mine through Anthem Blue Cross and pay $111/month for health and dental. I have a pretty high deductible, but I only plan to really use my insurance for emergencies. I've been able to get a physical, CXR, and titers through the student health center pretty cheaply.

Titers are blood tests that show how much immunity you have to those diseases you were vaccinated against - sort of like the number of antibodies floating around in your blood. Try to get quantitative counts (e.g. numbers - not just "immune"). Sometimes people discover that they are no longer immune to stuff and need to get new shots, although I hadn't been vaccinated for anything since I was really young (bad reaction, fearful mother), and I still had everything in order! Good luck! Looks like everyone is being responsible and starting on stuff early - let me just remind you that you'll need yearly physicals and TB tests (or CXRs if you test positive), and that means you'll be needing them around next Spring Quarter (it'll come sooner than you think!). Just something to keep in mind.:)

Wrightnurse, Did you fill out the FAFSA at all? I didn't qualify for much assistance at all, but I was still able to take out a $12,500 federal loan (some subsidized, some unsubsidized). I got the rest through Wells Fargo. As grad students, we can take up to $20,500/year. I work mainly for spending money. The whole financial aid thing is a pain in the butt - they want you to spend down your savings and be "poor" before you qualify for much assistance. Some people in our class are paying for school with their savings, some took out loans, some have family help. My parents help me out by paying for books. Also, remember to apply for scholarships. I applied to the general scholarship last year, http://www.calstatela.edu/univ/finaid/on_campus.php, and never heard back from them by the deadline. But I assume they passed my application on to some other committees because I got a Nursing Scholarship last quarter out of the blue. Every little bit helps!

Hey wrightnurse, Hope this helps: Did you have any fears in succeeding in the program? Does anyone ever fail? Getting in is a big accomplishment in itself. It means that the directors have faith in you! Of course we all worry about not succeeding, but I think it's less about being "smart enough" and more of being organized and on top of studying. I know this quarter, I got kind of lazy/skipped reading etc, and felt pretty uneasy after every test, praying I'd guessed well. If you study well and put in your time, the tests should be fine. As for anyone failing, the rumor is that the ELMN group loses one student during the MedSurg quarter, but I don't personally know anyone that has happened to. If you could compare your current classes to those you took during undergrad studies, is there a big difference in difficulty levels? What is the hardest part academically? I was a psych undergrad and had similar multiple choice type tests, but I had gigantic classes (300+ students) and I just lost interest by the end. This information is completely practical and you know that you'll use it, so I find it easier to sit through lectures and do the reading. The hardest part for me is the sheer amount of information you need to absorb in so little time - it's doable, but challenging. Do you study from morning through night (as in MSMC ABSN) or you actually have time for other things as well? If you manage your time well, there will be plenty of time for other stuff. For example, I try to study at work when things are quiet (I tutor at a local CC), so as to leave time to spend weekends with my bf or play in my band. Some quarters you may actually have 4 day weekends and then the challenge is to not let yourself have too much fun! How popular is the ANP track? I believe this is actually most people's second or third choice. In our class, a lot of people wanted the FNP because it was the broadest, or the ACNP because it's more intense. I don't think anyone put ANP as their first choice. What is the reality when trying to get a job as a new grad RN while completing the NP track at the same time? How do you juggle both? I can't answer this from personal experience since we aren't there yet, but I know some students take a few quarters off to start their new grad programs and then continue the NP part part-time (so we still have some ELMN Cohort 3 people just finishing up this year). My plan is to start the Masters portion in fall as a full-time student (we won't even have our licenses until we take the boards in October), and then see if I can find a job and take it from there. Can you study NP track part-time if your new RN grad program does not fit with school schedule? Yes. You can speed through the FNP, for example, in two years, but you would take 12-16 units each quarter. Going part time stretches it out to 3 years (according to the schedule I was given). What is the schedule in general for NP track? I believe they have classes two days a week. Not sure how clinical hours work, but I imagine you need to work that out with your preceptor. Even though it's not a lot of time in class, I know it's caused problems for some students who'd already found new grad jobs (seems like the hospitals wanted them available 24/7 for instruction). What are the job prospects for grads in CSULA program? Again, I'm not sure - it's pretty tough for most new grads out there, and a lot of them have a terminal degree and all the time in the world to start a new job. We're kind of in limbo since we have to get through the Masters portion to get a degree. I know some hospitals really like CSULA students (e.g. Huntington Memorial in Pasadena). I also know your prospects are better if you've already worked in a hospital (as a CNA, Telly tech etc). The Cohort 6 students who found jobs easily had worked at CNAs in the hospitals where they were hired. And just so it's not all gloom and doom - I have to say: I really enjoy the program. Nursing school is a challenge but it's kind of fun! And it's exciting to know you're approaching your goal and quickly! Let me know if you have any other questions!

Go solo to orientation - it's about 4 hours of classroom time where you find out about each other and the program, and hopefully some of us will get a chance to talk to you, too. Bring your hubby to your celebratory end-of-quarter parties and such. :)

Oh yeah, I didn't mean to imply you can do this without a car at all - you'll at least need it to complete your paperwork and health clearance packets. I was merely pointing out that there are other ways to get around LA - like lovely classmates who give rides or pub trans (which is really not as unreliable or scary as people would have you believe. )

A couple more points about transportation: - A student bus pass costs $36/month. http://www.metro.net/around/fares/ - A parking pass costs $90/quarter. A day pass costs $6 and this makes more sense for the quarters when class only meets one day a week ($6 x 10 days on campus). Re: Breaks We get three weeks between Summer/Fall, three weeks between Fall/Winter, and then one week each between Winter/Spring and Spring/Summer.

Hey rpatil88, I'm not sure about housing; I know at least one girl in our class lived on campus over summer, but she quickly moved out. If you want to live near campus, East LA, Alhambra, and Pasadena are close. I live in Hollywood, and I personally have never driven to classes or clinical (yet!). I take the Red Line Subway to downtown and then catch a bus to school (total 45min trip - can be a 20 minute trip on the freeway in a car). I've taken the bus or carpooled to clinical. I do have a car and insurance, but I don't like driving, so I avoid it when I can. I believe we have one clinical (Public Health) that we aren't allowed to carpool for - I think we have to make home visits and everyone goes somewhere else, so I'll start using my car then. In terms of hospitals, here's where we've had some clinicals: County/USC - down the block from school (has its own Silver Line Bus Stop) Verdugo Hills Hospital - NE from school, near Glendale Kaiser Downey - South of school; I carpooled here Arcardia Methodist - NE of school, fairly close to Pasadena Huntington Memorial - In Pasadena, carpooled here for Psych rotation (which ended at night), but it's also right off a Gold Line Stop Glendale Memorial - Short bus ride from my house Children's Hospital - right off a Red line stop, about a mile from my home As long as you can make it to clinicals on time (usually 7am), most teachers don't care how you got there.

I personally detest the feeling of being stressed out, so I usually try to stay on top of the reading, and do any assignments I can do early way in advance. It really makes a difference towards the end of the quarter when a bunch of papers are due and people are pulling all-nighters. Then again, I'm the type of person who feels uncomfortable wasting time, so I'll do lit searches and write care plans while I stream Family Guy on Netflix. YMMV. I don't think I'm more or less stressed out than I was during undergrad. I enjoy the subject matter more than I did when I was a psych undergrad because I feel like I'll actually be using it. I also have an awesome tutoring job at a community college that allows me to earn some spending money and study/read when things are quiet.

Hey dewdrops, I can answer that question (bababaowman is off studying for our MedSurg final tomorrow, aren't you bababaowman??). Here's an idea of our schedule from Summer 2010 - Spring 2011 (which we'll start in a few weeks). Summer 2010 Monday, Tuesday - lecture Wednesday, Thursday - off Friday, Saturday - Fundamnetals clinical and/or lab (some of us had 2 - 6h shifts with a lab on Saturday after clinical, others had one 12h shift on Friday with lab Saturday morning). Sunday - off Fall 2010 Tuesday, Wednesday - lecture Thursday - OBGYN clinical (7am-4pm), then lecture (6pm-7:30pm) Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday - off! Winter 2011 Monday OR Tuesday - Psych clinical (class was cut in half, either Monday 1-10pm or Tuesday 7am-4pm) Wednesday - off Thursday - lecture ALL day (8am-6pm) Friday/Saturday or Saturday/Sunday - MedSurg clinical (2 9h days) Spring 2011 Monday or Saturday - ICU clinical (12h shift) Thursday or Friday - Pediatrics clinical Wednesday - lecture all day Tuesday, Sunday - off! Choosing clinicals will involve voting and picking numbers - that's why the director asks those hypothetical questions about how we will fairly choose who goes where. We didn't have too much of a struggle during the first two quarters but things get more complicated as you add long clinical days and full weekends. Let me know if you have any other questions!

The nursing department leaves a certain number of spaces open for ELMNers, but some people will end up with their 2nd or 3rd choices if the demand is really high. I believe 14 people in Cohort 6 applied to FNP and 8 got in. FNP is the more popular option in our class as well, but we won't find out what track we got for another month or so. The faculty who spoke with us about the different tracks emphasized that the essay counts for a lot and you need to make it clear why you want the track you want. For instance, if you don't drive home the message that you want to work with the family across the lifespan and only talk about primary/preventive care, the faculty may just put you in the ANP track because they figure you don't really know what an FNP does. Grades count for something, too, but we've been told we're all pretty high up there GPA-wise so the essay may make the difference.

Hey Sam, There were quite a few people in our class interested in the peds NP who later found out they aren't offering it, period. In my opinion, they really should remove it from the application as an option. Don't want you to get your hopes up. Most of those who wanted PNP are applying for the FNP with the hope of specializing in kids later.