vls09

Congrats asilv :) I've also been accepted and will be going. Everyone reading this who is part of our cohort has probably already noticed the mass email from the program yesterday so now at least we have each other's email addresses, though I'm sure we'll also get to meet at next week's orientation.

Sw88tpea, thanks so much for starting this thread - it's been a huge help for me, and I'm sure countless others, who are considering Navy nursing. Also, glad to see another Oregonian on here right now :) I'm currently using my Post 9/11 GI Bill to go back to school for a bridge MSN at a large brick and mortar state/public university. I've got about 10 years in the military, both enlisted and commissioned, the majority of it active duty, but none of it in the Navy so this is all new to me. I assume I'd be a new grad RN in the Navy because most of my healthcare experience as an RN is part time (less than a year cumulative, all prior to BSN/MSN). Can anyone tell me if I can apply for the USN NC and ODS while I'm still a student in my nursing program? Because my bridge program is only two years long and the USN only reviews nursing applications once a year in September, if I don't apply by the September deadline this next summer (2013) I will have to wait until I've already completed my degree and been a practicing MSN/RN for a year. I'd do this anyway if I don't get picked up the first time around, but obviously I'd like to be able to go to ODS and start my NC career as soon as possible after I finish in June 2014. So, long question short: Can anyone tell me if I can apply while I'm still a student? In my case, I'd be half way through my degree program, applying for the Sept 2013 board while expecting to graduate in June 2014. I DID ask this question with a Navy recruiter and he seemed confused, and told me he'd "get back" to me. Haven't heard back since then. Also, second question - does anyone know how the Navy determines prior service for someone in my situation? I have 6 years as an officer and 4 enlisted. I'm currently an O3E and I'll be in zone for O4 around the time I finish my MSN (I just turned 30 recently). I am guessing I'll have to take a demotion to O1E (rest assured, I'm totally willing to do this!) but can anyone tell me if I'll promote to O2E any faster? Thanks so much! If there are any NC folks on here that have the time right now, would you mind if I message you with some other questions?

I'm also an American RN and after visiting Australia twice in the last few years I have been considering emigrating and living somewhere in Oz for a few years; not a permanent move, mind you, but a few years living and working in a new place with some new perspectives and experiences. I've encountered a LOT of anti-Americanism overseas (particularly in Europe, which was the worst) but I didn't encounter any in Australia, although I was only visiting for 10 days each time. I must admit, reading through this message string and seeing other people's comments and experiences makes me a little more concerned about going to Australia for a few years as an RN. I don't expect Americans to be loved anywhere (heck, I live in America and sometimes I get sick of Americans) but outright hostility towards Americans in the workplace and discrimination when it comes to things like renting a flat sound totally ridiculous and disappointing. The true shame is that I have worked with Aussies in the US and overseas in other countries and we all got along great. I'll end with this - if what nursegirl62 says is true, I completely understand her apprehension. If a physician screamed "YOU AMERICANS ARE RUINING THE WORLD" to me in front of patients, randomly, I would be just as horrified and disgusted. Contrary to the implications of some posters on here, nursegirl62 never once stated or implied that 'merrica was better than anywhere else, and despite the common stereotype and misconception I've found a lot overseas, not all Americans think they're better than everyone else. Nursegirl62, I'm sorry you experienced hostility and stereotyping in Australia AND on this forum - the reactions and mannerisms of some of the posters on here make it clear that what you experienced probably wasn't unique or a fluke.

This just keeps getting weirder and weirder...

kmcg, thanks for the info - that explains why I have not heard anything. I hope the first person who actually hears something definitive (reject or accept) will post on here; I think it is fair to say everyone on here is in a similar situation. Good luck again to everyone :)

Congratulations for at least getting on the waitlist and good luck - all the best :)

crs, you are not alone. It is now Feb 18th and I still haven't received any word at all; I called the graduate school yesterday and was told that my decision letter had not been mailed and had not even been scanned yet by the school. At the time I did not understand what "scanned" meant and I had assumed they would snail mail me something - since the last few years it appears they sent snail mail letters and I'd not heard anything about emailed decisions. I am guessing initial decisions were made and went out several weeks ago. I mentioned I knew someone who got in as early as 3 weeks ago. It is very odd that no one on this board has heard anything - I am just as confused but it appears if accepted/waitlisted decisions have gone out, those of us who haven't heard anything by this point have been rejected.

Not a word. And yes, it is very strange - no update on their website, no email update, etc., even though decisions were made 3 weeks ago at the end of January (according to their timeline). But I figure no news is better than bad news. It is possible they have admitted a "first round" and are waiting to find out who declines before they reject or waitlist everyone else. Who knows, they might have even interviewed this year, just not anyone posting on this board since none of us have heard anything. Just a guess.

Last year decisions went out on Feb 11th and there was a status update posted on the MEPN website once decisions were made. So, I keep checking the website, but nothing so far. I don't want to call the office to ask because that seems counterproductive if they are this busy. Given that last year they didn't use the CAS and they did conduct interviews, I guess we can't really go by anything that happened last year in forming our expectations.

Haven't heard anything yet; tomorrow is Feb 15th so we've now got two weeks left in the month. I did notice some minor aesthetic changes to the MEPN website, although I expect more changes this spring with the DNP requirement for new NP's effective in 2015 and the MEPN being a 3 year program. The FAQ reflects some new changes but it still says that interviews are required for admission and only the "top 30%" will be initially contacted for an interview. I sure hope that isn't true!

I guess this wasn't the week.. I'm hopeful for next week!

Wannabe - no idea on most of that and I know they'd rather not have most of that stuff published in public for privacy reasons - it wouldn't be that hard to figure out who is who if/when we all matriculate in the summer or fall. I'll send you a private message.

wannabefnp: I agree about postbacs maybe finding out sooner. I wonder how that guaranteed interview part for postbacs worked out given that the MEPN program didn't have interviews this year. Still no news on my end either. I wasn't aware that mid-feb was the expected date, sounds like it could be any time in the next week or two; the only info I got was that decisions are made in january, sent out in february. At this point I would just be happy to get wait listed.

Any news? Nothing on my end so far.

Decisions have already started going out... I'm out of town and won't be home until mid-week, but I just heard from someone who found out at the end of last week that they got into the MEPN program. Has anyone else heard? Not sure how it is being done - whether all decisions are being mailed at once or whether it is on a rolling basis. Either way, if you haven't heard yet, you should soon - good luck to everyone!

I understand - it reminds me of the concern I have that my EMT and volunteer ER experience doesn't qualify me enough for the FNP track.. My thoughts are: 1. They definitely wouldn't offer you to switch to the ANP track if they weren't going to take into consideration the fact that people in your shoes are skewed towards mental health experience as opposed to the normal ANP background (which is more similar to FNP in that it is a lot of folks who are EMT's, CNA's, LNA's, etc). 2. My bet is that those who originally applied for the PMH track who request to move to the ANP track will be considered separately from the regular ANP applicants and your experience/background standards will be different, i.e., they will judge your applications from the standard of a PMH applicant. So, really when you look at it, you come out on top of all of the rest of us because you'll be double qualified; you will be able to work as an ANP or as a mental health NP.

My advice to you is to either go the ANP track and follow with the mental health certificate (as this is the instructed way to do it if you want to go to UVM), or go to another school that still has a dedicated PMH track. I guess it comes down to how badly do you want to go to UVM versus a dedicated PMH program? Unfortunately you now can no longer have both of these.. If you're a Vermonter, like most of us, and UVM is pretty much your only choice, then why not just go APN and get the certificate? Look at it this way - getting APN with a post masters certificate will make you even more qualified now than if you were to just get a PMH focused degree.

I know exactly what you mean. With both the email we got last week and today's email, each time I saw something from UVM I hoped it was an interview request. Given that it appears (from previous postings) most of last year's interviews were in mid January, I think they might really skip the interviews this year since it is now January 19th and I haven't heard of anyone getting an interview yet. Normally when a school forgoes interviews that is because it has a small application pool; interviews in the past have typically been done to separate the good candidates from the great candidates. Then again, on the flip side, one could argue that the applicant pool is so good this year they have no reason to interview anyone because everything is already clear to the adcom.

Did everyone get the email today in reference to the PMH track? As I didn't apply for that track, it doesn't affect me per se, but the first question that came to me was how this will translate (if at all) to the size of the FNP/ANP class. It sounds like anyone who was PMH who still wants to go to UVM will have to go ANP. I am guessing this means they will allocate the former PMH seats to ANP but FNP will not see any increase in available seats as a result of this. This email also begs the question, will UVM have a direct entry DNP similar to the MEPN. They mentioned transitioning to DNP but not a word about whether there will be a direct entry DNP for non-RN's. I wonder if they'll go the way of UNH next year and convert the direct entry NP to direct entry CNL since that is a lot easier than a direct entry DNP.

Hi all, I also got the same email. Glad you asked about interviews - I was wondering the exact same thing. If anyone is interviewed, please post about it! I've been looking at the online posts from the last few years and it sounds like it went the same - interviews were up in the air, the office said they might or might not happen, but most of the folks who were admitted received interviews. I guess we'll see what happens! We should be finding out in about two weeks...

It's now almost mid January.. Anyone hear anything yet in terms of an interview, word from the program, etc?

Thanks for the great advice! Right now I'd be very happy with just getting on the waitlist.

crs, I understand - I had planned on working this summer too, though I'd obviously rather take summer classes if it means I get into the program than not. UVM's program seems to be one of the only direct entry programs in the country that has no prerequisites. Even the CNL programs require A&P, stats and microbiology. I'm guessing just about everyone who is applying to this has at least some healthcare experience. There are probably a lot of healthcare administrators, nurse assistants/techs and EMT's who go into this type of program since it isn't designed for pre-existing RN's. If anyone does hear from UVM about an interview, please post because it would be very good to know definitively whether they are doing selective interviews or not since it still seems to be up in the air.

als, it is interesting that they seem to allocate a certain number of seats to the psych and other tracks. It is scary to think that there are only 16 total spots (so they say) which means if they break it up by track, it's actually quite a bit less. I am not sure which is the most competitive but I imagine FNP probably receives the most applications and has the most spots. Still, to think I might be competing with 100+ people for 10 or less spots is really not fun. On the plus side for you, I do not think they give any additional preference to students from Vermont; I asked and unlike med school, UVM's nursing school only gives admissions preference to undergraduate applicants who are state residents. crs, we are in similar shoes. I am settled in central VT near my parents, with my spouse (no kids yet, but they're coming). I was born/raised here, left for about ten years after high school and came home for good just a few years ago. I'm also really excited about this, but at the same time, I am trying to lower my expectations because of how competitive this is. I do have previous medical experience; I'm an EMT and I've also volunteered in a local hospital. I'm not sure how much this will help me though given my grades. How about you all - medical experience? Have you taken all of the recommended courses or will you be in summer school with me (if we get in)?

NursingCAS was very slow for me, but I am guessing one factor in this might be that I applied later than most applicants. One very interesting point I wanted to raise is that this might be the last year UVM has the MEPN program as we know it. Consider this: - Beginning in 2015, all new NP's must have a doctoral level degree, the DNP. Everyone with an MSN who is already an NP at that point will be grandfathered in. - There are very few direct entry DNP programs; most require a BSN or MSN first. So the answer begs the question, what will this program look like for entering students over the next few years? If we all get in, we would be the class of 2014; the class after us would be the class of 2015, thus they would need DNP degrees to even be eligible for NP licensure. As far as I can see, our class would be the last to enter as MSN candidates for NP licensure. My guess/bet is that after this year, UVM will change the MEPN program to either a direct entry DNP program (doubtful, because of the length of time required to go directly to a DNP without any nursing experience, BUT this is being done by a few schools already), or, more likely, they will go the route of many other schools already and change the direct entry MSN program from NP to CNL track, so the entering classes after ours will be working towards a lower license than us (this is not criticism of CNL's, just a fact that they are not advanced practice nurses in the same sense as NP's). What I've seen so far is that many schools have already transitioned from direct entry NP to direct entry CNL since Clinical Nurse Leaders (CNL's) are essentially RN's and do not have the authority to prescribe, treat, practice autonomously, etc., that NP's have. CNL programs do not have the 2015 doctoral transition deadline that NP programs have, mainly because of the fact that CNL is a lower level of nursing practice. So, many schools are either eliminating their direct entry MSN program completely since anyone receiving an MSN beginning in 2015 will not be able to be a Nurse Practitioner without a DNP degree, OR they are replacing their direct entry nurse practitioner MSN with a direct entry clinical nurse leader MSN. My money is on UVM either eliminating their MEPN program completely after this year, or transitioning to the CNL focus. Either way, there will be major changes after this year and the class of 2014 will be the last UVM MEPN class to get their MSN's and still be able to get licensed as NP's. Everyone after this will either have to go CNL or have to get a DNP degree. What does this mean for us? Well, it means that if everyone realizes this, we could be facing increased competition regardless of the transition to NursingCAS because everyone wants to get on the train before it leaves the station - this is your last chance to go NP before you need a doctorate. Our entering class this fall will be the last one to graduate before that 2015 deadline, and thus the last MSN class to get grandfathered into NP licensure before the DNP degree is required. It also means that if you do get in this year, thank your lucky stars because you'll be part of the legacy class that marks the end of master's level educated NP's and everyone coming in after us is going to have to have more time in as an RN and a higher degree.