lisapett42

I was an english lit major and had a Master's in Public Health and 4 years healthcare work experience but don't let that scare you because most people didn't have ANY work experience or had majors that weren't science at all. I still don't know how they make their choices because we were all so different. They do want to make sure that you can keep up with the science portion of the program so you need to be strong or moderate in science at least. THe program is good overall. I can't answer the questions about when we have classes because every quarter is different. In the beginning you basically live at school and take classes and study. Then you start doing clinicals and aren't at school much but are at the hospitals more. Then, next quarter, we do immersion and we don't have classes at all. We just get assigned to one nurse in our specialty of choice and we go to all of his/her scheduled work days and basically do everything with them. The strengths are that it is a UCLA degree, you finish with a Master's and that is good because hospitals are NOT hiring nursing grads with associates anymore basically because of Magnet recommendations. Negatives is that we tend to be on the lower side of amt of clinical hours compared to other schools which really sucks because that is where you learn! They also really drill the whole CNL thing into the workload which is a little rough since most hospitals don't utilize CNLs. Also, graduating as a new nurse with a master's degree will be hard when we first start working because you might get flack from experienced nurses who don't have master's degrees since you aren't experienced but have an advanced degree. THat's the biggest thing I am worried about...but after the initial year or so, it will be able to be put to use as we move up the clinical ladder. Some people do student research work and some people work as CNAs at hospitals. The first quarter is hard but also, they COMPLETELY changed all the schedules and classes this year so the 1st year MECNs have a totally different schedule than we did so you might need to ask some of them at orientation.

I'm a 2nd year MECN in this program and finishing up my last quarter of classes and clinicals! Good luck to everyone. I remember being in your shoes awaiting news and I feel for all of you. Don't worry, you will know soon.

Yes Niko! Haha. I was tryin to find that number. We have more immersion hours than most schools and that is really important because that is when you are really at the end of your schooling and putting everything into practice. They really stress that nurese have to be critical thinkers, and in order to critically think, you need knowledge. The clinical skills all come with practice and you will get plenty of that. But you need to be able to critically think on the floor and for this you really need to understand the science and art behind the nursing practice...not just how to put in IVs and administer meds. You will do plenty of that, but once you know how, you know how. UCLA really evolves your way of looking at nursing through individual and systems levels. I would highly suggest it. And now I am headed to Veteran's Hospital in LA...another place where they LOVE MECNS AND CNLs!!!

I am a first year MECN and to go along with Incudal (who are you??) I agree. I love the program. It is really time consuming but worth it. I am glad that we don't have clinicals right away so that we can learn assessment and the basics before we start practicing. We start clinicals in April and do them for a year straight then do an immersion into our selected field for the last quarter. We have alot of clinical time, actually more than most programs out there, so you shouldn't worry about that. As far as I know, most of the MECNs that graduated last year are working as of now. I am not sure about numbers but it sounds like everyone finds jobs. All of the 2nd years area applying now so we will see how they do. I think UCLA prepares you well for working in the field from what I've heard. I also know that some hospitals prefer UCLA students and love to hire them. Additionally, you have to remember that you are receiving a MASTER's degree in this program. It is more intense than the accelerated bachelor programs out there but totally worth it if you are looking to may more money, move up in the administrative field, teach, go on for an APN, etc. Weigh your options. I didn't apply to any A-BSN programs because I wanted my MSN as I know magnet hospitals tend to lean towards hiring more and more MSNs.

We always were 60 but they just rose it to 90 and lowered their #'s for associates bc hospitals are hiring less and less ASNs and more MSNs. Great news for you guys.

FYI...in case you guys didn't know. They are letting in 90 MECN's to the Fall 2012 class (instead of the usual 60) so that's good! I'm a MECN now and we received emails from the Dean letting us know. Plus they let in about 25 people from waitlist so your chances are way better than ours were (60 were let in out of over 600!)

@AuntySam We have a plethora of backgrounds from people who have worked in healthcare for a long time to people with no experience whatsoever. That is not the deciding factor so do not worry. They want well rounded individuals who don't just have great GPAs or just healthcare experience. We are all different ages, some of our class is right out of college, some mid to late 20s, a bunch of us in our 30s and a handful of even older people. We have a good amount of men (probably 15) and I believe it grows each year. I myself was waitlisted and I got in. I had a decent undergrad GPA, a very high GPA for my other Master's (Master's of Public Health), a ton of volunteer experience, and had been working in hospitals and healthcare management for four years along with a ton of volunteer experience. They told me the waitlist was because they only look at your undergrad PREREQ GPA and mine was about 3.3 (I partied a little too hard 10 years ago in college) but my undergrad GPA all together was 3.7 sothe PREREQ GPA it was a little lower than those who were accepted straight away but all of the other stuff helped me. It's not just about a great GPA or a ton of healthcare experience. They are looking for individuals with passion and drive. I honestly sympathize with your eagerness and anxiety. I basically harrassed my mailman everyday for months. However, I believe they went to like #27 on the waitlist bc alot of people are also accepted at other Programs that may have been their first choices. And once you get it, it doesn't matter how you got in! So do not worry. God willing you get in, it is worth every minute of the anxiety that you are experiencing now. Also, don't worry if you still have prereqs to take. I still had 3 when I applied and they just wanted to see my transcripts from those as I went along. But do try to get As in those as you take them to show that you are ready and can handle the type of work. Any questions at all, I would love to help out. Lisa

Hey everyone, I'm a first year MECN and I remember being on this page last year when I was waiting to hear from UCLA! You definately won't hear from them until at least March but more like end of March so just enjoy yourselves and try not to worry or stress....cause trust me, you will have MORE THAN your fair share of stress when you enter the program. Good luck everyone! It's a blast. We get to give flu shots our first quarter and do all these cool health fairs and really dive right in!

HI Miko! I have a Master's in Epidemiology so I don't need the prereq haha. I actually loved Epi and that class is really interesting. However, my Physiology/Anatomy class at UCLA only counted for Anatomy so I am taking Physiology again online. I have never done online but figured I would try it out. I will go to the facebook page too!!

HI everyone! I am in as well!!!! I have lived in Santa Monica for 7 years and am a UCLA alum so if anyone is moving here and has questions, feel free to ask me!!! I am so excited to meet you all!!! We should plan a meet up sometime so we can all celebrate together!

Hi Everyone! I just got the call from Jessica! I got in off the wait list. I was number 12. So they are still calling people today! I can't wait to meet all of you very soon. I have lived in Santa Monica for 7 years and I am a UCLA alum so if anyone is moving here and has questions, I would be more than happy to help!!! Good luck to everyone on WL. I am sure there will be more calls today!!!

Thanks Aussie!!! God, that might even be worse. I am next but what if they are done?!?! I'm going to go have a drink and not think about it... Fingers crossed for everyone on the wait list!!! I am hoping that if they already got to 11 and today was the deadline, then they will hopefully have a few others that chose other schools as well! I will let you all know if I find out anytime soon. :)

Jesus Lord, I am number 12! This is worse than waiting for the mail!!!!!

Out of curiosity, did anyone get accepted to UCLA and choose to go to a different school instead? Anyone else get accepted from the waitlist? Anyone on the waitlist choose a different school instead, if so what number were you? Obviously, I am on the waitlist as well. :)

hey all, i am on the waitlist too and i emailed jessica hudson to ask when the waitlisted people will here if they got in (if any do). she said that last year, they went up to number 21 so that is great news but who knows this year? here was her reply as far as when we might hear some news. "the admitted applicants have until the 18th to accept their offers, so we will be sending out some waitlist offers on the 19th (if there are any). hope this helps!"