cloucel

I can't speak to the quality of the program. The online degrees at UCSF are just to make money to essentially fund the live attendance programs. If you want to do the APPHN-CNS, there is a global health fellowship that is worth pursuing, you may also be able to do it with the online programs, I'm not sure. I've heard excellent things about the GHF program as it is an interdisciplinary program with the other schools of medicine and pharmacy. You can do more international work with them and I wish I had thought about pursuing that more, but I'm finally at a job where I feel that I do community work that makes a difference. You may look into Berkeley's MPH program because I believe they have a connection to UCSF as well...

I just wanted to update everyone that I ended up leaving my job at the well-paid university well-funded hospital after working for 10 months there as an employee and 6 months as a graduate student nurse. I left and went to a different non-profilt FQHC clinic as a Clinic Nurse Manager for a Spanish-speaking population. I still ended up with the big paycut, but I have to say that I am personally much happier and my acne cleared up, I have a 4 mile/15-minute drive to work, I get to use my Spanish all day long, I truly enjoy what I do, the patients are appreciative, I see all age ranges, the mission is very closely aligned to my personal beliefs about healthcare, and I landed in a place where I can learn and grow. Financially, I've cut back on alot of entertainment, going out to eat, buying clothes and stuff like that but it's ok, I have enough of what I need. It's worth getting to spend an extra hour in bed because I don't have a 3-hour commute each day (both ways).

I'm planning to start working on my portfolio. I'm quite a unique case as I have a generic MSN (with the 3 P's in case I want to get further certificates) and MPH, so I qualify via a non-traditional route. I did ask if they would refund the fee if I didn't qualify for the portfolio and they said all but a small processing fee would be returned if I ended up not qualifying this route. I live in California and the public health CNS does not qualify via this 3rd method. It only qualifies with certain school programs who have a relationship with the BRN if you've completed the entire APHN-CNS curriculum and not partial like I have. If anyone has done this, I would love to hear how they did it.

Update: I applied for an adult staff nurse position at a community clinic that is 17 miles from my home or a 30 minute commute by car on Friday. By Wednesday I got an interview, Thursday afternoon I got an offer for 32-40 hours/week. It is a 25% pay cut but within a FQHC. The population is mixed so I won't get to use my language skills as much. But it will be hands on. I won't get to see children or as much women's health but I will get to see chronic disease. This job will allow for me to start an FNP weekend program and a weekday clinical. It's a 8-5 pm job like the one I have now. The team is great but so is the one I have now. I don't love the content of my current job but I could see myself enjoying doing a lot of wound care, diabetes education, and INR/PTT. I've always wanted to be a diabetes educator and wound care specialist. This is my opportunity. The only problem is that I've only been at my current job 7 months and was asked to stay 2 years. I'm so desperately afraid of telling my boss as we are already short handed. The last time someone quit she didn't speak to them the rest of their 3 weeks there. Any advice on how to best tell her? And if this would be a good job to take if I want to be FNP?

Dear Nurses, I recently graduated in September 2014 from a top nursing program with an MS in Nursing. I did my residency at a prestigious pediatric hospital and was offered a position there in June. I initially turned it down to do a primary care fellowship for 3 months in another state, which I really enjoyed. They hired someone who left after 4 months because she couldn't handle the job. They offered me the position again and I had gotten into a post-master's PNP program at my same university. I couldn't do both so I had to make a choice. I chose the job (without considering other jobs) and have been here since September 2014. My co-workers are very nice and supportive, I couldn't ask for a better group of co-workers. I commute 90 minutes for this position via train/drive/shuttle. The position is benefitted but 32 hours a week with 1 day alternating off a week. The pay and benefits are great. However, I am so unsatified. I don't work directly with patients except during clinic 1 morning/week where I check about 15 of them out from their appointments for 2-3 minutes. 85% of my job is on EPIC triaging, chart reviews, care coordination, referrals, guiding the schedulers on scheduling, etc. I've always had a heart for working with the underserved and while a good third of our patients are underserved, I don't get to spend much time with them. I have an offer at a county pediatric clinic working per diem 26 hours/ week evenings and weekends, which will turn into a benefited half-time position in July. I want to return back to school for my FNP and this schedule would fit that. It's also a position that is only 20 miles from where I live instead of 35 like my current job. I'm worried about moving from a "good" job into a worse situation. Financially, we would survive, but I would also lose my benefits and a 20% paycut and work fewer hours during optimal time to be with friends/husband. I'm also concerned about my manager who is a very tough person and would be extremely upset as one of our admin assistants left and she did not talk to him for the last 3 weeks! The job I have now is doable and pleasant, but I want to use more of my clinical skills versus my computer skills. My husband is tired of my indecisiveness and wants me to just stay at one place so I'm also taking his needs into account. I'm wondering if I should take this per diem job in hopes that that I'll enjoy it more despite the pay cut and that I will be able to return to school to which I am currently applying to an FNP program. Any opinions or advice would be greatly appreciated.

My program placed a high emphasis on speaking an in demand 2nd language like Spanish or Cantonese, personal statements, letters of recommendations, international volunteer work, and leadership skills. Try working on those aspects and that can make you attractive a a candidate because they can place you in a variety of clinical placements.

I never did the specialty. I graduated with a General Nursing MS because the APPHN was so similar to my MPH, I decided that it was not worth pursuing. I know that several of the students who started out in that program eventually went the route I did. The few who stayed enjoyed their program, but there are no APPHN jobs and the nurses that I know that graduated don't work in Public Health either. Also, none of the faculty are nationally certified as APPHN. I was honestly disappointed with the program and school in general. They aren't very supportive of students on several levels and there is constant flux within the faculty, disorganized with classes, and are moving more towards online learning, which is disappointing for the large sum that you pay to attend a "prestigious" university like UCSF. I'd save my money and go to SFSU, which has a more flexible schedule and I've heard is very supportive of students.

Not sure if this is a true, but I'm a MS student at UCSF and a professor of mine said today that she heard UCSFMC wasn't doing a new Grad RN program this year, but that may have changed. ***staff edit: per ToS please do not post names if school personnel****

The specialty at UCSF is now called APPHN, they dropped the Global Health Component as a foundation of the program, but you can minor in Global Health and UCSF has an MPH program through the Global Health Sciences Program Masters Program | Global Health Sciences but you apply separately (it's nearly the same as the APPHN, coming from someone who has an MPH already). I doubt it's the only one of its kind emswan, you can probably google it. Apparently ranks in the top 4 in the country according to US News UCSF Ranks Among Nation's Best Medical, Nursing Schools | ucsf.edu.

ACHIN is no longer offered at UCSF. It is now Advanced Practice Public Health Nursing because of the lack of international residencies. A Master's in Public Health Nursing (MS degree at UCSF not an MSN) is offered at many schools. I can think of John Hopkins and many others. I think with the economy, job opportunities are not very good but better if you work in rural areas. You can also do much of public health nursing positions with an MPH + RN. If you have an MPH you won't need the PHN Masters. This program does not provide clinical skills or patient contact so if you want that go for an NP program. This program is more focused on grant writing, program management, administration, and research.

Thank you, I really appreciate that perspective. I also have an interest in health disparities and hope to work in that once I graduate (a long time from now). Did you ever do the Mexico mult-school summer trip to Cuernavaca? It seems like the only opportunity to travel in the program. Would you say that there are any opportunities one should especially look at?

I think that's good advice. What I meant by MEPNs being different from the MSN students is that MEPNs aren't nurses yet and dont' have the experience that BSNs have coming into the MSN program. They also come from a variety of backgrounds like engineering, public health, biology, social work, etc. So that what they look for in a MEPN candidate as reflected in my interview questions has a lot of to do with what you know about being a nurse, why you want to be a nurse, community work, volunteering, and passion for serving. Can I ask what experiences brought you to ACHIN? What type of international work or teaching did you do? What type of advice would you give for incoming ACHIN students to succeed? Anything to take advantage of or to not worry so much about? Do you know about the scrubs sale and when it happens?

I'm a MEPN. I don't know what advice to make you stand out because MEPNs are such a different category of people from the MSN students. Everyone of the MEPNs has a very unique profile. My best advice is go to the information session, meet the professors, ask a ton of questions, and do a ton of research of former students, current students.

Hello, I am a recently accepted student to UCSF for the ACHIN program. I haven't met too many other Advanced Community or International Health Nurses and I was wondering if you're out there, what you do, how you got into this specialty, and any interesting things?