ukjenn231

It's a 3.0 automatically because they do not grade on a numeric or letter based system. Either you meet the requirements of the assignment or you don't. Then you pass and move on. So at the end you have met all the requirements and they give you a 3.0 GPA.

I echo the about comments about older nurses are going to be retiring over the next decade, so I don't think job opportunities will be difficult to come by. I work as an adjunct nursing instructor and I know several of my students had potential new grad positions already lined up before they graduated because they were working as techs at hospitals and were going to transition to RNs. After you get that experience under your belt, you can move around easily. My friends and I have no problem finding jobs anytime. It makes my husband, a business major, sick how easy I can find a new job if I want one :)

I just got accepted to a Nursing PhD program for the fall! I'm excited and scared to death! There's not much info to peruse out there on the Nursing PhD.... Just wondering if anyone else is doing this journey right now as well.

It's totally accredited, and becoming more well-known... I've seen the TV commercials now :) Instead of telling people why they should be concerned, just be confident and proud of your school work. When you graduate, list your degree with the graduation date. No one is really going to ask about the structure of the program if they haven't heard of it. I finished the MSN in Nursing Ed and I just got accepted to a PhD program at the University of South Florida. I was scared that my 3.0 GPA, P/F grades or the fact that I finished the program very quickly (3 months) would scare them off - but no questions asked.

I did a lot of research for online PhD programs. I found that Villanova and the University of Central Florida have programs that are mostly online - I think at UCF you have to go to Orlando two times a year? I am not sure if that is feasible, but those are other alternatives.

I was accepted to the University of South Florida's Nursing PhD program after receiving my MSN at WGU. I was also encouraged to apply for my PhD with my WGU MSN degree by advisors at the University of Central Florida, George Washington, and Villanova, among with countless DNP programs. I found that in terms of terminal degrees, the "whole package" is evaluated - goals, transcripts, GRE scores, resume, etc.

The asterisk indicates doctorate programs

Wanted to contribute my two cents to this debate... I finished my MSN at WGU in Education in less than 4 months. Although I never intended to, the MSN program inspired me to pursue a PhD. I love online learning, but I wanted to attend a somewhat more traditional school for the terminal degree, to help secure my future job possibilities. I applied to the University of South Florida, which is local to me. I was nervous they may question my flat pass fail 3.0 GPA, or the fact that my student mentor wrote a letter bragging about how I completed my degree "in record time." No questions asked - I sent my transcript, my personal statement, and I had to take the GRE. A few weeks later, I received an acceptance email! So don't despair - online degrees are more common, and competency based learning is acceptable. Prior to applying to USF, I had contacted other large universities, even George Washington and Villanova and asked them if my pass fail GPA would be an exclusion. Each school basically replied by saying no, it's not an exclusion, we evaluate the whole package.

I think it all depends on what you want to do. You should research the type of job you want and see what the desired qualifications are. In my experience, most places just want that check box for the degree. I was just accepted into a Nursing PhD program with no questions asked about my Master's at the University of South Florida.

Big congrats! It's a huge accomplishment!!

In the program, you have access to research databases and as part of the assignments, you will be looking into the evidence that exists already. You can pretty much determine on your own if you are finding a lot of results or not. The Capstone - for Education, you have to create education. It can be written, verbal, etc. It can be educating patients, staff, etc. I created written education and worked with a patient education nurse to have it formatted correctly for our institution. You write a paper and also do a verbal recording of a Power Point to turn into WGU. Good luck!

I just now am seeing this so sorry for the late reply, but I will answer for any future reference... I also don't put explicitly that I finished my degree in 4 months on my resume. I put "March 2017" because that's when I got it, and my BSN was in 09 so they probably would just assume. However, if anyone asks me, I will just tell them that I can balance working two jobs with 20-30 hours of school work a week, so I'm dedicated and efficient :) As far as the Doctorate question, I never really intended to pursue a doctorate but after I finished my MSN, I started considering it. I am applying for PhD programs this year. I asked a couple of schools if they had any objections to the Pass/Fail grading system I had at WGU, and the reply was no - they consider the whole application package. Especially for a PhD, a lot has to do with your research interests, GRE scores, personal statement, etc. There is a website that shows a list of schools that students report they got accepted to after attending WGU.

I recently finished the MSN-Ed at WGU. My tips: When you start the course, look at the rubric for the assessment first thing. Format your headings in your paper with the rubric headings so the evaluators can easily find your content. Pick topics that are interesting but also well-researched. If you pick a very narrow or new topic that lacks evidence, you will find yourself in a headache. Watch the pre-recorded cohorts. They often direct you on the assessment. Good luck!

Good luck! It was a great experience for me. Each class had me feeling like I could really do something - conduct research, change a policy, etc.

I just finished the MSN - Education focus this past week!! I did it very quickly (4 months) while working a full-time hospital job and a part time adjunct job. I credit a couple things for it to be possible for me to be so productive: 1. I have a procedure job and the schedule waxes and wanes. During times of low census, I would be able to work on school work at my desk. 2. I love to write and it is a strength of mine. I had no problem pushing out 20 page papers in a few days. I calculated a total of 250 pages worth of papers I wrote for this program. I know when I was thinking of enrolling, I did a lot of research to find out as much as possible about WGU and the program, so I wanted to contribute my experience. - It's not too good to be true. I was pleasantly surprised. Everyone I encountered along the way was professional. My student mentor who I talked with every week or two throughout the program was amazing! The course mentors, who are nurses with PhDs or DNPs, love to talk with the students and are decently easy to schedule a time with on the phone. The tech support, library staff, etc was easy to contact with questions. - One tip I have is just to be smart in your topic selection for papers and projects. We all want to save the world and solve a problem, but if you pick a topic that has not been researched much before, it's going to be time consuming. I made this mistake early in the program and struggled with finding adequate research to support my topic. After that, I found topics that I was interested in that were also well-supported by research. This saved me a lot of time and headache. - Talk to your student mentor about the capstone project early in the program. I wasn't sure what it would entail. Once I knew the expectations, I had that in the back of my head. While I was completing an assignment in an course earlier in the program, I identified an area of need at my institution and it turns out it was appropriate for my capstone project. It saved me time and energy when it came time for capstone! Ask me any questions if you're curious. Honestly, this program inspired me to continue my education and I'm going to start studying for the GRE in hopes of moving on to a PhD program :)