relizabeth

For most semesters you get your information about 4 days before you are required to select classes/placement. You should expect that this program will be a little later in doing things than you are typically used to from your first degree. Part of that is because of the difficulty in finding enough clinical spots. Not sure why your prep semester would be delayed lol.

I will list the jobs I was offered in order that they happened :) First I was offered a casual position with temporary full time on a medical telemetry unit. However this was quite far from where I live and I would have had to move for it. Then I was offered a one year temporary full time position on a medical floor that was a commutable distance from where I live in a smaller town. Finally I was offered a new graduate job in a cardiac ICU/step down unit which I have accepted and will be starting very soon. The best thing to try and do is get a job on your pregrad unit! But that doesn't always work out.

Hey annapk, Sorry I am late responding to this! I just wrote the NCLEX yesterday so I had sequestered myself to study for the last little while. I'm not comfortable naming specific hospitals and such on the internet. However, many of my peers have encountered the same issues at various hospitals in the GTA. It really depends on the hospital and what their staffing and costs are like. I don't think there is much of a way to predict that ahead of time, and you don't really get THAT much choice as to where you go anyway. For the prep semester I had to take anatomy, micro, and patho. I love the science courses and they're mostly memorization that leads to comprehension. Getting a really good foundation in those classes (especially anatomy and patho) will help you with all of the diseases you will continue to learn about. Patho can be the hardest because they expect you to already know about the physiology, which you may not if you're taking anatomy at the same time. Really I just went to every class and then rewrote my notes out after the classes into my own note style (that's just how I prefer to study). Going over them after class or at the end of a week like that helps to firm up the knowledge in your mind that you learned in class. I also had a friend that I studied with for exams. We would do our own studying for a while and then we would meet up and review all the content together and do some teaching/questions/etc. In one of the study rooms at the library (those are great, you just have to book them online and it will be a quiet space to study with someone on campus). I did not find the semester that hard. However, I studied a lot and had already taken a full year anatomy course, and a principles of disease course, and some other related science courses that helped me. Most people made it through the prep semester and as long as you study a lot you should too! From my professor that I still keep in contact with (if she is still teaching complex when you have it you will be lucky!) the students in the second summer of the program are STRUGGLING hard right now because of how they changed the program to make it even more compressed. So just making sure you're developing really good study habits now is important to protect you when **** hits the fan after the prep semester!

Due to the fear I had of not getting a job (since I didn't get one from my pregrad, my hospital wasn't hiring at all, only laying off) and my 2 degree debt looming over me I started applying for jobs back in March. I think I applied for over 70 jobs, 37 of which were new grad jobs. The problem with new grad jobs is they have to post them, but they typically offer them to the students who were on their units for pregrad. Anyway, I got 3 interviews, and studied my butt off for them, and was offered 3 different jobs. I start working in July, but no I haven't written the NCLEX yet. I am weak and afraid and keep delaying it haha. A few of my friends who were on the dean's list with me have written it and passed in 75 questions so I hope I do the same ! I did manage to get a new graduate job in critical care so I'm very happy about my hard work paying off. Being in an ICU for my pregrad and taking an arrhythmias course and my ACLS gave me an edge over some of my peers. Not many of my classmates have jobs. The market is tough right now. Anyone on AN will tell you that. So when you're applying for jobs after school, make sure you have good references (your past instructors, teachers, preceptor, etc.) and apply for everything, not just the specific hospital and unit you want. That was some of the really great advice I got from long time members of AN and that I'm giving to everyone else as well.

The teacher for patho is AMAZING! Hands down my favourite professor I've ever had in either of my degrees. Go to that class and study his notes and you will do fine. It is a lot of content and memorization but he is a great teacher and writes some really funny exam questions. I got an A+ (>90) in both of the patho classes (you take another one later on in the program).

I have heard about people at Durham and at Trent having a really hard time with placements (but those are the only other two schools I know people who attended). I never had a problem with placements and always got my first choice for the most part. However I never really picked DT hospitals since I was living on campus and that commute is brutal first thing in the morning. They only let a certain number of 2nd entry students into each clinical spot once you've joined up with the 3rd year students (there were generally 2 in my groups). Humber is a lot better than other schools because you do get a choice with clinicals, even if you really only find out 3 days before you have to pick haha. No one I know ever ended up in a situation where they didn't have a clinical, and you were always able to swap with other people if it came down to it.

I am not really sure about how rural or northern nursing compares, because while some of the places I applied to were considered rural, they are still close to some bigger cities. Northern Ontario I imagine you would do well, or in some of the really rural places. But that's not something I have any experience with and you would have to look into some of the other discussion boards that talk about rural/northern nursing.

I think it's kind of hard to rate the difficulty or the program since I didn't take any other nursing programs besides this. My first degree was a BSc. which helped a lot, and I didn't have to take the first semester stats or psych (thank god). That first semester when you have to get a 74 minimum average was probably the most stressful since it felt like a really high average. I actually did amazingly well that first semester because I studied so much out of fear (like...94% average haha). However, I know of a few people who failed out after that semester so you really do have to take it seriously and study a lot. As far as the nursing program classes went, I found them relatively easy for the most part. However, you guys are in the 2.5 year program instead of the 3 year program I did (I was the last year for that extra semester joy). So some things may end up being a little more stressful because of the time crunch. The courses in the summer that are rushed through in like a month were tough (I believe young families and pharm were the two I had like that and you can get behind really easily if you let yourself). Acute and complex are the two courses that the majority of people struggled with (3 and 4th year classes for the regular stream). I believe over 50 people failed acute when I was in it, and it is my lowest grade in the program. Most of that is due to the testing style they have tried to put into effect (making it more like NCLEX questions) and the fact that it often was on stuff you didn't learn in class and were somehow just expected to have known or read randomly somewhere. The placements are the best part by far. You learn the most in placements, and you finally make those connections between classroom information and real life situations. I was lucky and liked most of my instructors and peers when I was in clinical. Some people had some really awful experiences. It just depends on who you have and how your personalities and learning styles mesh. The last 3 placements are the ones that mean the most (the last two med-surg types and then pregrad). Those instructors/preceptors are also the ones that you will use for references when applying for jobs after graduation. At first I would have said no about recommending the program. It is super disorganized (as you are about to find out haha). However, one of my friends from my first degree was doing her 2nd entry program at Trent and that made me realize how much better our placement opportunities are then there's. She knew people who had to go to Oshawa or places like that for placements because Peterborough is limited in what they can offer. And her program is just as disorganized. So the fact that we have access to Toronto hospitals is really great. The DT schools will get first choice, but I know lots of people who were in those big hospitals. I know a bunch of girls who did placement or pregrad at sick kids. In the end it doesn't really matter where you've done your degree, it matters how you make the most of it. Doing well in clinical and making connections with your instructors/teachers is really important. In my interviews no one has even really known where Humber/UNB is. They ask if I'm from New Brunswick. It hasn't stopped them from hiring me because I have the degree, I have good references, and I was able to do a really great pregrad (Humber letting you have an input on your pregrad is a big deal, some schools have no say on where they go). So that was long and probably not organized well haha, but oh well. Humber/UNB will give you the degree and clinical experience you need to get a job. Just as well as the majority of nursing schools out there, and with access to Toronto and Mississauga hospitals.

Not good. As I'm sure you will see if you browse through the site and talk with any of the long time members of allnurses, the whole "nursing shortage" seems to have been a bit of a lie that was sold to us. I am one of the few people in my graduating class who has a job, and most of them got theirs from pregrad. That said, I don't know what the market will be like in 2-3 years. What I learned (and was encouraged to do by the members of AN) was to apply to everything. You can't be super picky as a new grad with no experience. So I applied to any job that was within an hour commute of me, especially in smaller town, and on floors that maybe weren't what I REALLY wanted to do. A lot of my peers haven't quite realized how tough the market is yet and are getting disheartened because they have applied for 10 jobs and haven't heard anything back. I applied for over 70 I believe, and I got 3 interviews from that and then 3 job offers. Do well in school, and take some extra classes if you can. I took an arrhythmias course and my ACLS during pregrad and it definitely gave me a bit of an edge. Also make sure you develop good relationships with clinical instructors if you can. They will be the best references you can have (and you will need a few after graduating).

Hey everyone, I didn't see this discussion board! I just graduated from the Humber/UNB 2nd Entry Program and I know when I had first got accepted I wanted to know a lot about it. If anyone has questions about the program I'd be more than happy to answer them :)! And congrats on the start of your journey to becoming nurses!

Hey everyone, I just graduated from the Humber/UNB 2nd Entry program. If anyway has any questions about the program I'd be more than happy to answer them :).

I have actually accepted a job in BC recently. I'm going by myself for now, and I'm really excited about the job. They seem to have quite a good set up for preparing new grads to transition into "real" nurses. The boyfriend is looking for a job there and hopefully finds one eventually.

I am indeed sending out cover letters with each resume.

I totally understand that. We are going to get married. We've talked about it, we've looked at rings, we're getting ready to buy a house, etc. Otherwise I wouldn't be planning my life with him.

I have been applying to non-NGG jobs as well. Although I haven't submitted my resume when there are no jobs posted except to my hospital and one other one.