CARN2018

Hey guys! Thanks for the advice and words of encouragement. I received offers after both interviews and went with my gut and chose the NICU position. It's a level III NICU so I think it will be a great learning experience, regardless of where I head in my future nursing endeavors. :)

I totally realize these are preemptive questions. I understand that I would be EXTREMELY lucky to have both options on the table simultaneously. I was simply asking for some thoughts/opinions and in no way trying to offend anyone.

Hey everyone! I am a recent RN-BSN grad who passed the NCLEX in February. Currently, I am struggling with some choices that will be coming up soon regarding my first job as a new grad. I have two interviews scheduled, one for acute care night shift position (Level III NICU) and one in public health in the maternal/childhood department. While many new grads would probably want to slap me for even writing this post, I am torn between the two positions. During nursing school, I found myself more and more disheartened by the inpatient setting. Almost every nurse I met seemed upset, burnt out and spoke of moving on to bigger and better things. This is understandable since the workload placed on bedside nurses is absolutely nuts. While the NICU would be an amazing opportunity for a new grad, there are many things about public health that really interest me. I found a new love and appreciation for preventative care and patient education in school and public health really focuses in on that. My long term goal is to someday go back to school and become a FNP and work in the outpatient setting. I have no interest in working in the acute care setting as a FNP. My long-winded question is are there any FNP's out there who worked solely in public health before becoming a FNP? There is this stigma associated with nurses who never step foot in a hospital after they are licensed and I would love to get everyone's thoughts and opinions!

Hey guys! There doesn't seem to be a thread yet for the UCD new grad program (application opened today) so I thought I would start it. I filled out the application today and it seemed very basic in terms of new grad apps (no place to request certain units) and I was a little worried about the document attachment section. In the beginning of the application there is a page to attach our one document resume with all the necessary materials (resume, transcripts, cover letter, etc). I attached a PDF, and it said it successfully attached, but there is no way to go back and review the upload so of course i'm stressing over whether it was really attached! :) If anyone else wants to chime in with their experience I would be grateful. And good luck everyone!

5W Peds & Perinatal! Good luck everyone. :)

Thanks to whoever made this thread! I was searching all morning for the application, glad to know its just been postponed. :)

CaRT2RN, I think you can totally manage WGU. Many of my cohort members have children and even work full time, so I think you could manage with the per diem position. I work a per diem position as well and it is entirely manageable. The clinicals do not occur every week, which is also nice. Rather, they are held approximately every 3 months for a 2-3 week period. For example, my last clinical rotation was in the beginning of June and lasted two weeks (5 shifts total, 12 hours each). My next one begins tomorrow and will last 3 weeks (8 shifts total, 12 hours each). It is hectic while clinicals are occurring, but after, you have ample free time again for studying, kids, work, etc. Let me know if you have any more questions. And more importantly, congratulations on your acceptance!

I know the struggle you are going through right now. Everyone in my cohort was very stressed out about the possibility of not moving on in the program. My advice is to make sure that you make on time progress with all the courses. I believe I finished the coursework early to really demonstrate to my mentor that I was ready to go. The skills test is very basic and you should have no problem nailing it.

It's really hard to summarize all the pros and cons of the program, but i'll give you my condensed version. :) Pros: Flexibility. I would say this is one of the major draws students have to WGU. The program really gives students an opportunity to continue working while in school since clinicals are clustered every three months for a 2 week period rather than being held every single week like traditional programs. You can also look at this as an opportunity to build a relationship with a hospital while you are in nursing school so that finding employment after graduation is not as difficult. I work as a monitor tech in a telemetry unit and the hospital happens to have a new nurse residency program so i'm crossing my fingers that I can transition over to an RN position upon graduation. Cost. This program is hands down the most affordable BSN program out there, at least that I have seen. I was accepted into a different program but the costs were going to exceed 40,000 and since I already had a B.S. from a previous school, I would have been forced to take out private loans to finance the other 25,000 of that degree. Individualized.When WGU students attend clinicals, they work one on one with another nurse on the floor for the full 12 hour shift. One nursing student to one nurse. I know many programs do not run like this and rather a group of students all hover around one nurse, which would make it pretty difficult to get involved if you were hesitant or shy. I feel like I have gained really valuable insight on the entire working day of a RN because of the clinical set up. Cons: No GPA (sort of):WGU awards class credit based on competency units rather than traditional GPA units. This part was very hard for me to get over and I still struggle with it. I was a high-performing student in my previous degree, and if WGU's competency units are "converted" into GPA units, it equals a flat 3.0. I hate the idea of only having a 3.0 in my BSN work. If you plan on stopping at the BSN, it really isn't much of an issue since the program is 100% accredited, you will find employment as a nurse. However, if you want to move on to higher degrees such as NP, it is still up in the air as to which universities would find a WGU degree competitive enough to enter their program. It's pretty much a case by case basis. I am fairly certain I want to advance as a nurse practitioner in my future, so this is why the GPA debate weighs heavily on me. Testing/Coursework: People are going to think this sounds nuts, because all you hear about is how difficult nursing programs are, but our courses are fairly easy to pass (in my opinion). There is only one cumulative exam for each class rather than having midterms and finals etc. and while I feel like I have learned an enormous deal so far, from time to time I panic about not being "put through the ringer" so to speak when it comes to the academics. I hope that makes sense. :) All in all, I am satisfied with the education I am receiving through WGU. Their support system is fantastic (mentors, student advisers, lab instructors) and really goes above and beyond for students. It's amazingly affordable. Only time will tell if the program has prepared me enough for the deep end of nursing! Let me know if you have any other questions. (Just for reference, I have about a year 1/2 to go).

Sweetgem, it was an 89.3% (taken in 2014)

Hey there! So for me the process was pretty easy and straightforward. If you are asking about how competitive the program is, I believe it is fairly hard to get into the California programs, just because space is so limited. My cohort only has 12 students and I believe most the cohort sizes are similar to ours. I was accepted the first time I applied, but I had a previous degree, work experience and very good grades in my pre-requisite courses so that probably aided in the acceptance. WGU seems to look at a variety of factors when accepting students. If you have any other questions I would be happy to answer them.

Hey everyone! I am currently in the second semester (currently in CASAL II) of WGU's pre-licensure BSN program in California. I wanted to start this post so that we could hear from some students who have completed the pre-licensure program and are currently working as nurses. Lately, I have been stressing over how well prepared I will be when I complete the program. So, for students who have completed the program, how well prepared did you feel after graduation? Did you feel as though WGU as a whole prepared you adequately to work as a beside RN? Don't get me wrong, I am loving most aspects of WGU, it's just helpful to hear from others who have made it to the conclusion of their experience!

Hey guys! I was accepted into the July 1st OC cohort in California. So far I really like the experience at WGU. I received a B.S. previously at Cal Poly SLO and while that experience was amazing, four years was enough time spent at a brick and mortar for me. I'm still a bit nervous about the nursing skills test but i'll cross that bridge when I get there. If anyone has any questions about the pre-licensure program feel free to send me a message!

UC Davis in Sacramento has a new grad program. Pay is very competitive (~48/hour) during the residency and the UC Davis system is fantastic.

Hello everyone! I just received the official acceptance email from CSUSM for the Summer 2015 term in Temecula and did not see a thread started yet for this cohort. Feel free to post! I can't wait till we get a bunch of people on here so we can sifting through all of this together! :)

Hello everyone! This is my first post here on all nurses. I was recently accepted into the ABSN program at CSU San Marcos (hooray!!). While I am filled with excitement and gratification, I am also filled with some apprehension when it comes to the financing of this endeavor. When completing my original undergraduate degree, I was lucky enough to exit school debt free with zero student loans. Because of this, I was under the impression that my undergraduate cap (roughly $45,000) remained intact to this day and that I could utilize that to take out student loans for this degree. And then I did what everyone does to ease their panic, I went to the internet. Basically, it is ALL over the board. Some posters stating you cannot get any loans and others saying their entire education (ABSN) is covered by student loans. Does anyone have some clear insight on this topic?