Miffy

Hey everyone, I just came on to vent a little bit, and see if other people are feeling the same way. I'm currently nearing the end of my second to last semester of NP school and find it very hard just getting through. Commute to clinical is an hour to 2 hours one way, depending on my placement. When I am at my placement, I feel overwhelmed. I feel like I have no idea what I am doing, and it scares me. I hate knowing that I don't know as much as a I should know to take care of patients properly. It gives me intense anxiety and keeps me up at night. Knowing that lives are in my hands when I feel inadequate is tough. My courses don't have textbooks and my professors are unapproachable, which makes me feel even more like I don't have any clue what I am doing. Unfortunately, I feel very alone in my experience, and like no one understands. My health seems to be suffering from all the worry and stress I feel. My BP has been pre-hypertensive and I've seen a massive weight gain since starting my program. I haven't really connected with my classmates, which also makes it hard since I feel I lack support. Most days, I really question my decision to become an NP. Does anyone else feel this way? I really hope it gets better when graduating, but without the support of preceptors in the real world, I think I may have even more anxiety than I do now.

As a current Regis student, I would highly encourage that you look elsewhere. They are also just piloting the online program, and I wouldn't want to be the guinea pig for that, given how disorganized Regis is at baseline. I am almost done with the FNP program (will be finished in May), but I really wish I had gone elsewhere. I would never recommend Regis to anyone.

I currently have a preceptorship experience in a school clinic, and my preceptor and I wear business casual. At a clinical placement I previously had during undergrad, the school nurse also wore business casual.

I really wouldn't recommend Regis College. As BostonFNP stated, BC, MGHIHP, and Simmons are all top tier schools who provide an excellent education.

I used to have a similar attitude until a recent health issue caused me to gain a substantial amount of weight. Despite eating healthy and working out 5 times a week, I am overweight. I used to look at people who were overweight and assume that they were unhealthy, that maybe they didn't eat right, or maybe they didn't work out. I have learned now to never judge a book by its cover. Although last year I was perfectly thin, people look at me now and judge me. They assume I must be doing something wrong, and I hate that. Being overweight doesn't necessarily mean the person is unhealthy, just as being thin doesn't mean a person is healthy. Weight is not the sole indicator of a person's lifestyle, so I don't think we have the right to judge nurses for how much they weigh.

This is definitely dependent on your area. I know in the area I live in, most hospitals are requiring a BSN for new hires (I live in large metro area in the Northeast). If you don't mind working outside of the hospital setting (such as an LTC setting), then getting your BSN first doesn't matter as much.

I'm actually in an accelerated NP program and we took our NCLEX after finishing our fourth semester, even though we are only awarded the BSN after completion of the fifth semester.

I will go ahead and send you a private message. :)

I would really suggest getting an RN. An LVN has a more limited scope of practice, and you will find far more opportunities as an RN as opposed to an LVN.

Thank you both very much for your input! I am still a ways out from graduating, but I will definitely take this into consideration. I figured it might be a "who you know" type of situation, unfortunately. I visited Phoenix last month and I loved the warm weather, beautiful mountains, nice people, and affordable homes. The job market where I am is great but unfortunately the cost of living is astronomically high. I will take arc1's suggestion and look into the Air Force base. :)

So even though I am currently In NP school, I would strongly encourage you to go to PA school. I'm currently writing a research proposal for my nursing research class, and doing a concept analysis for my nursing theory class. -__- I feel that both of these classes have ZERO applicability to my practice. The NP curriculum is full on fluff and lacks in science. Although you will not be able to practice independently, I see more value in the PA curriculum and degree, and see many more job opportunities (atleast in my area) for PAs vs NPs. Best of luck in your journey!

Hey yo_yosh1! It appears you are right! They used to charge full tuition per semester but starting next year will be charging based on credits taken. The cost per credit hour is now posted on the website. Lucky for you, this will probably save you a lot of money!

I would hate to see you make a decision based on incorrect information given to you. GM students are charged the regular tuition rate for the fall and spring semester, and are charged by credit hours in the summer. The tuition goes up by about 1,000 per semester each year. Sometimes the admission counsellors don't mean to, but give out incorrect info regarding financing your education.

I currently live in the Northeast and will be finishing up my FNP in May of next year. I was wondering what the outlook was for new grad NPs in the Phoenix area at this time. I would really like to move to a warmer climate and experience a new city. If anyone has any input I would really appreciate it.

If I recall correctly, I think I ended up getting my letter at the beginning of March, but it was through the mail so I don't remember exactly how long it was between the interview and the letter I received. Do not worry about having outstanding prereqs, I actually had three of them and I was still allowed in. The program is good overall, though it has its flaws. Be prepared to take the initiative yourself to learn the material (though I have been told by others that this is common of all grad schools). Some professors are certainly better and kinder than others. The one thing I will sing praises on is the clinical placements. Students are placed at some of the best hospitals in the area. Personally, I had the privilege of being placed at Brigham and Women's Hospital for 3 of my different rotations, and it was an amazing experience. I also will say that most of my clinical instructors were excellent, and you will find that the professors in the nursing lab are supportive and very nice. My issue comes with some of the lecture professors, but I am sure you will find that nearly everywhere. Right now I just started the Nurse Practitioner portion of the program, and one thing I will say is that I am terrified about finding my preceptorships. Please be aware that although the preceptorship placement is listed as a "collaborative process", you should be prepared to find your own. Unfortunately I am still studying for the NCLEX right now, but I will start searching very soon. One other issue I have with Regis is the administrative side of things. You will find many administrators to be unkind, and downright abrasive at times. Also, many important documents are handled in paper form and thus are prone to getting lost. Just be prepared to advocate for yourself throughout the program. Also, the facilities are less than impressive, but they seem to be attempting to upgrade the campus. Parking is also an absolute nightmare, and Regis has no plans to improve the situation (they recently got rid of a parking lot to create a quad area). I must say though, having a previous masters degree puts you in a very good position to succeed, you know what it takes to get through a master's program and the caliber of work expected of you. My class as a whole started off with 62 people, and I believe we are down to about 45-50 now. Once you start the master's classes you are split up into smaller classes and integrated with the regular master's students, but in my last classes I had altogether with the GMs we were at about 50. People failed out for a variety of reasons, but I would mainly say that the graduate classes were too rigorous for them/they were trying to work too many hours. I remember overhearing administrators talking about my class when they were working on admissions for the incoming classes and saying they can't let it some of the "bottom of the barrel" again. Be prepared to work hard. Given your background, I think you will do great. I think they are becoming more selective with the incoming classes, so this might help alleviate the high numbers of people who don't make it. Also, just be prepared to rise above the negativity around you. Unfortunately, I have been very disappointed with the number of people in my program who seem to lack compassion. They very outwardly are in this career for the money, and not for wanting to help people. Some are very book smart, but lack people skills. It can be hard sometimes to be around a lot of peers who don't have the same passion for the career as you do, and some who can be cutthroat just to get ahead. Just always keep in mind the end goal of helping others better their lives as a Nurse Practitioner. Sorry for some of the negativity of this post, but I just really wanted to be honest with you. I really think that Regis is what you make of it, and I am determined to make the very most of my educational experience there. I think you will encounter negativity everywhere you go, but just always keep the end goal in mind. I wish you the very best of luck with your journey, and if you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask.