totoroll

Thanks for the info! Do you know if the cardiac/trauma side requires a minimum amount of ER/ICU experience?

Thank you - this is exactly what I was looking for.

Hi everyone, I plan on moving to Austin next year to join my significant other, and would appreciate some feedback on the local hospitals there. I have my BSN and will have 2+ years of inner-city ER experience by that time. My current hospital separates regular ER vs. traumas, so I do not have trauma experience - but I'd be willing to train for that. Does anyone have suggestions for which ERs would be a good fit? I am also interested in gaining ICU experience too. Thank you!

No problem! I lived in Ashburn, about 5 minutes from campus. My apartment was about 10-15 minutes to Inova Loudoun, 45 minutes to Inova Fairfax, and 1 hour+ to D.C. My classmates lived all over the map, and many people carpooled to class and to clinicals.

The base salary is $28.088/hour for new graduate nurses. The hospital is unionized so everyone is paid the same depending on level of experience. You also get differentials for nights, weekends, etc. I believe that is on par with other hospitals in the DMV area, if not even more. W2 students are paid the same as everyone else. The commute honestly depends on where you live. I will say that traffic in the region is notoriously bad, especially going into D.C. during rush hour. I think it's about an hour to an hour and a half between campus and WHC. Your clinical placements and preceptorship may also influence where you want to live and how far you want to commute. The work environment, again, depends. Every unit I shadowed was different. I wouldn't judge the entire hospital based on experiences with a single unit or even a single provider. For the most part, I witnessed great teamwork and respect among the nurses and other providers. They were nice to students and I learned a lot. However, there are a lot of work aspects I can't speak to until I start working!

Honestly, this was not my experience at all (speaking as a member of the first cohort to offer the W2 scholarship). Most people got jobs in their desired units. At the very least, everyone got a job. HR and unit managers really liked that we were committed for 3 years, and weren't going to jump ship after getting a year of experience. They offer a nurse residency program and seem very invested in training new grads. Also, I've never heard of any problems related to a hiring freeze, or a union strike - our jobs were guaranteed as part of the contract. Again, everyone I talked to in my group got a job (and we are the first and only W2 group to have graduated so far...). I appreciated doing my clinical rotations and final preceptorship at WHC, and having the opportunity to interview for a spot in my department before most interviews were opened for outside candidates. Overall, I really feel that the faculty set us up for success.

Hi everyone - I recently graduated from GW's ABSN program, and was part of the W2 scholarship group. I noticed many of you have questions concerning the value of the ABSN program and the scholarship, so I am happy to answer any questions to the best of my ability. Congratulations on your acceptances, and happy new year!

Hi JainieS - We have several parents in my cohort and they appear to be managing quite well with the course load. During the first semester, you take Med-Surg, Pharmacology, Transitions to Nursing, and Health Assessment. Health assessment and Med-Surg also have labs once a week. Clinicals are once a week. Open lab is an optional window of time to practice your skills. Altogether, this semester I had class on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 8 am - 1 pm at the latest. On Friday I had all-day clinicals. I would have a 3-day weekend because I had no class on Monday. Hope that helps!

A bit of good news for you guys - I will be declining my offer of admission to Shady Grove, so that opens up one spot on the waitlist. Good luck, everyone.

Hi everyone! I've also been admitted to GWU's Fall 2014 ABSN program. Feeling super excited and relieved :) Have you all joined the Facebook group? Is it private?

I attended an info session for prospective students last fall, and I took some notes on the accepted # of BSN students (don't remember if they refer to previous classes or Fall 2014): 80 Baltimore, 48 Shady Grove, and 30 Waitlisted [out of 600+ applications] Perhaps these numbers change relative to the number of applications UMD receives. However, if the ratio is correct, maybe we can assume that being waitlisted is not as common and as futile as is being perceived on this forum. Being waitlisted still seems to provide a strong chance of admission later in the process. Hope this helps. Edit: The info session also informed us that admitted students will be contacted through the first week of May... so if you haven't heard any news yet, the staff is still making calls :)

Hi guys! I received a call this afternoon informing me of my acceptance to the traditional BSN program @ Shady Grove. I'm pretty excited for this opportunity, and now I'm just looking to hear back from one more school. I know many people are still waiting anxiously, and I wish you all the best of luck. The long wait is almost over :)