Willowdean

You're welcome! People love to complain no matter where they are it seems like, haha! ? When I lived in Anchorage and worked at Prov, I would hear people call Mat Su Regional "Death Valley" and it made me afraid to work there! I'm so glad I didn't listen to their advice and gave them a chance— one of the best jobs of my life, and some of the most safe and competent staff. Good luck to you! I hope you find a job there that you love and thrive being back in your home state!

Hi Akn8ive! I know you were talking to the original poster, but since I last posted the above comment 4-5 years ago, I have since worked at both Providence Anchorage as well as Mat Su Regional Medical Center in Palmer. They are both excellent. MSRMC might possibly be my favorite hospital I've ever worked at (and I've worked at a lot!) Pay is great at both, compared to the lower 48, but PAMC is higher due to being a union facility. I was PRN at both with 8-9 yrs experience; at MSRMC I think it was about $54/hr which included a 15% differential for being PRN (so if I was FT or PT with benefits it would have been around $47/hr). PAMC was $55/hr (but they since increased their pay scales, so now I think they are around $60 for PRN with experience— but you can reference the collective bargaining unit available online to find the pay scale you would fit in ). I love the close knit staff at MSRMC. It has around 120 beds, so small enough to know most people, but large enough to be current and not too cliquey. The acuity isn't as high as PAMC, but you will still have your share of very sick pts in the ICU! Overall a much more chill atmosphere than PAMC, even on busy days. I loved my team. An advantage of PAMC, though, is that, being union, you get a 30 min lunch and three 15 min breaks per 12 hr shift! We would often combine one of the 15's with lunch to have a 45 min lunch, and then a morning and afternoon break. Very nice! I heard rumor that not all units had break nurses, but ours always did and we always got our breaks. I would go back to work for either in a heartbeat. I'm in the lower 48 finishing my NP right now after 5 years in AK, but I would definitely come back and work at either. Also I still have a goal to work at Alaska Native Medical Center— it's a really neat place! Hope that helps! :)

You're welcome! The professors have all been extremely helpful and responsive. There's a higher level of engagement with faculty here than I've experienced in any other online program. No I've never used any outside resources because I've never had to— between the recorded class sessions, optional live sessions for asking questions in real time, and supplementary study material many of them give (like Kahoots to do for practice, and study guides) I've had everything I need to be successful in classes.

And as far as in campus requirements, you go for one week at the start of the program for orientation on campus (I think it was like 4 days long), and then before you start your clinicals, you go for one week again to campus. Other than that, no campus requirements unless you want to walk in person at graduation. :)

Hi @MeddiMam22 :) yes, you have to get at least an 80% on the final exam AND in the class cumulatively to pass. However, other tests/quizzes that are not the final exam, no there isn't a particular grade you have to reach. :)

Congratulations! I'm not sure if you were directing this to me or the original thread creator, so pardon me if this was not for me ? I'm in the FNP program. It's still going great! So far I have written zero papers and done zero pointless busy-work assignments! That may change in future classes of course, but so far none of that nonsense! The classes are intense and full of content, they are challenging and filled with experienced faculty insight. All courses I've been in so far have one course coordinator and multiple other professors involved— so professor A might send the weekly "keeping everyone on track/this is what is happening this week" emails, Professors B, C, or D might each do a weekly lecture, any of those might be your assigned faculty to ask questions. . . The net result is that you get to learn from a number of highly experienced faculty each with different perspectives and experiences. In my current class (Advanced Physical Examination and Diagnostic Reasoning) which all the concentrations take, there are profs represented from all of the the concentrations— PMH, FNP, WHNP etc— so you get the perspective of each. It is a challenging program (and it should be! I don't want to go to an NP who didn't have to work hard for that degree, and I don't want to be one either!) but challenging with good, purposeful work that actually helps you learn and engaging high quality content. I'm still very happy with my decision to go here.

Hello! I am finishing my first session at FNU (I also was initially waitlisted, but then granted entrance a few weeks later). I love this program. I had started at Purdue Global a few years back and quit because I hated the program so much— no lectures, just read some chapters, write a paper, and pool your ignorance with other classmates on discussion board with minimal professor input and zero teaching. FNU is so different! Fantastic lectures (all recorded if you can’t attend the live sessions) no busy work (so far) brilliant and responsive faculty who share their real life experiences. . . I couldn’t be happier with it. If you are offered an opportunity to be un-waitlisted, I’d highly recommend FNU! Good luck!!

Hey COMountaineer88! I see this thread is a little old-- are you still planning to move to AK in October 2020? If so, I'm not the best source of info, but I'll tell you what I know! I've worked the last year at a rural critical access ER in the bush, and I'm starting a job at Providence Anchorage in about a month. What I know about each hospital is from an outsider perspective, but here it goes! 1) Providence: the only Level 1 trauma hospital in the state, about 400 beds. Because it's the only Level 1, almost all of our patient transfers go there. If someone has a medical emergency in the bush, we stabilize them, then life flight them to Providence-- unless they are a Native and are not extremely ill or injured. Then we fly them to Alaska Native. Therefore, at Prov you will have the highest patient acuity, and I believe also specialized ICUs. Whenever I've spoken to them in report, they have been excellent, and they have a good reputation. As far as pay, Google "PAMC Collective Bargaining Agreement", and scroll down to almost the last page. There you will find the salary scale by experience. They are reported to be the best paying hospital in Anchorage, but I don't know if that's true or not. 2) Alaska Regional An HCA hospital-- and the one I hear the least about! Probably because PAMC and ANMC are the two main hospitals we transfer to. I think it's about 100-200 beds, and would assume lower acuity, as all the very critical or difficult cases end up at PAMC. Probably lower stress, but also fewer learning opportunities. 3) Alaska Native Beautiful inside! There are cultural exhibits all through the hospital! As the name implies, it serves only Native patients. Because of this, as I hear from an ER nurse who works there (staff are all races), it is an interesting cultural opportunity, but hard to always see a lot of the rampant issues, especially surrounding drug/alcohol/sexual abuse. The staff is very unified, I hear, and I've also been told it may be a little slower pace than some hospitals. The most critical cases, or high level trauma, still go to Providence. I've heard from a nurse that has worked at all of them, that they are all pretty good and there's not one to avoid. I hope that helped a little! Good luck!!

I really appreciated what everyone had to say about oncology nursing! I was just offered a choice between a post-surg unit and an oncology unit, and I have been agonizing over trying to make up my mind. (I am graduating in August, so I don't have much experience of my own on which to base my choice). Your descriptions have really helped. If anyone has experience on both a post-surg floor and an oncology floor, I sure would appreciate to hear your thoughts on the contrast as well!

I'm kind of late to this thread. . . but thank you all for your insights about med and surg nursing! I was just offered a choice between a post-surg unit and an oncology unit, and I have been agonizing over trying to make up my mind. (I am graduating in August, so I don't have much experience of my own on which to base my choice). I think I will choose post-surg, based on your descriptions. If anyone has experience on both a post-surg floor and an oncology floor, I sure would appreciate to hear your thought on it as well. :)