All Content by nem90
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Applying to Nurse Practitioner School
I guess it depends on the school, most require you to have experience as a nurse for a minimum of a year before applying. What I came on here to say is - even if you can start NP school before working as a nurse, I wouldn't suggest doing that. As an fairly new NP (graduated 2022) I can say you definitely use the experience you have as an RN in your NP role and having gone through RN and NP school - you can learn a ton in school but real life is SO different. The learning curve is HUGE the first year as an RN you will lay a good foundation for your career as an NP. I just think it would be a disservice to not have at least a year under your belt. It will help you in school as well bc you learn so much as an RN. It will also help you figure out what type of NP you want to be. I have many coworkers that went to FNP/outpatient which is what I thought I wanted to do, but after working I realized I loved inpatient and went the acute care route and I have never regretted it for a second!
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How do you get the experience for NP program?
Hey I just graduated from my acute care NP Program. I was working as a nurse for two years before I started school, and I was working full time as a nurse while going to school part time - took me about 2 1/2 years to finish. I think the reason they say to wait, is because it takes at least a year to make a nurse. We come out of school thinking we know everything and once we start working we realize we know absolutely nothing LOL. I worked step down (turned ICU during covid) for 4 years and I'll tell you it took me at least a year to start seeing patterns in patients presentation, or just plain life experience as a nurse to hone my skills and be a good nurse. I feel like just like building a house - you need a strong foundation before you build on it, and before adding on more knowledge, responsibility, and skills as an NP you need to have a strong foundation as a nurse. For example, you can study alllllll you want about septic shock in a text book but until you have your first patient who is decompensating and then goes into shock etc. it won't teach you or stick with you like experiences will. I was not an ICU nurse in school, so basically teaching myself vents and drips was difficult and my ICU nurse classmates definitely had a leg up on me in school. So imagine what going through NP school without much experience in general would be like. You can definitely do what you want, but they usually say that because its better for you, and I feel like it can also make you a better provider if you have more basic experience under your belt. Hope this helps good luck!
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NYU or Stony Brook for Psych NP
For acute care - during covid we were on zoom, but still had to do clinicals in person in the hospital. It went back to in-person during classes during my last two semesters. You need an 85 in every class in order to pass B- is the lowest grade and if you fail two classes - you are removed from the program - I think this is standard throughout all the NP programs. The teachers are professors that are usually nurses/NPs that have DNP's/PhD's. Only exception is usually statistics professors etc. We also for acute care had NP's that currently worked but trained us to do things like place chest tubes, intubate, sutures etc. but either way you will always have professors that are very well trained/educated. Hope this helps
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NYU or Stony Brook for Psych NP
don't know if I can help - I just graduated NYU's acute care NP Program. We all start off in the same classes and then branch off to more specific program related classes towards the end, but if I can help in anyway let me know ?
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Acute care NP versus MPH
In regards to finances, I would check and see if whatever hospital you work for offer an option where they pay for your education. I didn't get the chance to do it at my hospital because I knew I would be moving away, but many hospitals have the option where they pay the tuition in return you agree to stay and work for them for X number of years - usually 3-4. Many of my friends did this, and we all worked full time while going to school part time. I just graduated and it took me just about 3 years but I was able to have a good salary and wouldve had my tuition paid for had I stayed. I didn't love my program but I did what I needed to do in order to graduate. I loved bedside nursing but I wanted more. I guess you need to figure out what you want, I like working in the hospital, I like the complexity/ patient acuity, and being hands on which was why I chose acute care. If you're going to be miserable in the hospital then I don't see the point of going through all of it because it requires a lot of time and dedication, and if its something that youre not really into, its going to be hard to get through all that hard work and school.
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How long did it take you to find your first job as a new grad
Thanks! Yea I it's so frustrating! I agree it felt good knowing I got the job purely on my own merit. Yea depending on where you live is definitely a factor. I had friends who moved to PA and NJ and got jobs pretty quickly, but if you plan on applying in NYC you most likely will be waiting a good 6 months. There's a lot of big name hospitals here that everyone wants to work at and the competition is so much harder. My hospital even had a GPA requirement to weed out applicants. New grads could only apply with a 3.5 or higher it's nuts. And thanks! Orientation starts next week I'm very excited! Good luck to you too!
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How long did it take you to find your first job as a new grad
I could be wrong, but I think it also depends on where you live. I live in NYC and went to school here. I have friends that moved out of state and got jobs fairly quickly. I was applying even before I graduated in May, and after i passed my boards the end of july, i was applying to 30+ jobs a day every day. I started working per diem at a skilled nursing facility in the mean time just to get some experience and make some money. Interviews started coming in around November, and I just got hired in December. I think NYC happens to very competitive unless you know someone. The people in my class that got jobs right away were people that worked as a CNA or volunteered at the hospital beforehand, or their parents/family friend etc. worked there and got their resume in front of a nurse manager. I applied online and got my job about 6-7 months after graduating. I also have good grades, good references, and ACLS/PALS certified. Unfortunately i've found through this whole process it's all about who you know, even though we work so hard to make our resumes amazing, it's more about who you know
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Seeking Guidance
I'm a new grad that just got my first job on a med/surg floor, so I don't know if you're interested in doing this, but I would suggest also getting certified in pediatric advanced life support (PALS). I got my ACLS and PALS at the same time, and either way it makes you a more competitive applicant because most new grads come out with just their BLS. I know the hospital I got hired at was pleasantly surprised to see that I had it as a new grad, they all asked me during the interviews if I was interested in ICU because I got those certifications. The PALS will look good for any peds or NICU unit you'd apply to. It seems like you got in the first time, so you're definitely a competitive applicant, but maybe getting your PALS can help as well!
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NYU Langone New Grad Interview Process 2017
Hey guys I just went through the whole process and got hired last week. If you have any qs let me know (unless I'm super late to this post and you all already had interviews!!) lol
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NYU ABSN Spring 2018!
Hey! Sorry for the late response! It depends - i think it depends on what kind of a student you are. There were people in my cohort that would not even show up to class, or would leave as soon as lecture was over and still somehow passed/ did fine and graduated nursing school. I was the type/am the type that needs to be in class, and especially the first and second sequences where you have a lot of heavy material like patho, pharm, AE 1/2, HAP etc. I was in the library studying till 9-10 every night. Did I have those days where I was like - i need a mental health day and take a day off - of course. But like 90% of the time I was in class. The good thing is that you only have about 2 /3 lectures a day so if you decide you dont need to review after class, or have any other work to do- you definitely have time to go to they gym etc. Also the lectures are recorded so if you need a break - you can catch up on the class on your own time. Also I should add it will feel intense the first semester because everything is new and terrifying. Learning to navigate NYU Classes, and doing all the pre-sim assignments for the first time etc. and just getting the hang of nursing school is intense. I felt by the second sequence, while I still had a large workload, it was easier to handle because I was more used to it. I don't know if that makes sense - but the first sequence will most likely be the hardest, and I felt it got easier as the program went on, but think that its just because I became more used to it. I think the professors were very helpful and friendly. I remember during patho we would all line up and ask Dr. Slater questions and he'd stand there usually 15 min after class always answering any questions you had - same with any of the other teachers. If you email them, they almost always respond. Also you tend to have a good relationship with your clinical instructors since you're usually 6 people. I came from a very small undergrad and I felt no difference in the friendliness of the teachers. A lot of them will even remember you by name - i asked a lot of questions in class so they remember you if you do that!
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NYU ABSN Spring 2018!
Hey @Monkey18! So sorry I haven't responded! I've been having a lot of interviews so it's been very hectic! Congrats on getting accepted! You're always welcome to email me, [email protected] I check that every day - allnurses.com I don't check as often- hence responding to you almost a month later!! Ah! My only suggestion would be if you feel like you need to brush up on your anatomy and physiology I would do that only because when you start pathophysiology you're gonna need to know the proper anatomy - the way it's supposed to be in order to know how it goes wrong. Other than that enjoy the time off! Because after school starts you wont have much of it!!! :)
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Considering Moving to NY..
I live in Manhattan and it is definitely expensive! The average new grad salary for a BSN I'd say is mid 80K-90K but keep in mind there are A LOT of taxes taken out of your salary, so you could easily only pocket around 65k depending on how many tax exemptions/allowances you can get. I also agree with Pyro, that most of the hospitals prefer BSN so that might be hard as well. I'm a new grad myself - I graduated in May 2017 with my BSN, and I just had my third interview at a hospital which will hopefully turn into a job offer. My point is, finding a job as a new grad in NY is extremely hard. All my friends who moved out of state (Boston, Phili) got jobs right away - even NJ its a little easier/quicker to get a job. Here in NY it's very competitive and just giving you a heads up you may be waiting a while to get a job unless you have some kind of connection at a hospital. Feel free to message me or if you have any other questions let me know! :)
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NYU ABSN Spring 2018!
Hey guys! I graduated from the NYU ABSN program in May 2017. I was in the Spring 2016 cohort. Just in case anyone had any q's about the program, or anything in general, I'm here for you guys! I already passed the NCLEX end of July, and just started my first job so I've been through the whooooole process start to finish. I always post on the new cohort pages on here because I remember during this time I wanted to know as much as I could about the program, so I'm just paying it forward. Congrats to those who got accepted already, and good luck to everyone else!
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HELP!!! What nclex material to use?
Hey! I just passed the NCLEX at the end of July in 75q and I literally contribute it all to UWorld - I cannot even begin to stress how amazing UWorld is and I'm so grateful friends of mine recommended it. I didn't use Hurst personally, but I heard from others that it's a great review of content. I actually used YouTube videos and looked up specific systems or diseases I was having trouble with. But UWorld actually taught me a lot of stuff as well since their rationales are extremely detail oriented. You won't regret using UWorld!!!
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Nyu absn spring 2017
Hey @jennaly! I know the question wasn't to me but thought I'd help out - I'd say try and write an essay that would make you memorable. You want to write something unique that would keep them interested and remember you. Like for instance, (verrrry brief summary!) I wrote about how I was a counselor on a summer program and we were in Europe (Germany) and I had to bring some kids by myself to a local doctor and I was terrified because I didn't speak the language and had to deal with all the legal/medical paperwork, but kept calm so I wouldn't freak the kids out. Then tied it back to nursing how I can keep calm under pressure etc. - i'm sure you can figure out where I went with all of it lol. But the point is that find a story or find some way to show them how you exhibit characteristics required to be a nurse - but do it in a way that makes you stand out. Hope this helped!
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Nyu absn spring 2017
Hey @lungsopen! NYU tends to look at the applicant holistically, meaning if you are lacking in one area, there are other parts of your application that can definitely make up for it - like your essay, letters of recommendation, and resume/CV. I was also a bio major and took organic chem, but they usually tend to look at the grades of the classes that are pre-reqs. Your overall GPA is great, the minimum GPA to apply is a 3.0, so usually if you're at, or over, a 3.5 - i'd say you're in a good place. I can't speak for them, but I'm sure your grades are fine even with the one C chem grade, since your other grades make up for it. They mainly want students who have A's and some B's. I had A's in all pre-reqs except for statistics which i got a B. They just want to see that you're a student that could keep up with the demanding course work at the fast pace it's given. I hope this helps some! If you have any other questions please feel free to ask!
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NYU ABSN Spring 2018!
Hey Guys! I recently just graduated from the accelerated program at NYU so if you guys have any questions feel free to ask!
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NYU ABSN Fall 2017
Hey @blackberrymousse! I'm actually starting the Kaplan course NYU offers in a week or so! I started studying on my own, but they have something called NCLEX Bootcamp, and it's a week of reviewing material and test taking strategies. It is part of your tuition so you already paid for it by the time you graduate so why not take it haha. Also during the whole semester of your last sequence you'll be a part of a "class" called Transition to practice and they give you all the information you'll ever need to know! Hope this helps!
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NYU ABSN Fall 2017
Hey - just wanted to help out here! All lectures that take place in person are recorded - which you can then podcast. So if you're sick or can't make it to class one day - you can watch the lecture being taught in person. The online thing - in patho - you'll have modules you'll have to do which is the teacher talking through the different slides. It's basically done to prepare you for class - so they don't have to spend a lot of time going over/reviewing the Anatomy/Physiology stuff to you in class, and they can focus more on clarifying and teaching the pathophysiology. Hope that helps!
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NYU ABSN Fall 2017
Hey @NikNikV! I really do apologize for the late response I had finals and things got hectic lol - I'm sure you had to give a decision by now, but I'll be more than happy to answer your q's anyways! 1. My cohort was pretty varied - Those of us in accelerated had the students who were older, rather than traditional students. We had I'd say at least 5-6 that I personally knew that were in their late 30's -40's where this was second career for them - even younger students too - one girl was even in the business sector. We had a few Nursing Assistants, PCT's etc. - Basically very varied - it's great we get to hear such different experiences in class! 2. It is large - but they split all the classes in half so your class should be around 80 kids or so in lecture. Also during your first sequence you'll actually have assigned seating- where you'll be sitting with the people in your off-campus clinical group for Professional Nursing, and in Patho - you're put into a different group - i think it's great because it kind of forces everyone to get to know each other. In terms of studying groups I made some great friends because of study groups! So it's definitely a friendly environment that promotes people working together. 3. The days usually started at 8am and class runs till around 10:45 and then you usually had a break and went from 11:45 to 2 if I remember correctly. Then for clinicals - off campus is always 7:30 -3:30. And on campus for me 1st sequence was 2-6. But after first sequence it shortens - and mine was always 8am-11:30. There is a lot of time when you're not in class - but you'll need majority of it to study lol. Testing- it depends on the class - but it will either be a midterm and final - so usually 5th/6th week and the final would probably be 11th/12th week. Patho and AE had 3 exams and I think it was every 3-4 weeks. 4. I'm married - so my husband and I have an apartment in the city, but I know some people actually find roommates with other NYU nursing students - they usually have Facebook group someone creates for the cohort and people post apartments. From what I heard, they have housing in NYU dorms but they are super expensive! Some people commute like from Staten Island, or Brooklyn/Queens etc. but it's definitely tough! 5. So clinicals . - you'll always have an AE on or off campus clinical once a week. During your first sequence you'll also have HAP on campus clinical once a week. Second sequence you'll have half the semester with only one clinical bc psych is only a 6 week course and you'll always have AE II. But after that you'll always have two clinicals a week. (3rd seq. is peds and maternity plus AE III, 4th sequence is community + Leadership and Management - which is basically the same as AE). 6. My stats were good- I had A's in bio, chem, AP 1 and 2, nutrition, dev. psych, etc. I had B+ in stats and Micro bio. I was a bio major previously, so it definitely helped me in patho and pharm, but the program definitely challenged me. I always got straight A's easily in my first school- but for me nursing is different from typical science courses. The way they ask questions is very different - so you have to train yourself to learn how to take tests differently. I got the hang of it, but I had to work really hard to get it so it threw me and bunch of others for a loop with how hard NCLEX style q's are. Listen to the teachers when they say do LOTS of q's! lol. 7. Overall I really did love the program. I thought I got exposed to amazing clinicals (was in the CT-ICU in columbia this semester) the teachers want you to learn and want you to do well. It's actually very sad to be leaving - I really enjoyed my time there and felt like I was really prepared! Sorry if some of the points were kind of short - I just didn't want the page to get too long! If you have any more q's or want me to expound upon anything let me know! Good luck with everything, and again sorry for the late response!
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NYU ABSN Fall 2017
Hey @shy1490! So sorry this is SO late! We had finals and i'm studying for the NCLEX so I completely missed all these posts! A lot of them I took the subway, and my rotations out in Brooklyn I drove to. I was in Maimonides for two clinicals and their parking is great! They have a garage and I think it was $5 for students. My other clinicals were in Manhattan so I took the subway. Hope this helps and sorry for the delayed response!
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Need some honest advice
Hey! I'm so sorry you're having that experience! I'm currently finishing my BSN program in a private school in NYC so I don't know if that would even account for the differences in our experiences, but I personally have found my teachers to be pretty open minded. If they made a mistake or didn't know something they own up to it and say - "I'll look it up and get back to you". If a student points out an error they made, they thank students for pointing out the error (Then make a comment about how happy they are bc then they know we're learning lol). Throughout the whole program they have reiterated that everyone works as a team in healthcare. I'm in a Leadership class now, and it emphasizes how doctors can't do their job without us, RN's/LPN's can't do their job without CNA's etc. We all need each other, and the end goal is a good outcome and care for the patient, and we need to all respect each other and the expertise we bring to the table. We also have had a lot of medical assistants, or CNA's/PCT's in our classes and the teachers love when students offer any type of experience they may have had. The point of me saying all of this is, that it could just be that particular school. Of course my school has its downsides - every school does. There will always be professors or clinical instructors that are rude (once saw an instructor yell at a girl who passed out from seeing a lot of blood - that if she can't handle it then she picked the wrong career), but that'll be anywhere you go. But like everyone else said - just stick it out, because they've told us the amount you learn in nursing school is equivalent to two weeks on the job. You're basically going to be doing majority of your "learning" on the job. So even if the teachers and the school stink, don't give up on it! Nursing school is just a stepping stone to get you to the job you want. To me, it's worth it to just stick it out! Good luck with everything! :)
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NYU ABSN Fall 2017
Hey Guys! I posted on another forum as well, but just to let you know, I'm finishing up my final sequence in the ABSN program at NYU, so if you guys have any questions I'm here to help!
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NYU Fall 2017 Application
Hey guys, I'm finishing up my last sequence in the accelerated program here at NYU, so if you guys have any questions, I'm here to help!
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Nyu absn spring 2017
Hey y109! I'm currently finishing up my fourth and final semester in the accelerated program at NYU. It's hard to gauge based on GPA alone because they look at the applicant as a whole, meaning if you have an excellent essay and letters of recommendation, but not necessarily have a 4.0 gpa - they may still accept you. I didn't have any volunteer experience in the medical field, just other volunteer experience and got in so don't worry about that! And the MIT experience is GREAT! That'll definitely set you apart! I know people that got rejected that had very high GPAs and know people that got accepted with lower GPAs so your grades aren't 100% the absolute deciding factor. My advice would be focus a lot on getting good letters of recommendation, and essay which can help offset the grades. Hope this helps, and if you have any other q's let me know! Good luck!