RN-MSN at WGU... Help!

mystical0217 · Jun 21, 2014

I am starting the BSN program 7/1. From what I have read you can finish in 6 months (they don't make the courses harder). I hope to finish in 6 months as well, It all depends on how much effort you put in. It's not all papers there are some exams where you can take at home (the school provides you with a web cam so the test is monitored)or go to an a test taking facility. Good luck!!

klone, MSN, RN · Jun 21, 2014

1) is it a hard program?

A resounding "no," with the caveat that I am a very strong student and an exceptionally strong writer. Others have indicated that they have found it more challenging. If you are relatively intelligent, you will not find it difficult, per se, but there are hoops to jump through at times.

2) is it purely research papers?

No. It used to be about 90% papers and 10% proctored exams, but they've redone the program, and I hear that it's now about 60/40

3) are the mentors helpful?

Generally, yes. Some are more helpful than others. I've only utilized my student mentor. I've heard the course mentors are extremely helpful, but I've never had to utilize one

4) is my laptop ( MAC) compatible with their online course and projects?

I'm not sure - I've heard no, but that may have changed.

5) admin told me I can finish BSN in 6 months depending on how much work i put into it and finish the requirements, but I'm also thinking what if they're just saying this to attract students to enroll? They make the course harder so that you won't finish it and so u will have to pay extra for another 6 months?

Yes, it's absolutely possible, but you will have to live, eat and breathe school for that 6 months. I finished mine in 18 months, and could have easily done it in 12 except that I majorly procrastinated that first term.

There is a WGU forum here, you might better get your questions answered if you post there.

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN · Jun 21, 2014

Advice: Go to the top of the page and type "WGU" in the search box. Take all the time you need to read the results.

And go somewhere else.

featherzRN, MSN · Jun 21, 2014

LOL.. I love WGU, don't listen to the naysayers.. As far as I know, a Mac works fine as a lot of students use one. You'll do both tests and papers. As said above, some mentors are helpful, some not so much. As for 'hard', it depends on you on that one. I found some classes very easy that others have problems with and v/v. (I did great in statistics, but had to do serious study for humanities). :)

I did my BSN in

klone, MSN, RN · Jun 21, 2014

Advice: Go to the top of the page and type "WGU" in the search box. Take all the time you need to read the results.

And go somewhere else.

I love you, but pbpbpbpbt! (That was me blowing a raspberry at you)

As are many others, I'm just jumping through the hoops in the most expeditious manner possible to get those all-important initials after my name that all the facilities require now if you hope to move beyond the bedside. Most places honestly don't care as long as you have the initials and it's accredited.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jun 22, 2014

This discussion has been moved to the Western Governors University forum to attract more responses from current and former students. Good luck with your educational pursuits!

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jun 22, 2014

And go somewhere else.

Why would the OP want to go elsewhere? WGU's nursing programs are fully accredited by the CCNE. The institution is regionally accredited. Furthermore, the tuition is affordable.

passionflower, BSN, MSN, RN · Jun 22, 2014

Why would the OP want to go elsewhere? WGU's nursing programs are fully accredited by the CCNE. The institution is regionally accredited. Furthermore, the tuition is affordable.

I second that emotion. I have been to "other" institutions and quite frankly am getting more out of WGU than i have gotten elsewhere. That is no knock against the other programs but i save major time rolling out of bed and into my sunroom to enjoy a cup of coffee and pore over my lessons. I can spend a good part of the day studying and researching without being stressed out over a long commute or other distractions - all while i am getting my laundry done and cooking. That takes a lot of stress out of my world and WGU has been very supportive. If you follow the curriculum and assignments as they suggest you will definitely be prepared.

What's that saying? Oh yeah, something about attitude and aptitude.

klone, MSN, RN · Jun 22, 2014

Because GrnTea has always been very vocal about WGU and considers it a second-rate "diploma mill" - mainly, from what I gather, s/he has issues with nurses conducting survey monkey surveys of other nurses as part of their master's capstone/thesis. What s/he probably doesn't understand (which would surprise me, but it's all I can figure) is when you're doing your thesis on nurse attitudes regarding different issues, a survey is a valid tool to capture nurse opinions (really truly, I've read peer-reviewed published research articles that utilized online surveys as part of their data gathering of public opinions) , and it is NOT, by FAR, the only, or most significant, part of their thesis.

Now that I'm one class away from starting my thesis project, I've looked ahead at the thesis class, and I'm bowled over by how much is involved, and how long and involved this thesis will be. I have a newfound respect for those who have finished before me in the amount of time it will take to do this.

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN · Jun 23, 2014

Believe me, I totally understand the idea of surveying nurses as part of data collection for research. I read research involving this all the time, and in my professional life have occasion to write surveys (and use SurveyMonkey) for data collection, the results of which guide future actions.

My beef with the the ones I've seen here are based on the appalling methodology they evidence. I acknowledge that some learners may know this already, but bear with me as I explain to the many who don't.

First, in using any sort of data collection from a population, e.g., to make conclusions about study population characteristics, opinions, knowledge, practices, or anything else, you must have accurate demographics. You must know that your respondents are what you need to study what you say you want to study. If you want to study nurses or a particular subset of nurses, you have to be able to show you are doing so. There is no way at all to do this with an anonymous online survey. That alone is a red flag, and for any faculty above, say, first year undergraduate, should be a stopper. Apparently, WGU faculty do not agree. This makes me seriously question their commitment and ability to teach nascent clinical or management nursing leaders about designing, performing, or evaluating research.

Second, assuming for the moment that the researcher has gone to the necessary trouble to have obtained an appropriate study population, any poll must be clear on its methods and implementation. If it's an opinion poll, as most of the ones I see here are, the researcher must be careful to exhibit no bias, i.e., we should never be able to know what his/her anticipated result is by reading the questions. This means that what is known as "push polling" is unacceptable. Questions that do not include "NA" and/or "Other" with a free text option eliminate the opportunity for responses that are contradictory to the researcher's biases and limit full participation to a self-selected group that shares the poller's bias if they eliminate potential respondents. I have seen several of these that do not allow partial responses to be counted if all questions are not answered; if a respondent does not agree with any of the choices given on any one item, none of that respondent's responses are recorded. This is not congruent with the idea that research seeks new knowledge, not mere confirmation of the researcher's opinion, no matter how ardently or innocently held. Again, the polls I see here have presumably been passed by faculty; they give me little evidence that they are serious about teaching research design and implementation to their students, some of whom have clearly had no opportunity to learn it.

Third, assuming that the population and instrument are valid selections for the study question, any conclusions drawn must reflect the data collected and use accurate statistical concepts for the analysis. That means that an opinion poll, for example, on whether physical therapists think that insurance should pay for more therapy than it currently does must not have as its primary conclusion that such therapy is necessary. In the case I'm describing, it asked exactly zero questions about patient age, diagnoses, treatment plans, progress, outcomes, or demographics, and the copious statistics presented had no bearing on that. It make the whole thing suspect-- all it asked, essentially, is "Don't you think you should have more reimbursement for what you do?" It's no surprise they overwhelmingly responded, "Yes!" I get that. But then when the paper extrapolates that to "more therapy is needed," that's where it gets sticky. They haven't asked enough questions to get enough data to support that conclusion at all. Likewise, the WGU opinion polls that I see here are often constructed by someone with an advocacy position, but their methods and conclusions are not supported by data. They beg the question, which means, they present the answer as a restating of the assumption without supportive data. And their faculty let them do it.

There's more, but I hope that explains why, so far, I am not convinced about the value of the program, if this is its "capstone." I am perfectly willing to stipulate that there may be serious, thoughtful people in these programs who are more careful in their methods, and hasten to add that these criticisms apply to any program that accepts opinion polling of anonymous subjects as evidence for operational changes in anything. WGU has just made itself the poster child for this here. I am sure there are more.

klone, MSN, RN · Jun 24, 2014

GrnTea, thank you for your response. I appreciate that you took the time to write it all out. I do especially appreciate what you wrote below:

If it's an opinion poll, as most of the ones I see here are, the researcher must be careful to exhibit no bias, i.e., we should never be able to know what his/her anticipated result is by reading the questions. This means that what is known as "push polling" is unacceptable. Questions that do not include "NA" and/or "Other" with a free text option eliminate the opportunity for responses that are contradictory to the researcher's biases and limit full participation to a self-selected group that shares the poller's bias if they eliminate potential respondents.