Sacred heart University MSN

illcleff · Sep 3, 2012

Have a friend who went to Sacred Heart and really liked the program. Good luck to you!!!

lionett123 · Sep 4, 2012

Hi there, I begin the SHU MSN Clinical Leadership track Oct. 22. I am very nervous, I have never taken an online course before, how is it going so far for you? Any tips on how to prepare?

jbudrick, MSN · Sep 8, 2012

Hi Linionette:

I am taking NU530, Theory. It is challenging and so far I am doing well based on the few grades I have received. I would recommend studying APA Format (6th Ed.) and brush up on Power Point and Word. Sacred Heart uses Blackboard which is kind of hard to use, but it looks like a lot of colleges use it. If you can find someone who is familiar with Blackboard, ask them to go over it with you. There are group discussion, journal writing, group projects and eight page papers. I am definitely learning a lot.

What class are you taking? Let me know how it goes for you.

Jbudrick

lionett123 · Sep 10, 2012

Good to know, thanks!

First I have to take NU325, Health Assessment. I'm not going to lie, I really am NOT looking forward to going back to school. The format online for the program seems really old and unorganized, maybe once I am using it more it will get easier. I will ask around at work and see if anyone is familiar with the blackboard program, thanks very much.

morecoffeepls, BSN, RN · Nov 17, 2012

I finished SHU's RN-BSN online program about a year ago (its inaugural class). It took two years and seemed interminable, but I'm glad I did it. The only reason I enrolled was to be able to get into a decent NP program (Yale and Fairfield are the only two schools in the state that offer a Psych NP track), but with the whole DNP conversion being imminent, I'm strongly considering changing to an MSN program. Fairfield has already phased out at least one Master's level NP program. Instead of prattling on about my own issues, I'll try to provide some insight into the online experience. Blackboard does seem a bit antiquated, and there were some technical issues at times, but once you get used to it, it's fine. I've looked at the MSN curriculum, and I don't see a lot that would differentiate it from what I went through; so, hopefully this information is pertinent enough to help. Maybe it's just my personal learning style, but I might just prefer the online experience to traditional classrooms. Showing up and listening to someone read off a Powerpoint was always difficult for me. It's my belief/assumption that instructors compensate for the online format with the volume of work assigned; however, if you're able to make the time and have a decent understanding of APA (Purdue's OWL site is good in a pinch) it's easy to get accustomed to it and develop good habits. My experience may have been anomalous, though, in that I'd rather write than speak and I had down-time at my job to complete assignments. Two classes per 8-week module (or whatever they call it) doesn't sound like a lot, but working full-time with kids made it stressful. I actually spoke with someone from Admissions recently, and my fear that not having enrolled in the RN-MSN program initially may cause some overlap or redundancies, but I don't think that is the case. Obviously, this thread has me thinking about my own situation, and I apologize for focusing on it. I had it in my head that I needed a good GPA for the BSN program based on the initial reason I enrolled and my fear that online programs are looked down upon by decent graduate schools, so maybe I hurt myself a little attempting to do that. (Shameless aside: 4.0 & a Gold Medal for Excellence in Nursing looks good on a resume/application). But the reality is that I did learn a lot and have that piece of paper and some more letters after my name now, which is all that actually matters. I'll end up enrolling at SHU again if I decide to get a Master's degree. Also: Please feel free to ask any specific questions so that I don't go on another tangent about my own considerations.

lkgrant RN · Aug 27, 2015

I would like to say thank you for the information and I don't believe you focused on yourself. In actuality by voicing your own experience adds to me not feeling alone with trying to figure out the best route to take for my bsn. I spoke with someone today from shu and I want to pursue the rn to msn. I am just putting in my application so I am hoping for the best my gpa is not very high its a 2.9. I will wait and see what they say,

jbudrick, MSN · Aug 27, 2015

I wanted to let you all know I graduated from SHU in Dec. 2014 with an MSN Education. I have a job in professional development because of my degree. It took 18 months with one class every eight weeks. I worked full-time for most of the program. Good luck everyone.

RN-BSN2011 · Nov 17, 2016

I wanted to let you all know I graduated from SHU in Dec. 2014 with an MSN Education. I have a job in professional development because of my degree. It took 18 months with one class every eight weeks. I worked full-time for most of the program. Good luck everyone.

Hi Jbudrick MSN,

How was your experience with the programa and content at SHU? Did they assign you a mentor as a graduare student nurse educator? I am researching 32 other school ( SUNY empire state school of nursing and Chamberlain). Thanks in advance!

jbudrick, MSN · Nov 23, 2016

Hi Jbudrick MSN,
How was your experience with the programa and content at SHU? Did they assign you a mentor as a graduare student nurse educator? I am researching 32 other school ( SUNY empire state school of nursing and Chamberlain). Thanks in advance!

My experience at SHU was excellent. There were many papers assigned and weekly discussion boards, as well as group projects. For the professional development clinical practicum, I had to make efforts to find my own preceptor and SHU provided some guidance. I was fortunate that the first person I spoke to at a hospital SHU had a contract with agreed to precept me. It went very well and was a terrific learning experience. It was easier on the academic side. I wanted to learn about on-line teaching and I was assigned as a teaching assistant for two different nursing classes. I had the same academic advisor throughout the program, who also was my professor for the capstone courses. I live near campus so I was able to meet some of the professors in person as well as one of the professors for whom I was a teaching assistant. As I was interviewing for jobs, I also met other SHU graduates. Overall, my experience with SHU was very positive.

RN-BSN2011 · Nov 23, 2016

Thank you very much for you response. It's refreshing to hear you had a wonderful experience and was able to finish the in 18 months. I have got it down to 3 schools: Chamberlaine, SUNY Empire State College, and SHU. My research continues and SHU is a contender.