Samuel Merritt University ABSN Fall 2023

U.S.A. California

Published

Hi everyone. I wanted to start a discussion about the ABSN Samuel Merritt program for Fall 2023. I have applied to the Sacramento campus and hoping to get accepted. has anyone else applied? or be in the program I would love to hear more about it. 

@coffeebeans which location is all of this happening at? 

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Absnnursingstudent123 said:

@coffeebeans which location is all of this happening at? 

San Mateo campus.. there's still no update LOL 

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coffeebeans said:

San Mateo campus.. there's still no update LOL 

I'm so sorry for that. It must be awful and so stressful. I'm apply to Sacramento so I'm hoping it's not an issue. As I have only applied to Samuel Merritt because it is the only ABSN in my area and I can't move. I wish I had other options but I don't.

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@Absnnursingstudent123 I have friends doing the Sacramento and Oakland programs. This issue is affecting all of them. If this is your only option, then go for it. Just realize what you're getting yourself into

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gsg92 said:

@Absnnursingstudent123 I have friends doing the Sacramento and Oakland programs. This issue is affecting all of them. If this is your only option, then go for it. Just realize what you're getting yourself into

 

while in the program what does your typical day look like? How hard is it balance school and life?

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gsg92 said:

SMU ABSN cohort Fall 2022 representative here. Can attest to @coffeebeans assessment for the current state of the program. We just had a meeting to go over "alternatives to preceptorships" where they just had a Stanford hospital recruiter state that they do not require preceptorships for their applications. In other words, this was SMU's attempt to show that hospitals, in general, don't require preceptorships, which is a true statement. However, what wasn't stated is that most hospitals in the BAY AREA require at least 1-2 years of experience for most entry-level positions besides new grad programs. New grad programs are out there, but they are highly competitive. Using Stanford's example, they had 300 applicants for their new grad program and they could only accept 72-82 applicants. Of those applicants, about 14% were SMU new grads.

We just learned that the main reason preceptorships have been removed is due to "equity" reasons. Of the remaining hospitals currently affiliated with SMU, only 20% still have a preceptorship program. Since not everyone can have a preceptorship, then SMU decided no one can have it. Furthermore, students cannot go out to look for their own preceptorships. I'm speculating, but this is most likely due to issues with hospital affiliations (the hospital must be affiliated with SMU) and liability reasons. Any further inquiries from the students regarding finding preceptorships have been shut down by the school.

In terms of administration, there appears to be a lack of cohesion and communication. The CEO has been largely absent from discussions surrounding this issue, which is odd considering how big of an issue it is from the student perspective and tuition being the majority of profits that currently fund SMU. We are left with talking to the dean and program directors who have been trying to damage control with townhall meetings, and doing a poor job of it. For example, in our first townhall meeting, we wanted more SIMs (simulations) in place of losing preceptorships. We were told that this would be looked into as a possibility. At least for my cohort, all SIMs were subsequently removed in our next section and we were not given a reason. We had to piece it together with the SIMs instructor (outside contractor) and with our current professor. Turns out, a professor had left the program abruptly, leaving our current professor to teach more than this professor's assigned classes. We need our professor to run some of the SIMs, and since the professor could not and due to "equity" reasons, everyone in our cohort lost the SIMs for our section.

In the second townhall meeting, the dean made a statement that they were "working behind the scenes" to get us more opportunities to practice critical thinking skills and used more SIMs as an example of how they would accomplish it. When we notified the dean about that the SIMs were cancelled for our cohort, the dean didn't know it happened! The dean said they'd look into it and make sure it doesn't happen again. For the amount of $$ we're paying, this kind of leadership behavior is unacceptable.

However, looking at the big picture, what can we do about this? Currently, SMU is the only ABSN program that exists on the West Coast that is able to expand and offer additional seats for students who want the fast track into the nursing profession. All of the ADN programs are backed up and use drawing/point systems for applicants. The other ABSN programs are run by state universities, so are capped in terms of applicant acceptance with no outlook of expanding. SMU is currently in a unique position to expand and capture the oversupply of applicants that are currently being waitlisted by other institutions. AND THEY KNOW IT AND ARE CAPITALIZING ON IT. They just got approval for a $139 million bond at the start of this year (Jan 2023) to build their flagship campus in Oakland City Center, and plans to utilize $120 million of its own reserves to complete the facility. Honestly, it's a smart move and can bag on em for it.

What does this mean for you? Know what you're getting yourself into. If you're hoping for a high-end education experience and expect the school to tailor to your needs, you're gonna be disappointed. If you understand that you're gonna be dropping $100k (with rates most likely going to continue to rise) for a sub-par community college experience where you're gonna be self-studying 100% and have to fight for your experience at clinicals, then  SMU is for you!
 

My wish is for SMU to get their shiz together and just be transparent for they are. I personally would'nt trip if they said out the gates to applicants "Hey we know you don't got any other options, so we'll give you a crappy one at this rate...take it or wait for a better school". All this pretending they care when they don't and holding onto their old prestige is definitely hurting their image.

I recently grad from SMU as well and also the first cohort that got impacted by not having preceptorship so I can totally feel your frustration. Just wanted to add to Stanford's hiring stat. Unsure of the number of applicants from the last cohorts but they selected 320 applicants for panel interviews and hired 73 new grads for its new grad program. As far as new grad hire from SMU, there are only three of us which is only 4%. When I interviewed for Stanford, my unit manager thought it was because of covid we didn't have preceptorship. Hence they did ask for my preceptorship experience and most of the applicants in my panel interview shared their preceptorship. For those who wanted to get into ICU, ER, or OR, not having these specialties preceptorships really hurt the chance of getting into a new grad program for a specialty of your choice. Do I hate SMU for this reason? 100%

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Non-clinical days: lecture recordings, taking notes on powerpoint, doing practice quizzes on quizlet/evolve, care-plan

Clinical days: about 8 hrs of working in the hospital, then try and do a couple assignments afterwards

Every week you have at least two tests (1 for MCA and 1 for side class), 1 care plan (mini-project), and maybe a presentation depending on your clinical CI. Each section is about 5-weeks (4 class exams + 1 HESI exit exam per class). Not every class is run the same, and every professor has their own style for better or worse.

You'll find there's a lot of busy work. The core of the program is MCA exams, SIMs, and Clinicals (minus care plan and extra assignments). Everything else is just boxes that need to be checked for the school.

I came into the program with background experience in the medical field, so a good amount of info was review for me. Students without experience often have to make adjustments, but you'll get used to it after MCA-I.

I fortunately do not have kids to take care of, I can afford to keep distance from friends/family to focus on school, and don't need to work a job at this time. There are a handful of single moms, students working part-time to full-time jobs and students with large social circles who have struggled to balance the school with life and have needed to retake classes. On the other hand, there are students who managed to do all of these and still make it through the class (absolute units). Really depends on how you've been able to balance your life and your prerequisites. The less you need to worry about outside the 1-year cram school, the better it is for you and your mental/physical well-being.

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gsg92 said:

Non-clinical days: lecture recordings, taking notes on powerpoint, doing practice quizzes on quizlet/evolve, care-plan

Clinical days: about 8 hrs of working in the hospital, then try and do a couple assignments afterwards

Every week you have at least two tests (1 for MCA and 1 for side class), 1 care plan (mini-project), and maybe a presentation depending on your clinical CI. Each section is about 5-weeks (4 class exams + 1 HESI exit exam per class). Not every class is run the same, and every professor has their own style for better or worse.

You'll find there's a lot of busy work. The core of the program is MCA exams, SIMs, and Clinicals (minus care plan and extra assignments). Everything else is just boxes that need to be checked for the school.

I came into the program with background experience in the medical field, so a good amount of info was review for me. Students without experience often have to make adjustments, but you'll get used to it after MCA-I.

I fortunately do not have kids to take care of, I can afford to keep distance from friends/family to focus on school, and don't need to work a job at this time. There are a handful of single moms, students working part-time to full-time jobs and students with large social circles who have struggled to balance the school with life and have needed to retake classes. On the other hand, there are students who managed to do all of these and still make it through the class (absolute units). Really depends on how you've been able to balance your life and your prerequisites. The less you need to worry about outside the 1-year cram school, the better it is for you and your mental/physical well-being.

What is a HESI exit exam? And how is that done? And what is MCA?

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HESI exit exam is a proctored, standardized test (like the TEAS) that will test you on material you learned during your section of classes. It's random and cumulative, and worth 10% of your overall grade. You'll do it at the end of the section (week 4 or 5) and it'll be on your computer.

MCA stands for "Medical Care of Adults" and it's basically Medical-Surgical information that is relevant to all things and everything medical related. This is where you'll learn about different pathophysio, medications, treatments/interventions, and how that all ties in with your job as a nurse. The only thing you will not cover in MCA is pediatrics and maternity which is a different section of classes.

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gsg92 said:

HESI exit exam is a proctored, standardized test (like the TEAS) that will test you on material you learned during your section of classes. It's random and cumulative, and worth 10% of your overall grade. You'll do it at the end of the section (week 4 or 5) and it'll be on your computer.

MCA stands for "Medical Care of Adults" and it's basically Medical-Surgical information that is relevant to all things and everything medical related. This is where you'll learn about different pathophysio, medications, treatments/interventions, and how that all ties in with your job as a nurse. The only thing you will not cover in MCA is pediatrics and maternity which is a different section of classes.

Ohh OK that makes sense. My last question is did SMU contact your references? I submitted my application right in the beginning in January. And just got the emailed they received it so I'm wondering if I need to reminder my references that they might be calling soon.

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I don't know if SMU contacts references. I just remember coordinating with my references to submit their letter of recs to the specified link within the specified time frame.

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gsg92 said:

I don't know if SMU contacts references. I just remember coordinating with my references to submit their letter of recs to the specified link within the specified time frame.

Yeah thanks! Mine already submitted in January and I'm just thinking maybe I should remind them that SMU might be contacting them soon now.

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