San Francisco State University (SFSU) Entry Level Master of Science in Nursing (ELM) Fall 2024

sarahk09 · May 15

girlypop said:

Can I get some info on what the class schedule and clinical schedule is like for the first year? I am currently looking for a place to live and wanted to see if commuting from San Jose is a doable option.

How many days a week is class in SF and are they consecutive classes or are there big gaps in between them? Additionally, do they place clinicals out in the San Jose area?

Any info would be super helpful as I have been unable to connect with anyone from the previous cohorts.

Clinicals don't start until 6 weeks into the semester for level 1, and it's only 1 day a week when it does start. Level 2, you will have 2 clinical days and they start at the beginning of the semester. We were on campus 2-3 days/week level 1. Level 2 we were on campus around 2 days a week, sometimes less. The professors are usually understanding and try to work together to cluster classes and coordinate their online days so we don't have to go to campus for just 1 class.

A few people from my cohort commute from far away- a couple from San Jose, one from Vacaville, another from near Bodega Bay. It's not fun, but it's doable. Some hospital placements are in the South Bay, like Lucille Packard and Sequoia. They try to place you at a hospital relatively close to where you live.

girlypop · May 15

sarahk09 said:

Clinicals don't start until 6 weeks into the semester for level 1, and it's only 1 day a week when it does start. Level 2, you will have 2 clinical days and they start at the beginning of the semester. We were on campus 2-3 days/week level 1. Level 2 we were on campus around 2 days a week, sometimes less. The professors are usually understanding and try to work together to cluster classes and coordinate their online days so we don't have to go to campus for just 1 class.

A few people from my cohort commute from far away- a couple from San Jose, one from Vacaville, another from near Bodega Bay. It's not fun, but it's doable. Some hospital placements are in the South Bay, like Lucille Packard and Sequoia. They try to place you at a hospital relatively close to where you live.

When do we find out what classes to sign up for and what our class schedule will be like? The registration date is June 10 but I have not received any info on anything regarding school since accepting my offer.

sarahk09 · May 15

girlypop said:

When do we find out what classes to sign up for and what our class schedule will be like? The registration date is June 10 but I have not received any info on anything regarding school since accepting my offer.

Ignore registration dates. There are only so many people in the nursing program so you do not have to compete for spaces in classes. You will get an email about what classes to register for, probably a week or so before school starts. Get used to finding out everything very last minute, especially clinical placements.

girlypop · May 15

sarahk09 said:

Ignore registration dates. There are only so many people in the nursing program so you do not have to compete for spaces in classes. You will get an email about what classes to register for, probably a week or so before school starts. Get used to finding out everything very last minute, especially clinical placements.

Based on the road map for what classes we will be taking for semester 1, I was looking at the class schedule for those classes and saw that there will be at least 1 class from M-Th and they all seem to be in person. Is this an accurate schedule to look at or will it be different when we get our actual class schedule. I don't want to commute from San Jose if it's 4 days a week I will need to be on campus but don't mind if it's only 2-3 days. I want to check with you to see how accurate the class schedule was online. Thank you so much for answering all my questions by the way, I really appreciate it!

sarahk09 · May 15

girlypop said:

Based on the road map for what classes we will be taking for semester 1, I was looking at the class schedule for those classes and saw that there will be at least 1 class from M-Th and they all seem to be in person. Is this an accurate schedule to look at or will it be different when we get our actual class schedule. I don't want to commute from San Jose if it's 4 days a week I will need to be on campus but don't mind if it's only 2-3 days. I want to check with you to see how accurate the class schedule was online. Thank you so much for answering all my questions by the way, I really appreciate it!

I already mentioned how many days a week you should expect to be in person.

girlypop · May 15

sarahk09 said:

I already mentioned how many days a week you should expect to be in person.

I understand that but I am saying that based on the class schedule for the classes we are expected to take during the first semester, the dates and times for the classes on the portal class search show that classes will be 4 days a week. I wanted to know if the class schedule online is accurate or if it will be different than what is on the class search

sarahk09 · May 15

girlypop said:

I understand that but I am saying that based on the class schedule for the classes we are expected to take during the first semester, the dates and times for the classes on the portal class search show that classes will be 4 days a week. I wanted to know if the class schedule online is accurate or if it will be different than what is on the class search

Nothing online is accurate and you won't know your real schedule until right before the semester begins.

SarahC12 · May 15

sarahk09 said:

They tell us we can't. They don't award us our BSN until after our 3rd year, at the same time as our MSN. So if we pass the NCLEX we will be RNs but not have a degree. A lot of places won't even hire you without your actual degree. We heard through the grapevine that students lied about already having their BSN when they got nursing jobs their 3rd year and that contributed to them getting kicked out. But I don't know the full story. We spoke to a level 6 ELM student (someone in their last semester during 3rd year) and they said there is no time to work as an RN even if you wanted to/could. I agree that 3 years without work is a crazy expectation. Many of us work part time in other fields to support ourselves.

Thanks sarahk! Do you think it's work getting a Masters? A lot of the nurses I talk to have said that it doesn't really do you any good, until maybe way later down the line if you become a manager or something (which still takes so much time) Of course this is only Stanford nurses talking so I'm not sure how other hospitals would pay, but based off what you've heard and learned about MSN, what do you think? Also is the 3rd year something you can finish faster(like based off of how you can schedule your classes, etc.) or is it a definite 3 year program? Someone told me the last year can be done earlier than 1 whole year but I didn't think that was true.

sarahk09 · May 15

SarahC12 said:

Thanks sarahk! Do you think it's work getting a Masters? A lot of the nurses I talk to have said that it doesn't really do you any good, until maybe way later down the line if you become a manager or something (which still takes so much time) Of course this is only Stanford nurses talking so I'm not sure how other hospitals would pay, but based off what you've heard and learned about MSN, what do you think? Also is the 3rd year something you can finish faster(like based off of how you can schedule your classes, etc.) or is it a definite 3 year program? Someone told me the last year can be done earlier than 1 whole year but I didn't think that was true.

A master's degree in nursing is a good idea if you're interested in a leadership role in the future. It does not really impact your role as a regular nurse. I have not heard anything about being able to finish faster. This is a 6 semester program with classes only offered certain semesters so I'm not sure how someone would be able to finish any faster. Maybe they were referring to the regular BSN program.

SarahC12 · May 16

sarahk09 said:

Does anyone know when the orientation is supposed to be? I know they mentioned August, but wanted to see if anyone has an actual date for this? Does school start in August or September? Thank you!! Super helpful.

sarahk09 · May 16

SarahC12 said:

Our orientation was early August. School starts in the last couple weeks of August.

bertie · May 16

Hello everyone! I am late to the thread, but it's nice to finally meet you all. I was wondering if anyone has heard about any updates waitlist wise? I am in the adult/gerontology concentration.