Seattle U - APNI 2013

Nursing Students NP Students

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Hello everyone - this is my second time applying. A month ago, I bombed the interview!

If this is your first time applying, there's a world of information from previous years, especially from the 2012 thread where we reached more than one thousand messages.

I know it's super early to start this thread, but this whole thing takes a long time to prepare and the more time we have before the deadline, the better.

I'm from the Seattle area, my background is Microbiology from the UW and I am again applying for the midwifery track.

What does everyone perceive the job market to be like for graduates like us who will have no nursing experience. This is my main concern with this program and I would love to know what other people think of it. Does anyone know FNPs from this accelerated program that was employed right after?

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Hi bobobijoux, welcome!

The interview is not a big deal at all. It's about 8 questions and you have 30 minutes. There will be 2 faculty interviewing you but I heard sometimes it can be only 1. I remember two of those questions being how you resolve conflicts, but they want to know also what makes you an ideal candidate and how SU can help you achieve your dreams.

I know someone who just finished midwifery there and is doing a mini residency right now. They are learning tons! You will be a novice nurse practicioner. Job is kind of tough for everybody right now, and I know there are states that are harder than others to get job. I also heard that the best bet is to work with underserved populations.

Good luck!

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Hi Calinca,

Thank you for your response. I've looked over some of the 2012 thread and it's very helpful.

Can I ask why you felt you "bombed" the interview? What do you think you would do differently next time?

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I bombed because I wasn't ready and I knew I wasn't. I knew when I left that I had not said "why midwifery" the way I wanted to say. Maybe I boycotted myself because deep inside I felt I was faking my way into the whole thing - you see, I had work/volunteer experience from 10 years ago, in Brazil. Those experiences were so long ago that I couldn't even put them in the context of the interview, it was like they never existed. It was hard for me to talk about conflicts when I had pretty much none of value.

Next time, it's going to be a world of difference because I've been volunteering as a prison doula (which is a larger role than the typical doula in the "real world") and now I feel I belong to this midwifery world, so at least I am not going to be so nervous. And I will be able to say why midwifery. I have had tons of situations that required a lot of problem solving, conflict solving, etc. I've been getting a better sense of why I want to do this, knowing myself more. I'm learning tons about reprodutive justice and oppressions, being involved in so many things that I am confident I can answer those questions the best way that I can.

Anything can happen and maybe, just maybe, I will be too nervous again and will bomb again. It will probably mean that I am not at the point of making the life and death decisions that they want me to be able to make. As a midwife, you have to keep your poise in the most stressful of situations and I need to learn for sure if I will be able to do that or not. I'm not sure if I am being to critical of myself or if this is a skill learned. My impression though, is that I am a lot more confident in myself and I have no problem in talking about that right now.

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Tessa,

may I ask more about you now? Tell us about yourself! It will be fun when november comes along and this thread is full of people hoping and wishing and dreaming. :)

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Calinca, your volunteer experience as a prison doula sounds incredible. I am sure you will learn a lot there and feel even more confident when it comes time to interview next year.

I have a BA in Humanities and Social Science and never really had a plan for what I would do with that degree. Having dropped out of highschool at 14 I feel like my BA filled in all my educational gaps. I started thinking about healthcare a year ago and started looking into nutrition programs and naturopathic medicine with the intention of serving the underserved. For a variety of reasons (ie cost of programs and lack of jobs in those fields especially if you want to serve people who have no money), I quickly started looking at nursing. I want to become an NP, no doubt, it is my ideal job and I can't wait to be able to practice. Also, SU's jesuit tradition really fits into goals of social justice.There is no right or wrong way of becoming an NP, but I have been looking at all the possibilities. I was a little discouraged from SU's ARNP program because of what a few nurses said about not being able to get a job because of lack of experience. However, I have heard from multiple people that it really doesn't matter and that NPs have such a different job description that having RN experience is not critical for success. After looking at all the options, Associate RN, BSN, Accelerated BSN I am back on board with this ARNP program at SU.

I'm finishing prereqs this winter and then I have to focus on my GRE, but I will have plenty of time to do that if I'm applying in 2013. I'm also working as a CNA and volunteering at the Bailey-Bushay House. Whatever happens happens but I would really love to get into the program the first time I apply so I just want to make sure I have all my ducks lined up.

So, that's a little about how I found my way to this program. I would love to hear other people's stories too!

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Why don't you apply this year? Deadline is dec 1st, if you take your gre before then you could apply this year to start june 2013.

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I've thought about it. I guess I feel like I won't be very competitive because I am still working on prereqs. I still have A+P I and II and the Dev Psych class which all won't be on my transcript when it's sent. What do you think? Maybe I should still apply and see what happens. Were you done with all prereqs when you applied the first time?

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Tessa,

I went for it last year. I didn't have either AP I, II, Dev Psych and Math and still got called for the interview. I went with the "que será, será" attitude and it kind of worked for me in a way that at least I could learn from my mistakes. If you are already thinking of entering only in 2014, maybe you will be pleasantly surprised. I would encourage you to try, you have nothing to lose really. You don't need to pay again for the second time you apply and you also don't have send all the documents again. But aside for that, I have to say that having all the prereqs done play very little in the whole thing. Having a great personal statement (make sure yours is reviewed by a lot of good people) and great recommendation letters is what got me the interview, I am sure.

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Hmm... the seed is planted:) I'm going to think about it a bit more. How was your GRE score? I'm a little concerned about my dusty algebra skills but I'm sure I can fix that.

How does applying for the second time work? Do you just resend the application form?

Thanks for the encouragement... I might go for.

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I just emailed them saying that I wanted to apply again, that's it, no need for a second formal application. Now when November comes along, I'll send a new resumé, personal statement and updated transcripts.My gre was ok, around the mid 600 for both, but I hate math and English is not my first language, so I think that was the best ill ever get haha ;) Are you in the Seattle area? There's a guy who teaches a brief gre prep at the UW with TONS if great tips and tricks. The classes were great for me who just needed to brush up - I finished high school in 1994 and only took statistics at the UW. Oh well, I'm taking the required college algebra now. Can't run away from it forever, right? ;)Don't hesitate to keep asking questions, you should totally do it!! But start moving now since the scores take several weeks to be sent.

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