Trent University Compressed Nursing 2016

miniimufin · Apr 8, 2016

You guys...i am a nervous wreck right now...I'm checking my email and Trent portal obsessively....on the main 2016 2nd entry thread. a bunch of people received acceptances last month. Has anyone else heard back in April? On their site it says admissions started in March and will be on a rolling basis. I kinda threw all my eggs in the Trent basket. I applied to Humber too (only last month-a bit late)...

mtah · Apr 8, 2016

You guys...i am a nervous wreck right now...I'm checking my email and Trent portal obsessively....on the main 2016 2nd entry thread. a bunch of people received acceptances last month. Has anyone else heard back in April? On their site it says admissions started in March and will be on a rolling basis. I kinda threw all my eggs in the Trent basket. I applied to Humber too (only last month-a bit late)...

Hey! i called them last week and they said acceptances go up until June!

Anon101 · Apr 12, 2016

Hey all, I'm also in the Trent compressed program and started in September 2015. If you have any questions let me know.

mtah · Apr 12, 2016

I was just wondering when did you hear back from them and also what was your GPA like? Thank you!

mimiMari · Apr 12, 2016

Hey all, I'm also in the Trent compressed program and started in September 2015. If you have any questions let me know.

Thanks a lot! Congrats in almost finishing your first year in the program! How was it? Was the courseload doable? Any tips for studying and course arrangement would be very appreciated. How do you find the program overall? Is the labs and class well put together? And how are the nursing admin, are they easy to get a hold or and talk to? Also were you in rez? If so, was it a good experience? I'm nervous as to how I will adapt to Trent because I've stayed in my home-town for my first undergrad degree (and all my life lol). Are there a lot of clubs and a welcoming week?

Sorry, I'm asking you so many questions xD

sammie4 · Apr 12, 2016

Hi MelindaSJ,

congratulations on your first year! I hope you enjoyed it! I was wondering how the schedule works with placement and courses in the same semester. Are the placements local? Do we have any classes online? Do we make our own travel arrangements for placements (I will be living on residence)?

Anon101 · Apr 13, 2016

Thanks a lot! Congrats in almost finishing your first year in the program! How was it? Was the courseload doable? Any tips for studying and course arrangement would be very appreciated. How do you find the program overall? Is the labs and class well put together? And how are the nursing admin, are they easy to get a hold or and talk to? Also were you in rez? If so, was it a good experience? I'm nervous as to how I will adapt to Trent because I've stayed in my home-town for my first undergrad degree (and all my life lol). Are there a lot of clubs and a welcoming week?
Sorry, I'm asking you so many questions xD

It's going well so far. The course load is definitely doable. I had some transfer credits so in my first semester I only had to take 4 courses, and this semester I had 5. Some people only had 3 courses last term, and 4 this term and have been working on the side. Trent is very good with transfer credits. The only thing I don't like is how some of the courses are structured, and how reading-intensive some of them are. For example, I have taken two nursing courses that had microbiology, pharmacology, and nutrition combined into one. I felt like it was a lot of work, personally. It is manageable though. I like the way the weekly schedules are like (depending on how you arrange your lectures, seminars, and labs). For both semesters, I had to be on campus only twice a week! I decided to drive from home, about an hour away. Unfortunately the labs and clinical placement I find don't connect too well with the nursing theory courses as of yet. The theory courses are extremely dry, and the essays are worth 30% each. I wish there was a greater emphasis on the "hands on" aspect of things. As for the nursing admin, they're generally very supportive and approachable. There are clubs (i.e. rowing) and a welcome week, but since I commute, I don't partake that often. I think the program is decent, but is was a change for me coming here from a research-intensive university where I got my first degree. Any more questions, let me know!

MelindaSJ · Apr 14, 2016

Hi MelindaSJ,
congratulations on your first year! I hope you enjoyed it! I was wondering how the schedule works with placement and courses in the same semester. Are the placements local? Do we have any classes online? Do we make our own travel arrangements for placements (I will be living on residence)?

For your first few placements - LTC, mat-child/mental health - you will have one shift a week, based on a set schedule your group is assigned. The program is planned out with times for your placement built into your schedule - usually Thursdays and Fridays. Those days will be "blocked out" in your schedule - they don't let you enroll in classes on either of those days, because you will be at placement for one of them. So, for example, all of your labs and classes will be set on Monday-Wednesday, and then you will attend placement on one of those other days, whenever you are assigned. Because of this, you tend to have some long days - for example, this semester we had all of our lectures from 10 am - 4 pm on Monday, and then had our seminars and lab Tuesday and Wednesday, and then our acute placement (which was 2 days a week) either Thursday and Friday or Saturday and Sunday on a rotating schedule.

I think they are offering the research classes online now.. but most are in person.

Placements are local - meaning the Peterborough area. That sometimes includes Oshawa, sometimes Whitby, Cobourg, Lindsay, Campbellford, etc. Most are in town. You do make your own travel arrangements - people tend to car pool, but Trent also offers a clinical "taxi pass" that you purchase at the start of the semester, and then a cab picks you up at a set time on campus and takes you to/from placement.

sammie4 · Apr 14, 2016

Are there any tours offered during the summer for new students? I would like to see the residences before I move in during the fall.

MelindaSJ · Apr 15, 2016

Are there any tours offered during the summer for new students? I would like to see the residences before I move in during the fall.

I'm sure you can book tours, check the Trent website.

studdent · Apr 15, 2016

You absolutely will be able to go out of country, province, but you need to touch base with the placement coordinator well in advance and keep your marks up - there is a cut off. You won't be able to organize placements or contact people about them yourself, it's against policy and they don't. Of course nothing is guaranteed because it varies by what is available year to year.
The program has no breaks apart from the chance of having a week between exams and next session - it is laid out as follows
Fall 1 (Nurs 1000, 1001, Biol 1050, Biol-Chem 1550, +0.5 credit 3000 level elective)
Winter 1 (Nurs 1020 Long-term care placement + labs, Nurs 1002, 2550, 2030, Biol 1051)
Spring & Summer 1 (Nurs 2021 Mat/Child or Mental Health placement + labs, Nurs 2003, 2001)
Fall 2 (Nurs 2020 Community placement, Nurs 2000, 3030, 3550, +0.5 credit 3000 elective)
Winter 2 (Nurs 3020 Acute placement + labs, Nurs 3000, 3001, 3004, + forced choice elective)
Spring 2 (Nurs 3021 Chronic placement + labs)
Summer 2 (Nurs 4020 Pre-consolidation + online advanced topic)
Fall 3 (Nurs 4021/4022 Consolidation + online advanced topic)

Hi MelindaSJ and Anon101

How did you find first and second semester courses? Is it very difficult? Is there lot of dropouts? Which courses were toughest? Do you get lot of break between classes during the week to study the courses? Is there lot of work to do like assignment, seminar etc ? And are the profs supportive.

I think I am just scared

Any tips or feedback will be helpful

Thank you

MelindaSJ · Apr 15, 2016

Hi MelindaSJ and Anon101
How did you find first and second semester courses? Is it very difficult? Is there lot of dropouts? Which courses were toughest? Do you get lot of break between classes during the week to study the courses? Is there lot of work to do like assignment, seminar etc ? And are the profs supportive.
I think I am just scared
Any tips or feedback will be helpful
Thank you

Of course you are scared! The unknown is always scary. And people sometimes talk about nursing school as though it is a war from start to finish. But remember that everyone is a total beginner at the start of the program so you will be starting from the same spot as everyone else. You can be successful!

Difficulty of courses really depends on your learning style. In the first few semesters the theory courses can seem really challenging because the concepts are more abstract, the marking is more subjective. Don't obsess over getting 90% on all of your assignments - the reality of EVERY university is that marking is often subjective, sometimes unfair - I have several very bright friends who have gotten lower marks then they deserved on assignments simply because they were randomly allocated to Marker #3 out of 4 or whatever. People complain a lot about essays in the first few semesters - remember, this is university! Getting a 90% on a university level essay is tough! It's supposed to be! But it doesn't matter - we are here to learn. If you get a low mark, make sure you learn where you went wrong. Ask questions. Faculty are there to help you.

Anatomy and Physiology are of course challenging - there is a lot to memorize! Same with Patho, Pharm.. it's just a lot of new concepts in a short period of time. The second Winter semester is VERY challenging in terms of readings and assignments - the workload is very heavy. Many of us felt extremely stressed out this term. But I only know of a few people who have dropped out. Most people are successful. The program is designed to build each course off of the previous course - so start early, review often, and make sure you have a good understanding of the foundational concepts. The MOST important thing is to stay on top of your work! You will be successful if you do this. You will get yourself into trouble if you procrastinate, put things off, and then suddenly try to teach yourself 4+ weeks of material a week before you are tested on it.

Also remember - there is SO MUCH nursing info out there online and readily available to you. If you feel like a prof hasn't taught a concept thoroughly enough for you to understand it, don't just complain about it - take some initiative and try to find the answer for yourself! Even Youtube has tons of great videos for review.

The biggest tips I can give you are to be self-reliant and to manage your time well. The compressed program is set up with the expectation that you have the ability to manage your own learning needs appropriately. If you are struggling, acknowledge it and get some help! One great thing about Trent, is that you have access to all of your profs at all times - it's such a small faculty and a small campus. The faculty are very kind if you make an effort to get to know them. Make an appointment to talk to the prof about concepts that are confusing you. Reach out to classmates. Book extra lab time to practice! And try not to be afraid to ask questions - sometimes the best thing you can do is admit "I don't know!".

Be aware of your stress levels. Make time to do things that make you happy. Also... KEEP ALL OF YOUR NOTES! You will use them over and over again in later courses.. and of course when you prep for the NCLEX eventually!