U of A MEPN 2022

LANative21, RN · Feb 2, 2022

17 minutes ago, yeci101 said:

Yes, thank you so much for all of this info! It's nice to know what can be expected. Would you mind sharing what financial aid for the program is like? I assume most students don't work as the program is full-time. Would you say most people take out loans for their educational expenses as well as to live? Are there a good amount of grants and/or scholarship opportunities for the program? Or are they limited?

You're welcome!

Most of us have taken some sort of financial aid. There are some students who work either full or part time, although that is dependent on the person. I could not work and do this program, I'd lose my damn mind LOL. A friend of mine quit her job after the first few months and took out more loans. Some of us are still working and are doing fine. It is really dependent on how you are as a person. Grants and scholarships are limited, the U of A does have a scholarship portal that you can apply to, its an easy process.

If you can, I recommend to all of you to start putting away money now. There are lots of small expenses that add up before the program starts. Not to mention books and supplies.

Another thing to note! At some point after decisions are sent out, there should be a meet and greet with the advisors/some faculty. They had a Zoom one for us, so it is safe to assume they will do the same for you guys. I suggest writing down ANY questions you guys might have so you can ask those at that time. There might have been changes to the upcoming cohort that we aren't aware of because it doesn't apply to us. Just want to make sure y'all get the best info possible.

teensie · Feb 2, 2022

21 minutes ago, LANative21 said:

You're welcome!

Most of us have taken some sort of financial aid. There are some students who work either full or part time, although that is dependent on the person. I could not work and do this program, I'd lose my damn mind LOL. A friend of mine quit her job after the first few months and took out more loans. Some of us are still working and are doing fine. It is really dependent on how you are as a person. Grants and scholarships are limited, the U of A does have a scholarship portal that you can apply to, its an easy process.

If you can, I recommend to all of you to start putting away money now. There are lots of small expenses that add up before the program starts. Not to mention books and supplies.

Another thing to note! At some point after decisions are sent out, there should be a meet and greet with the advisors/some faculty. They had a Zoom one for us, so it is safe to assume they will do the same for you guys. I suggest writing down ANY questions you guys might have so you can ask those at that time. There might have been changes to the upcoming cohort that we aren't aware of because it doesn't apply to us. Just want to make sure y'all get the best info possible.

I've kept working at my job which is remote, but it only takes 10-15 hrs a week usually. It's been manageable but I'm also married and so my husband helps take care of some chores and such (but also, being married and pouring into my relationship takes time from my schedule too!). Previous cohorts have told me if you have a very flexible job, it's doable, and I would just reiterate that. But not working would be BEST.

Also, when yall do get your acceptances, if the book list doesn't change much, I have some free pdf books I can share because I don't want people wasting money on more books!

katiemark, CNA · Feb 3, 2022

On 1/31/2022 at 11:38 AM, teensie said:

Hi future MEPNers! I am a current student and can maybe answer questions if you have any! I know interviews are so scary - I don't know if you had a writing question, but the time went off for me during the written one, and I was halfway through a sentence which was so embarrassing. But I still got in! (And actually it was my 2nd time applying - I didn't get in the first year I tried - I was waitlisted to Tucson and eventually got in to Phx but couldn't take that, but persistence pays off too!)

I have one more question for you: what do the classroom days look like schedule wise? Meaning what time do you start, end, have breaks?
(Thank you again for humoring our million questions!)

teensie · Feb 3, 2022

9 minutes ago, katiemark said:

I have one more question for you: what do the classroom days look like schedule wise? Meaning what time do you start, end, have breaks?
(Thank you again for humoring our million questions!)

I think all classes have been 9am to noonish. Sometimes it's 3x a week, sometimes 1x a week. That's for class content.

Lab sessions are any time during the day and usually 4 hours long ish. There's usually 1-2 lab sessions in a week for a few weeks and then that ends so you can start clinicals

Freedomroks · Feb 3, 2022

3 hours ago, teensie said:

I think all classes have been 9am to noonish. Sometimes it's 3x a week, sometimes 1x a week. That's for class content.

Lab sessions are any time during the day and usually 4 hours long ish. There's usually 1-2 lab sessions in a week for a few weeks and then that ends so you can start clinicals

It's probably obvious to everyone but I want to make sure I have the right idea, that labs are like skills practice just not with real patients, right?

teensie · Feb 3, 2022

24 minutes ago, Freedomroks said:

It's probably obvious to everyone but I want to make sure I have the right idea, that labs are like skills practice just not with real patients, right?

Haha I also wanted clarity on that when I started. Lab is practicing things on mannequins and such! No real patients. And lab can be like practicing giving meds or positioning patients or learning how to do catheters, etc

UniquelyMe · Feb 4, 2022

On 1/31/2022 at 6:25 PM, teensie said:

haha, you're just like me - I wanted these details too.

Hmm...there's not a ton of time for oneself, but there is some. It depends on the week in terms of how much self time I have. There does come a point though where you have to decide (and luckily, I had some experience in this from undergrad) if your mental health is more important than getting a particular grade on something (spoiler- your mental health is more important). So you figure out how to balance your time.

Clinicals are like 2x a week (or less depending on the rotation). Plus exams like every other week. Papers happen too. The profs try to spread things out though between the classes!

That's nice to know that the profs spread out the course work between classes. This way you don't have everything due all at once or at the same time and still have to go to clinicals.

Melrn2B23 · Feb 4, 2022

I just found this post. I applied for Summer 2022 as well for Tucson only. I have a couple of questions for those that are in the program currently.
You said you found out feb 12. We were told it would take about 4 weeks. We’re you told this as well and just found out early?
For labs and clinical do you have set times you need to go in or is this flexible and you can go in based on your schedule?
About how many days a week are you going on campus?
Do you recommend getting a parking pass?
How much A and P information should you know before starting? Do you think it is important to have anything reviewed or memorized before starting the program?
Thanks so much for being willing to share!

LANative21, RN · Feb 4, 2022

19 minutes ago, Melrn23 said:

I just found this post. I applied for Summer 2022 as well for Tucson only. I have a couple of questions for those that are in the program currently.
You said you found out feb 12. We were told it would take about 4 weeks. We’re you told this as well and just found out early?
For labs and clinical do you have set times you need to go in or is this flexible and you can go in based on your schedule?
About how many days a week are you going on campus?
Do you recommend getting a parking pass?
How much A and P information should you know before starting? Do you think it is important to have anything reviewed or memorized before starting the program?
Thanks so much for being willing to share!

Hi! I am in the Phoenix cohort but I can answer some of the questions in your post as its basically the same. Our interviews needed to be complete by 2/1 so it took about two weeks to hear back. Yours might be longer based on how long it takes to get through all the videos and make decisions.

Labs and clinical are at set times, you go when they tell you. Some professors will ask for your availability at the beginning of each level but they cant guarantee anything. The one or two professors that asked us were not able to give me any of my preferred times.

So, schedules are a bit tricky. The first two levels are structured the same. The first few weeks are class + labs. Labs are where you learn a lot of skills for clinical. Then the format changes to class + clinical. Clinical is offsite at whatever hospital/facility you are assigned to. I'd say on average you'd be on campus 3 ish times a week. The second two levels are a whole other ballpark that I would need a lot more time to explain haha. Not hard, just different scheduling.

I would recommend a parking pass. I did my undergrad at the U of A in Tucson and it is a lot harder (impossible) to find free parking. I don't have a parking pass in Phoenix because there are places to park (it does require some walking).

I wouldn't go nuts on A&P unless its been a couple years since you took the class. Even then just a basic review will be fine.

Hope this helps!

teensie · Feb 4, 2022

5 minutes ago, Melrn23 said:

I just found this post. I applied for Summer 2022 as well for Tucson only. I have a couple of questions for those that are in the program currently.
You said you found out feb 12. We were told it would take about 4 weeks. We’re you told this as well and just found out early?
For labs and clinical do you have set times you need to go in or is this flexible and you can go in based on your schedule?
About how many days a week are you going on campus?
Do you recommend getting a parking pass?
How much A and P information should you know before starting? Do you think it is important to have anything reviewed or memorized before starting the program?
Thanks so much for being willing to share!

Yeah, we just found out early.

It's set times; that's a big reason why they don't recommend people have jobs.

It depends on the week because they front-load classes at the beginning of the semesters. So at the beginning, it's like 4 days a week. Middle of the semester, 2x a week-ish. Or some weeks it's none.

I am glad I have a parking pass. Some people bike if they live close enough.

A&P - just basics. I didn't review any, but I retook the 2nd A&P the fall before we started.

Don't spend time reviewing anything. They teach you what you need!

Nursingstudent23_ · Feb 4, 2022

Does anyone know how difficult it generally is to find a job after graduating? (Current or former students)

teensie · Feb 4, 2022

7 minutes ago, TaylorL23 said:

Does anyone know how difficult it generally is to find a job after graduating? (Current or former students)

From what I understand, if you stay in Arizona, it's quite easy. If you go out of state, it can be a little harder since those places aren't familiar with the MEPN Program. But I believe most people have jobs by graduation. All within a year of graduation, I believe is the statistics.