U of Arizona MEPN 2023

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Hey everyone!

Did anyone apply to the University of Arizona MEPN program for next Summer's cohort cycle? The waiting game is already killing me!

Current Gilbert MEPN student here. Congratulations to those accepted into the program! For those that have been waitlisted, there's still a chance! I believe people were taken off the waitlist as early as one month after acceptance emails were sent out and as late as 2-3 weeks before the semester started. 

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Hi there! I'm a current gilbert MEPN student, graduating in August 2023, and happy to answer any questions you may have! 

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uofagilmepnstudent said:

Hi there! I'm a current gilbert MEPN student, graduating in August 2023, and happy to answer any questions you may have! 

Definitely have a question about the intensity of the program. I know it's full time but how realistic is it to have a job, like part-time or full-time? 

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desertdwelleraz said:

Definitely have a question about the intensity of the program. I know it's full time but how realistic is it to have a job, like part-time or full-time? 

Hi! So this is unfortunately a very "it depends" question. There are aspects of the program that are really work intensive or clinical intensive, etc. I found level 2 to be the "hardest" due to material and clinical expectations. But, level 3 was extremely fast-paced with all 3 exams being within 2-3 weeks of each other. There are people in my cohort who have part-time jobs, full-time jobs, families, etc. and they manage. It depends on your financial situation, work ethic and how you learn as a student. I personally did not have a job at all throughout the program and felt that it was beneficial because I was spending so much of my "free" time on school. 

For us, the average for all exams for each course had to meet a 70%. While this sounds "easy", the content is intensive and the questions vary in complication (again, based off of how much time allocated to studying).

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uofagilmepnstudent said:

Hi there! I'm a current gilbert MEPN student, graduating in August 2023, and happy to answer any questions you may have! 

Hi there!!
I have a lot of questions - sorry!
One is in regards to the uniform (scrubs). I know we need to get the specific scrub top that is embroidered, but on the UA Bookstore website it looks like there are 2 Cherokee bottom styles to choose from - an elastic waist or a drawstring waist. Are we able to choose one of these two styles? Also, is your cohort done with your school scrubs (or will you be by May of this year) so we could buy them from you guys?? Is there a facebook group the Summer 2023 cohort could join to ask for those things to buy like scrubs, books, etc? Hoping to save some $$$! ?
Second question - how strict are they with shoes for clinicals? Do they really have to be 100% all white or all black? I get that they need to be non-mesh and non-canvas, but wasn't sure if the soles could be black and the top white etc. Also - do you have a style/brand of shoe you recommend?? I am leaning towards the Bala Twelves!
Third question! Does everyone just wear normal 'street clothes' to lectures? Or do you wear your scrubs 100% of the time?

Another one! Stethoscopes - I am leaning towards the Littman Classic III or Cardiology IV. Any recs?

Final question (for now!) I need to renew my CPR. Can I take any AHA CPR class or does it have to be BLS?

Thank you SO much for taking the time to connect on our thread!! I hope I get to meet you also thank you in person sometime! 

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Treefrog007 said:

Hi there!!
I have a lot of questions - sorry!
One is in regards to the uniform (scrubs). I know we need to get the specific scrub top that is embroidered, but on the UA Bookstore website it looks like there are 2 Cherokee bottom styles to choose from - an elastic waist or a drawstring waist. Are we able to choose one of these two styles? Also, is your cohort done with your school scrubs (or will you be by May of this year) so we could buy them from you guys?? Is there a facebook group the Summer 2023 cohort could join to ask for those things to buy like scrubs, books, etc? Hoping to save some $$$! ?
Second question - how strict are they with shoes for clinicals? Do they really have to be 100% all white or all black? I get that they need to be non-mesh and non-canvas, but wasn't sure if the soles could be black and the top white etc. Also - do you have a style/brand of shoe you recommend?? I am leaning towards the Bala Twelves!
Third question! Does everyone just wear normal 'street clothes' to lectures? Or do you wear your scrubs 100% of the time?

Another one! Stethoscopes - I am leaning towards the Littman Classic III or Cardiology IV. Any recs?

Final question (for now!) I need to renew my CPR. Can I take any AHA CPR class or does it have to be BLS?

Thank you SO much for taking the time to connect on our thread!! I hope I get to meet you also thank you in person sometime! 

Hi there! No worries, I had a million and ten questions when I started too! So for scrubs, the tops from the bookstore are required. I chose to get different Cherokee bottoms as the bookstore ones are "cheapy". Here is a link for those: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07K2K9PV4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 . I don't believe we will be done with our scrubs by May, because we will be in our preceptorships at that time. 

The facebook group was not made by the students! I believe the school invites the students (or admits them). There is one giant MEPN facebook Group (link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/UANursingMEPN/), not necessarily by cohort/year, but I will say, it is not really a place that people ask a bunch of questions in for admission. My cohort made a Discord server for all of us to be able to communicate with one another and that was SUPER helpful. We still use it! 

For shoes, they are quite strict with the parameters. I'm going to be completely honest and tell you that I have gone through many, many shoes for lab/clinicals and my favorite BY FAR are Crocs (without holes, link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0014JKJHK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1). I know they are hideous and an absolute eye sore, but I swear to you, my feet have never hurt while wearing them for 10-12+ hours. 

For lectures, we wear street clothes. They did ask us at one point to be "conservative" and not wear leggings, which we all found strange and they have since not really cared. The only advice I would give is to be mindful that you do represent the school, as well as yourself as a Masters student, so just be sure nothing in hanging out :). They are pretty good about letting us know if we need to be in our scrubs!

For stethoscopes, I'm going to be honest, do not feel that you need to spend a fortune. We used them the most during level 1 during our health assessment course and of course in clinicals during assessments, but as long as you can hear through it, it'll be perfect!

For CPR, and anything else regarding compliance, be 100% sure to follow every little detail they mention. It's a pain and a half, but once you're done, you don't have to revisit it much throughout the program. That being said, absolutely take the BLS through American Heart Association ONLY! I know it is a daunting list to get through, but I highly recommend starting/completing compliance as early as possible! Especially fingerprints!

Of course! I am happy to help. It can be scary to enter into something new and I was really grateful for my mentor (you all will learn more about that later) for giving me advice. Please feel free to ask as many more questions as you'd like and I will try to answer as much as possible :).

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uofagilmepnstudent said:

Hi there! No worries, I had a million and ten questions when I started too! So for scrubs, the tops from the bookstore are required. I chose to get different Cherokee bottoms as the bookstore ones are "cheapy". Here is a link for those: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07K2K9PV4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 . I don't believe we will be done with our scrubs by May, because we will be in our preceptorships at that time. 

The facebook group was not made by the students! I believe the school invites the students (or admits them). There is one giant MEPN facebook Group (link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/UANursingMEPN/), not necessarily by cohort/year, but I will say, it is not really a place that people ask a bunch of questions in for admission. My cohort made a Discord server for all of us to be able to communicate with one another and that was SUPER helpful. We still use it! 

For shoes, they are quite strict with the parameters. I'm going to be completely honest and tell you that I have gone through many, many shoes for lab/clinicals and my favorite BY FAR are Crocs (without holes, link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0014JKJHK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1). I know they are hideous and an absolute eye sore, but I swear to you, my feet have never hurt while wearing them for 10-12+ hours. 

For lectures, we wear street clothes. They did ask us at one point to be "conservative" and not wear leggings, which we all found strange and they have since not really cared. The only advice I would give is to be mindful that you do represent the school, as well as yourself as a Masters student, so just be sure nothing in hanging out :). They are pretty good about letting us know if we need to be in our scrubs!

For stethoscopes, I'm going to be honest, do not feel that you need to spend a fortune. We used them the most during level 1 during our health assessment course and of course in clinicals during assessments, but as long as you can hear through it, it'll be perfect!

For CPR, and anything else regarding compliance, be 100% sure to follow every little detail they mention. It's a pain and a half, but once you're done, you don't have to revisit it much throughout the program. That being said, absolutely take the BLS through American Heart Association ONLY! I know it is a daunting list to get through, but I highly recommend starting/completing compliance as early as possible! Especially fingerprints!

Of course! I am happy to help. It can be scary to enter into something new and I was really grateful for my mentor (you all will learn more about that later) for giving me advice. Please feel free to ask as many more questions as you'd like and I will try to answer as much as possible :).

I appreciate you SO much - this was so extremely helpful!! We have our first onboarding orientation session via Zoom on Monday, but this was so great that I was able to get these random questions out of the way!! I am going to look up those scrub pants an those crocs for sure!!

I have gotten my titers drawn and my first TB screen test done/read. I have heard the compliance checklist can take awhile to get through, so I started ASAP! And luckily I already have my fingerprint clearance card!!

You rock!!

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Treefrog007 said:

I appreciate you SO much - this was so extremely helpful!! We have our first onboarding orientation session via Zoom on Monday, but this was so great that I was able to get these random questions out of the way!! I am going to look up those scrub pants an those crocs for sure!!

I have gotten my titers drawn and my first TB screen test done/read. I have heard the compliance checklist can take awhile to get through, so I started ASAP! And luckily I already have my fingerprint clearance card!!

You rock!!

Of course, any time! After going through the program, I felt that the most information I ever received was from other students or previous cohorts. Some aspects mentioned in orientation can further confusion and again, I HIGHLY recommend creating a Discord server and inviting your cohort. If you all need help doing so, I am also more than happy to help organize this! We split it up so as a Gilbert student, I am NOT in the Tucson Discord, but the cohorts themselves are very separate anyway. That being said, I am more than happy to join your servers once they are created and answer any and all questions to the best of my ability!

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uofagilmepnstudent said:

Of course, any time! After going through the program, I felt that the most information I ever received was from other students or previous cohorts. Some aspects mentioned in orientation can further confusion and again, I HIGHLY recommend creating a Discord server and inviting your cohort. If you all need help doing so, I am also more than happy to help organize this! We split it up so as a Gilbert student, I am NOT in the Tucson Discord, but the cohorts themselves are very separate anyway. That being said, I am more than happy to join your servers once they are created and answer any and all questions to the best of my ability!

I had to Google what a Discord server was!! Therefore, safe to say I think I may need help with that! And I agree, I think it makes so much sense to keep the Tucson cohort separate from the Gilbert one!

I am not able to private message you - are you able to private message me on here? I am trying to think how we could connect other than through this thread so we don't take it over until we have the Discord server created! ?

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Treefrog007 said:

I had to Google what a Discord server was!! Therefore, safe to say I think I may need help with that! And I agree, I think it makes so much sense to keep the Tucson cohort separate from the Gilbert one!

I am not able to private message you - are you able to private message me on here? I am trying to think how we could connect other than through this thread so we don't take it over until we have the Discord server created! ?

If you click on my profile, you should see my U of A email that I just added. Once you shoot me an email, I will delete it!

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@uofagilmepnstudent Has done an excellent job explaining everything. I 100% agree with them on having a discord. I currently help run the discord for my class and it has been lifesaving. I am a current Tucson student graduating in August so if you have any Tucson-specific questions, feel free to reach out! 

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uofagilmepnstudent said:

If you click on my profile, you should see my U of A email that I just added. Once you shoot me an email, I will delete it!

Got it! You can delete it now! I'll email you!

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