UBC BSN September 2019 Applicants

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Hi everybody! I haven't found an active discussion thread for September 2019 applicants to UBC's BSN program yet, so here is one!

2 minutes ago, EtherealRailgun said:

Hi jennifersgj!

Yes, our cohort was the first cohort with the new revised curriculum and they did increase lots of clinical hours, including increased preceptorship hours I believe. Since I did not go to BCIT nor know anyone who is going/went to BCIT, I cannot speak about comparing UBC graduates to BCIT graduates. I heard lots of great things about BCIT though.

One thing I know, however, is that there are quite some people I know in our cohort who got hired right after the preceptorship. I think it really depends on individuals. I heard great opinions about both school graduates from different nurses from different clinicals throughout the program. Hopefully that helps.

Thank you for the insight! I was hoping you had a chance to work with BCIT graduate nurses at the hospital. You're right though. BCIT and UBC are both great schools, so everything else depends on the individual.

Another question if you don't mind. BCIT nursing program is fairly laid back and easy-going. UBC's nursing schedule seems very packed since clinical is on Saturdays and Sundays as well. How does the program workload feel compared to UBC undergraduate science program (or whichever program you finished before starting UBC BSN) - assuming the usual 5 courses/15 credits per term workload?

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You're very welcome. And yeah, I don't mind questions at all!. As with clinical being on Saturdays/Sundays is if you have clinicals on Saturday and Sunday, you will get 2 days off from weekdays. If you have clinicals during weekdays, you will get the weekend off. But these days change every term and it may not be same every year. Anyway, I can talk more about clinical if you have specific question about that.

Regarding program workload, before I came to nursing, I actually did graduate degree. But even comparing with that, the workload is heavy, especially the 1st term. I was definitely overwhelmed the first term but it got much better from the 2nd term personally. My friends also agreed 1st term was the hardest then it gets better gradually. I didn't go to UBC for undergraduate but comparing to full time undergraduate, 1st term definitely has heavier workload imo. But you can definitely find balance with your life once you get used to it.

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Hi Ethereal,

A question on a similar note, if I may - can you provide a little insight into what the first three weeks look like schedule-wise? I think I have the gist of the rest of the semester (2 days 9-4 courses, one 1/2 lab, 2 days clinical?), but can't quite figure out from the website how the first weeks will go. Is it full days (9-4) every day until clinical starts? I'm starting to think about childcare (I believe I will be adding to the diversity of the group in the 'age' category lol) and can't leave it until the end of August to organise!

Thanks for coming on here to answer questions, btw - it's appreciated!

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18 minutes ago, RD19 said:

Hi Ethereal,

A question on a similar note, if I may - can you provide a little insight into what the first three weeks look like schedule-wise? I think I have the gist of the rest of the semester (2 days 9-4 courses, one 1/2 lab, 2 days clinical?), but can't quite figure out from the website how the first weeks will go. Is it full days (9-4) every day until clinical starts? I'm starting to think about childcare (I believe I will be adding to the diversity of the group in the 'age' category lol) and can't leave it until the end of August to organise!

Thanks for coming on here to answer questions, btw - it's appreciated!

Hi RD19,

For the first week, you have 2 days off 9-4 class then one day of clinical/lab orientation (shorter day) and one day of lab. Lab sessions are 2hrs and you are assigned into different time slots throughout that day (ex: 0830-1030, 11-1, 2-4). You will get more information about lab sessions during your orientation. For the next 2 weeks, so until you start your clinical, it's 2 days of 9-4 class and 3 days of labs. So it's going to be only 2 hours for those 3 days/week. And yes, totally understand with childcare schedule! The age is very diverse in the cohort, our cohort ranged from around early 20s or younger! to 40s!

You're very welcome! I'd love to answer any questions if I can! Congratulations on being accepted.

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Hey everyone! I wish I would have found this forum sooner. Might have helped ease some of the stress during the waiting process. I’ve literally been reading past posts for hours.

That being said, I just recently got accepted to the program on June 10th. I was fifth on the waiting list and I’m really looking forward to getting to know all of you.

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59 minutes ago, EtherealRailgun said:

You're very welcome. And yeah, I don't mind questions at all!. As with clinical being on Saturdays/Sundays is if you have clinicals on Saturday and Sunday, you will get 2 days off from weekdays. If you have clinicals during weekdays, you will get the weekend off. But these days change every term and it may not be same every year. Anyway, I can talk more about clinical if you have specific question about that.

Regarding program workload, before I came to nursing, I actually did graduate degree. But even comparing with that, the workload is heavy, especially the 1st term. I was definitely overwhelmed the first term but it got much better from the 2nd term personally. My friends also agreed 1st term was the hardest then it gets better gradually. I didn't go to UBC for undergraduate but comparing to full time undergraduate, 1st term definitely has heavier workload imo. But you can definitely find balance with your life once you get used to it.

Your answers are really helpful. I really appreciate your help. Thank you so much!

If I have too many questions, please feel free to skip some :'D

UBC BSN sounds very intense, especially since I know you were a graduate student. How difficult do you think it is to achieve good grades in the program? Even though grades aren't everything to me, I still want to try to achieve good grades.

Also, are clinical courses pass/fail or graded? What would you advise us about the clinical courses?

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3 minutes ago, Laressa Beckett said:

Hey everyone! I wish I would have found this forum sooner. Might have helped ease some of the stress during the waiting process. I’ve literally been reading past posts for hours.

That being said, I just recently got accepted to the program on June 10th. I was fifth on the waiting list and I’m really looking forward to getting to know all of you.

Congrats! I planning to read all the posts once I get my exams over with too. This is such a helpful forum whoever created it

I'm new too but welcome ?

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30 minutes ago, jennifersgj said:

Congrats! I planning to read all the posts once I get my exams over with too. This is such a helpful forum whoever created it

I'm new too but welcome ?

Good luck on your exams!

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56 minutes ago, EtherealRailgun said:

Hi RD19,

For the first week, you have 2 days off 9-4 class then one day of clinical/lab orientation (shorter day) and one day of lab. Lab sessions are 2hrs and you are assigned into different time slots throughout that day (ex: 0830-1030, 11-1, 2-4). You will get more information about lab sessions during your orientation. For the next 2 weeks, so until you start your clinical, it's 2 days of 9-4 class and 3 days of labs. So it's going to be only 2 hours for those 3 days/week. And yes, totally understand with childcare schedule! The age is very diverse in the cohort, our cohort ranged from around early 20s or younger! to 40s!

You're very welcome! I'd love to answer any questions if I can! Congratulations on being accepted.

Thank you so much for your quick reply!

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4 hours ago, jennifersgj said:

Your answers are really helpful. I really appreciate your help. Thank you so much!

If I have too many questions, please feel free to skip some :'D

UBC BSN sounds very intense, especially since I know you were a graduate student. How difficult do you think it is to achieve good grades in the program? Even though grades aren't everything to me, I still want to try to achieve good grades.

Also, are clinical courses pass/fail or graded? What would you advise us about the clinical courses?

I'm glad I can be of some help! It is quite intense program. I would say getting good grades is quite difficult but definitely possible. I also wanted good grades but I said it's difficult because everyone in the cohort are super smart. Class averages are really high most of the time. But I know some people get really high grades so it's possible with a lot of work.

Clinical course and labs are pass/fail. For the clinicals, I would recommend maybe to watch some youtube videos about head to toe assessments. Your first term clinicals are going to focus a lot on the assessment and it is an essential skill to have in nursing career. Other than that, maybe I would wait until you meet your CI (clinical instructor) since every CIs have their own style.

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Specializes in PACU.
9 minutes ago, EtherealRailgun said:

I'm glad I can be of some help! It is quite intense program. I would say getting good grades is quite difficult but definitely possible. I also wanted good grades but I said it's difficult because everyone in the cohort are super smart. Class averages are really high most of the time. But I know some people get really high grades so it's possible with a lot of work.

Clinical course and labs are pass/fail. For the clinicals, I would advise to maybe watch some youtube videos about head to toe assessments. Your first term clinicals are going to focus a lot on the assessment and it is an essential skill to have in nursing career. Other than that, maybe I would wait until you meet your CI (clinical instructor) since every CIs have their own style.

Thank you so much for answering our questions!!!

I’m also aware that you try to achieve what you CAN handle, and because Nursing is hard — all Nursing schools are afaik — passing/getting slightly below average, especially if class averages are high, is enough for me ?Although I would really like to get good grades as well (only if my brain can handle it, of course). I’m 4th year and was going to graduate with my FNH degree in 2020, yet I managed to get in to Nursing this September, haha! Do you think I’ll be okay/can handle the program without having a Bachelor’s? I have good study habits as well, but obviously, sometimes I’m studying very efficiently, and sometimes I procrastinate if I absolutely have to (ie back-to-back exams, multiple assignments due on the same day, multiple quizzes, prioritizing things and fixing scheduling conflicts, getting burnt out by the last weeks of term, you get the picture). I’m intimidated, tbh. Every person admitted is very smart and I’m slightly scared that I won’t measure up!

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Specializes in PACU.
6 hours ago, jennifersgj said:

Thank you for the insight! I was hoping you had a chance to work with BCIT graduate nurses at the hospital. You're right though. BCIT and UBC are both great schools, so everything else depends on the individual.

Another question if you don't mind. BCIT nursing program is fairly laid back and easy-going. UBC's nursing schedule seems very packed since clinical is on Saturdays and Sundays as well. How does the program workload feel compared to UBC undergraduate science program (or whichever program you finished before starting UBC BSN) - assuming the usual 5 courses/15 credits per term workload?

Oh that’s strange — I’ve mostly heard the opposite about BCIT’s Nursing Program! I heard it’s very intense!!

@jennifersgj I’m able to answer part of your 2nd question: in first year of my Food, Nutrition and Health degree, we took the same core courses as Science students. I remember being stressed BUT it was doable! You just get used to it. When I progressed through to upper year in FNH it got easier since you finally grasp how to study for different subjects, what strategy works and what doesn’t, what content areas you should prioritize etc. BALANCE is key. I assume that progressing through UBC Nursing is the same!! And I’ve heard that it gets easier after Term 1 Nursing, considering Term 1 exposes us to terminology and ways of thinking that we’ve never really experienced in depth before! We’ll get used to it ? Be positive!!

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