UBC 2021

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Hiya folks!

It's a bit early, but since the application period opens in a couple of months, I thought I'd start this topic to share support/encouraging words/info/nervousness.

Is anyone else already excited for next September?

On 4/30/2021 at 10:55 PM, wice said:

Casper really sucks! I don't think it's a good indication of people skills at all. This is a little silly, but is your waitlist position obvious in the letter?  

I got 1 supplemental, 3 grades, and 2 casper but there's nothing about being waitlisted. I was rejected(?). Can't see anything about being waitlisted and my letter states "...regret to inform you that you have been unsuccessful on this occasion".  

It really makes me think casper and grades are weighted most heavily. And there are slight advantages in applying ASAP? I submitted my supplementals Feb 28 (on the deadline). 

Hey, I received the same email. ? 

I scored 2 in grades and Casper but 3 in supplemental. May I ask what work/volunteer experiences you applied with? 

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On 4/30/2021 at 10:55 PM, wice said:

Casper really sucks! I don't think it's a good indication of people skills at all. This is a little silly, but is your waitlist position obvious in the letter?  

I got 1 supplemental, 3 grades, and 2 casper but there's nothing about being waitlisted. I was rejected(?). Can't see anything about being waitlisted and my letter states "...regret to inform you that you have been unsuccessful on this occasion".  

It really makes me think casper and grades are weighted most heavily. And there are slight advantages in applying ASAP? I submitted my supplementals Feb 28 (on the deadline). 

I don't think you get an advantage for applying early. I know someone who applied on Feb 26 (or 27, can't quite remember) and got in this cycle.

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Hello everyone, it sounds like everyone did such a hard work as it was very competitive this year. Great job everyone, you are all awesome.

I graduated from UBC program 2019 and I was waitlisted when I applied and eventually got in from the waitlist. I am willing to answer any questions that are posted here but I'm sure there may be some differences due to pandemic and program might have changed a bit since I graduated. I can answer based on what my class was like but it may not be accurate as it was few years ago.

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Specializes in PACU.
15 hours ago, AA56 said:

Congrats on your graduation! Can I ask you what your plans are now that you have graduated? Do you take the NCLEX now? Can you apply for jobs, or do you need to pass the NCLEX first? 

Thanks so much! With COVID we thought it would be super rough, but we all came out unscathed, thankfully.

Yeah, I plan to start studying for the NCLEX in a month or so. We can apply to jobs right out the gate — BCCNM (our RN licensing body) offers something called Provisional Registration, where we pay a fee once our eligibility — program completion from a BC accredited BSN program e.g. UBC, Langara, BCIT — is confirmed. Nursing students typically register with BCCNM 1 month before or immediately after finishing our last round of clinicals aka final preceptorship that consolidates all our nursing skills to prepare us for the entry-to-practice level as new RN graduates. 

Under provisional registration, we’re licensed/registered as RNs who are allowed to work before taking and/or while studying for the NCLEX. The health authorities/organizations we’re employed under keep contact with BCCNM (you can only retake the NCLEX around 2-3 times in a year prior to provisional expiry if one doesn’t pass the first time. After max amount of attempts is reached, our provisional registration is cancelled and we can’t work until we pass the NCLEX). Once we pass that, Pearson Vue (NCLEX body) forwards our passing status to BCCNM, and our provisional license gets converted into full Practicing RN Registration — we can continue working without delay. 

Right now I already have an interview lined up...got the call only ~4 days after applying. Desperate times, you know? I may change my mind if I receive an offer since I want to ensure I pass the NCLEX first (plus I’d like a well-deserved break after 2 years of accelerated studying). Some classmates of mine want to go on vacation, while some are already working. Post-grad plans are ? based on your personal choice, and most employers are totally flexible and accommodating: nurses are always in-demand! ? 

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Thanks for the insider info! How did you find managing course work for the two years? Did you work/volunteer as well? Did you have much free time for extra curriculars/life or did you find yourself studying pretty intensely for most of the degree?

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34 minutes ago, mb96 said:

Thanks so much! With COVID we thought it would be super rough, but we all came out unscathed, thankfully.

Yeah, I plan to start studying for the NCLEX in a month or so. We can apply to jobs right out the gate — BCCNM (our RN licensing body) offers something called Provisional Registration, where we pay a fee once our eligibility — program completion from a BC accredited BSN program e.g. UBC, Langara, BCIT — is confirmed. Nursing students typically register with BCCNM 1 month before or immediately after finishing our last round of clinicals aka final preceptorship that consolidates all our nursing skills to prepare us for the entry-to-practice level as new RN graduates. 

Under provisional registration, we’re licensed/registered as RNs who are allowed to work before taking and/or while studying for the NCLEX. The health authorities/organizations we’re employed under keep contact with BCCNM (you can only retake the NCLEX around 2-3 times in a year prior to provisional expiry if one doesn’t pass the first time. After max amount of attempts is reached, our provisional registration is cancelled and we can’t work until we pass the NCLEX). Once we pass that, Pearson Vue (NCLEX body) forwards our passing status to BCCNM, and our provisional license gets converted into full Practicing RN Registration — we can continue working without delay. 

Right now I already have an interview lined up...got the call only ~4 days after applying. Desperate times, you know? I may change my mind if I receive an offer since I want to ensure I pass the NCLEX first (plus I’d like a well-deserved break after 2 years of accelerated studying). Some classmates of mine want to go on vacation, while some are already working. Post-grad plans are ? based on your personal choice, and most employers are totally flexible and accommodating: nurses are always in-demand! ? 

Oh wow! thank you so much for this amazing response! You answered all of my questions and more! Good luck on your interview! You are going to do amazing!! 

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1 hour ago, EtherealRailgun said:

Hello everyone, it sounds like everyone did such a hard work as it was very competitive this year. Great job everyone, you are all awesome.

I graduated from UBC program 2019 and I was waitlisted when I applied and eventually got in from the waitlist. I am willing to answer any questions that are posted here but I'm sure there may be some differences due to pandemic and program might have changed a bit since I graduated. I can answer based on what my class was like but it may not be accurate as it was few years ago.

Thanks For offering to answer our questions! I love how welcoming and encouraging everyone on here is. I'm still on the waitlist, but I really hope I get accepted just so I can meet all of you. it sounds like it'll be a fun group!

What number were you on the waitlist? Do you remember when you got an offer of acceptance?

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Specializes in PACU.
49 minutes ago, kgoldsmith said:

Thanks for the insider info! How did you find managing course work for the two years? Did you work/volunteer as well? Did you have much free time for extra curriculars/life or did you find yourself studying pretty intensely for most of the degree?

Course work wasn’t too bad! Of course, it’s all really overwhelmingly new in Term 1 since you’re learning how to think, act, and respond as a nurse. I didn’t yet know how to study in Term 1, and it ended up taking all my time; I had a less than ideal work-life balance LOL. **Heads up that it’s absolutely normal to not have high grades in the first semester — most of us averaged C/B-B+’s in the toughest courses at the time, which were pharmacology (studying medications in relation to body systems) and medical/surgical theory (pathophysiology, disease processes). You’ll find that studying becomes easier as the program goes on once your mind shifts into the nursing perspective! It all comes together around the third semester. Our class averages went up to A—A+s over time until the end of our program, which is an interesting yet fulfilling trend.**
 

Workload also depends on the type of theory/practice area you’re covering per semester — in Term 2 (~2 years ago) we did Pediatrics and Maternity; Term 4 was Mental Health and Community, another chill-ish semester. Both semesters were quite relaxed (although I know it’s been 1-2 years; the curriculum could be different by now) and some of us took up part-time work, hobbies, vacations etc, such as ESN which is employed student nursing, so there’s definitely free time that you can get if you plan!! 

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10 minutes ago, Gymah said:

Thanks For offering to answer our questions! I love how welcoming and encouraging everyone on here is. I'm still on the waitlist, but I really hope I get accepted just so I can meet all of you. it sounds like it'll be a fun group!

What number were you on the waitlist? Do you remember when you got an offer of acceptance?

You're very welcome ? 

I was waitlist #19, got an acceptance email on June 6th. 

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I have a couple of questions for people who graduated:

Does every student do clinical hours in a variety of settings such as pediatrics, nicu, maternity, public health, med-surg? Or is it luck of the draw?

Was it difficult for students to get placed in a preceptorship of their choosing?

Were there students who were parents in the program and how did they manage?

Did you find that you got a good amount of clinical hours to make you confident about your skills? I know that UBC has been critiqued for not enough clinical hours compared to other programs such as BCIT.

Thanks so much for all your insights! ? 

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Ahhhh, congrats everyone! I am AL-20 on the list which is nerve wracking for sure. The past years have usually had 30+ taken off the waitlist but this is a weird year. Someone just tell me I'm a shoe-in so I can relax LOL

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1 hour ago, Medsister said:

I have a couple of questions for people who graduated:

Does every student do clinical hours in a variety of settings such as pediatrics, nicu, maternity, public health, med-surg? Or is it luck of the draw?

Was it difficult for students to get placed in a preceptorship of their choosing?

Were there students who were parents in the program and how did they manage?

Did you find that you got a good amount of clinical hours to make you confident about your skills? I know that UBC has been critiqued for not enough clinical hours compared to other programs such as BCIT.

Thanks so much for all your insights! ? 

I'll try to answer as best as I could. 

Every term has specific focus on clinicals and everyone gets placed in all the same settings except for Term 4 (either home health or public health-please correct me if this has changed). Term 1: medical units with focus on adults/older adults. Term 2: maternity and peds Term 3: med/surg. Term 4: mental health and public health. Term 5: preceptorship. For Term 4 in our class, the clinicals for public health were either home health OR public health. For all terms, we get to rank the site we want for clinicals each term but that does not guarantee anything. The less people choose your higher ranking, the higher chance of getting. But if there are many people who chose your high ranking, you may get placed in the site that you ranked lower (but higher ranked site is still possible).

I don't know how the preceptorship is now after the pandemic but for our cohort (before pandemic), we had lots of students who wanted to go into higher acuity like Emerg and ICU. I know most people got into the area they wanted but few did not. I wanted to get into general medicine and I got preceptorship in the medicine unit no problem. If you want to go into specialty areas for preceptorship, like ER, ICU...etc, it would help if you take BCIT specialty courses before your preceptorship.

There were parents in the program. I think this would be best answered if upper cohorts who are parents currently can answer. Upper cohorts will probably set up the facebook for your cohort and the upper cohort students will join the facebook as well. 

I thought my preceptorship hours were sufficient. From our year, UBC curriculum changed so that they have more clinical hours. When I graduated and got into new grad program, I also got about 10-11 additional shifts with my new grad mentor. Once I actually started working, I got the hang of it pretty quickly. 

Let me know if there are any other questions.

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