2012 UCSF MEPN Applicants

[LookingAhead]

The MEPN deadline is less than 2 months away, so I thought I'd get a thread started for us 2012 hopefuls!

I'm a first time applicant to the WHNP/CNM specialty, and feel like I've been getting ready to submit this application for so long! I've been working abroad for a public health NGO for the past couple of years and am a trained birth doula. I've finished up all of my prereqs and GREs, selected people for recommendations (including a slightly awkward visit to my undergraduate advisor...), so now I'm just drafting my essays. Does anyone even know what the application is supposed to look like this year? I'm just going off samples I've seen from previous years.

Some days I feel sort of confident about my chances, and other days I feel as though this is a total shot in the dark and definitely not going to work out!

Any other hopefuls out there? And anyone know when the application is actually going to open?

[csbendz]

I have yet another concern...having done some due diligence this week reaching out to local midwives for possible volunteering opportunities, I have been told that without being enrolled in a proper academic program (while completing my pre-reqs, I am a "non-degree" student, not in any particular program), HIPAA regulations will make it very difficult for me to be able to volunteer clinically and/or have any patient interactions. Has anybody else ever encountered this? I've done HIPAA training before, I know it's tricky, but it doesn't seem like volunteering should be so difficult? Was this just another way of being told "no"?

[magallanes]

Was this just another way of being told "no"?

The world is given to those who persevere...

[csbendz]

for lack of a better, more grammatically correct but still cliched response...ain't that the truth!

thanks for responding, it has encouraged me to keep harassing the local midwives, ob/gyn offices, and hospitals until they let me in! all I want to do is help! and for free!

at the very least I have a few meetings set up to at least talk to nurses/midwives in the area about their professions. Hopefully those meetings can/will snowball into something more...

[t_heart]

Did anyone just have a heart attack reading the increase in MEPN tuition next year? I feel weak...

[myelin]

we've been discussing it on the FB group, you really should join! :)

Anyway, yes, it's scary. It seems like all DE programs have pretty terrifying fees.

[t_heart]

I was wondering why this thread was so quiet... The potentially 34% increase in tuition is nuts! I wouldn't be surprised if there is sudden movement in the waitlist.

[graceface]

I have heard that there are many more funding opportunities in the Masters portion of the program. I think contacting someone in your speciality about future funding and looking through the MEPN Financial Aid website may be a good place to start!

I was also shocked, sad, and angry when I got the out-of-the-blue "hey what's up? by the way, you will have to have about $30,000 more in tuition. hehe" message in my inbox. But I am going to do my best, hope for more funding in the 2nd and 3rd years, and look forward to my career in psych nursing.

Good luck!

[myelin]

hey graceface, are you doing family psych or adult psych? I'm doing family psych. :)

[graceface]

hi myelin! i applied for adult psych but i heard that the psych np credentialing is getting streamlined into family psych by 2014. so i think everyone graduating after that will only have the option to get their psych np credential in family psych. i think this makes sense because mental health is inherently a holistic field which encompasses people's social environments, especially the family.

if anyone else knows about the streamlining happening in psych np credentialing, please feel free to confirm or disconfirm this information!

[esazzy77]

Hi Graceface,

This answer may be a little late. I was a MEPN 2009-2010 and am just finishing the family psych NP program. The reason that everyone is now completing the family curriculum is that the ANCC will be eliminating the Adult Psych NP and Psych CNS credentialing exams after 2014. ANCC certification is not currently required in California, although it is a requirement for licensing in many other states and also a requirement for some jobs. Really, everyone should plan to take the exam.

There are only a few additional courses that I took as part of the family track that those in the adult psych track did not have to take: pediatric health assessment, child development, adolescent development, and child therapy. You can still choose to focus your clinical work with the population you are most interested in. Best of luck starting MEPN! :)

[myelin]

Hi esazzy77! I sent you a PM but I'm not sure if you can reply to it (I think there's a minimum of posts one has to make before they can PM on this forum). Anyway, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the psych program at UCSF. Do you feel prepared to practice? How does the job outlook seem? Thanks!

[esazzy77]

Hi myelin, you're right, I can't reply to the message. If you PM me your e-mail address, I'd be happy to answer any questions you have!