Thinking about applying to UIC's GEP program. Anybody here applied and was accepted? What were your stats?
My stats: 3.2 Overall GPA/3.5 Sci BA in Sociology. Office Manager in home health care, tech in a medical equipment co, medical assistant (no cert) in dr's office and later office manager there. Volunteering in Nursing Home around 120 hours...
From what I can tell on their website, after completing the NCLEX, you immediately start the master portion of the program. Is this correct?
I'm considering the NYU ABSN. It seems a little silly to get another bachelor's but they have a master's option and students can apply part-way through their BSN. Plus there are several BSN-DNP programs which might be more practical in the long run. Some MSN classes will shorten the DNP process but overall getting an MSN and then going on to DNP (or PhD) means more schooling. It could be going BSN-DNP ends up saving money despite the added cost of NYU. Unfortunately(?) there are pluses and minuses to both routes which is making this decision even harder!
Thanks rain! I looked at the Marquette program as well but decided to wait to apply. I highly recommend checking out the research being performed by the nursing school faculty at UIC if you have any interest - some of it is really neat! If you know who will be interviewing you or are just curious you can click through to their faculty page from site below. Lots of exciting things going on!
Also, as a heads up, while I think the faculty will work hard for every student, they do treat the program like any other graduate school. That means if you are not getting good enough grades (for PNP I believe they said more than one C once in the masters portion) you will be dropped from the program. It's a little intimidating, especially given that students only have an RN and no BSN to fall back on. It didn't sound like they have a problem with students doing poorly overall but it is something to consider.
Hey sitten, not sure if you will see my response to hopefullady but the staff if very aware of the difficulties students are having. It is only a problem in the time between getting an RN and graduating with an MSN. If you do not find work in your speciality as an RN it could mean accepting a BSN/staff nurse position immediately after graduation and then going on to an NP role (or not, it all depends on the market!). It sounds like a couple students in the PNP tract are working at UIC hospital and the coordinators are being very flexible. One student is going to work in the Milwaukee area and take the online core classes for the first few semesters. One of the nice things about PNP (and maybe the other specialities) is all coordination for preceptorships and clinicals is done by the faculty. Most other masters programs expect the students to find their own which can be very difficult, especially in an area like Chicago with so many programs.
That's good to hear! I'm not anticipating a lot of issues since I'm Psych but then again you never know. Just hoping that there will be a lot of job fairs and networking events to attend to get myself out there. I have friends who've complained about the issue of finding preceptors so knowing that I don't have to do that is great.
I'm getting more excited/nervous for my interview! Hoping it all works out for the greater good. I definitely hope we find out on May 3rd or earlier since that's around my birthday.
torzorz, I did contemplate applying to NYU but couldn't get over the large price tag for another Bachelor's degree. My plan is to work with my MSN for as long as possible until it's really necessary to get the DNP.
I got accepted to CSU LA and waiting to be interviewed by UIC. If I get into UIC, I'm not sure which school I'd pick. Any suggestions to those who are familiar with CSU LA?
I hope all your interviews went great. I got called for one but declined since i heard back from two of my top choices. I've been following this thread and you guys seem to know a lot about NP and MSN role so maybe you can help me. I live in So Cal and I got into a MEPN program with a role specialty in Clinical Nurse Leader and I got into a Direct entry masters Psych NP program in boston so now I am torn, I really want to stay in Cali the tuition is amazing and I will not have to take out loans and the weather but I wonder if being a NP might be a better path for me as far as my career and having more oppotunities. I don't want to start my own clinic I want to be in a more administrative role and be able to move up and be a consultant in various settings and still be able to practice bedside nursing. Advice would be GREAT!! I have till monday to make a decision! Oh I have a Business background.
Thanks rain! I looked at the Marquette program as well but decided to wait to apply. I highly recommend checking out the research being performed by the nursing school faculty at UIC if you have any interest - some of it is really neat! If you know who will be interviewing you or are just curious you can click through to their faculty page from site below. Lots of exciting things going on!
Also, as a heads up, while I think the faculty will work hard for every student, they do treat the program like any other graduate school. That means if you are not getting good enough grades (for PNP I believe they said more than one C once in the masters portion) you will be dropped from the program. It's a little intimidating, especially given that students only have an RN and no BSN to fall back on. It didn't sound like they have a problem with students doing poorly overall but it is something to consider.
Unfortunately, I don't know who my interviewer is. Did you guys know? Or will they tell you the day of? I wish I knew the persons name.
@torzorz. absn-dnp and msn seem like apples and oranges to me so how are you going to choose? absn is something i didn't even consider bc i essentially didn't know it was out there (i only knew about regular bsn) and it seemed ridiculous to get another undergrad degree. and dnp isn't something i really want because i've looked at sample curricula and you start seeing lots of administrative classes, less hands-on patient care. so what's your goal or passion, if you don't mind my asking?
Sorry for the novel-length response! Hopefully this is helpful and not more confusing, I'm still getting my thoughts in order.
BSN-DNP would involve a lot of the same specialty courses that you would be taking for your masters plus the admin stuff. I've included a link to the Rush program for Peds, I haven't really been looking into dnp programs yet but you can see it's very patient focused (could you have been looking at an MNP-DNP program? Those would most likely focus on the admin courses).
(side note: the Rush website could use a serious makeover! If this link doesn't work let me know and I'll see if I can fix it).
I was definitely turned off by the idea of getting another bachelor's. I started thinking about that route because there is talk that some states will require a Doctorate over a Masters to function as a nurse practitioner starting in 2015. Who knows how/if this will happen, there has been talk about standardizing nursing education for a long time and it never seems to make any headway. That said, I would also like to have the option to teach future nurses if the opportunity presents itself. At the moment I'm focused on patient care but I can't think of a better way to give back than to help prepare future nurses :)
UIC offers RN, BSN and MSN to DNP options that all seem interesting. I haven't really explored enough to develop an opinion-I've been so focused on GEP! Here's the link in case you want to take a look:
My guess is with the end of the GEP, UIC is going to move toward a generalist masters option like the Rush GEM program (and I believe DePaul has something similar). In these programs students do not choose a speciality, they all graduate with masters as CNLs after 2 years. If I'm right then choosing a specialty and becoming an NP will only be available to DNP students. MSNs would have fewer courses to take on their way to DNPs because some of their previous coursework would count toward the terminal degree. This would align with the push the AACN is making. Most likely for NP students it will mean those dreaded admin courses, for CNL students it will probably mean the speciality courses that NPs already have. Again, this is all guess work and I'm sure there is someone with nursing experience who has a more informed opinion on these changes rather than my high level research! From what I've heard speaking to current NPs most do not see the AACN push as a huge deal but I'm trying to factor in everything so I can make an informed decision.
At this point I'm leaning toward UIC and the masters option (especially given how expensive NYU will be and how impressed I was by the faculty at UIC!). However, if I haven't heard by the NYU deadline I will be hard pressed to risk passing that opportunity and hoping for the best from them... As I said there are pros and cons to both options, and as you pointed out they are different. I'm going to be working on my pro/con list this weekend!
I did not know, I didn't even notice the links to their specific pages until I looked up my interviewers this afternoon after I was done :)
If I had thought of it I would have ctrl+f "PNP" and looked at all the faculty with PNP degrees. That trick may not be useful for all specialities though!
Yea, 2015 is the hypothetical year but that's not going to happen. Add at least 5+ years to that before you get any kind of across the board standardization. If UIC present the opportunity for me to get a DNP before being awarded my MSN, I will take advantage of that.
From what I've always understood, while you can teach with a Master's, if you really want to go into academia and research, you should pursue a PhD. I'd like to do that but not until I've been practicing for at least 7-10 years.
torzorz
48 Posts
I'm a huge fan of the informal interview!
I'm considering the NYU ABSN. It seems a little silly to get another bachelor's but they have a master's option and students can apply part-way through their BSN. Plus there are several BSN-DNP programs which might be more practical in the long run. Some MSN classes will shorten the DNP process but overall getting an MSN and then going on to DNP (or PhD) means more schooling. It could be going BSN-DNP ends up saving money despite the added cost of NYU. Unfortunately(?) there are pluses and minuses to both routes which is making this decision even harder!
Are you thinking about any other schools?