University of Washington Accelerated BSN program Summer 2014

macrina · Feb 19, 2014

Well, if you really want a leg up on content, I would suggest getting a basic review book for Pathophysiology and Pharmacology. I think there is a series called "Incredibly Easy" and anything like that which just gives you an overview of the basics would be great: classes of drugs, acid-base balance, cardiac and respiratory dysfunction etc. Those are some of the early classes you will have. I am not sure if they will use the same books, but if you go early to the bookstore they usually have a used book option until it runs out. That's where most people that want to sell back their books go, as far as I know. They sell regular unisex scrubs at the South Campus bookstore (where all your books are) and that's where I got mine. But you can also look up sites like allheart.com or cherokee.com to purchase a little more fitted ones. I went to the mall (Northgate) where they had a uniforms store and tried some on. Lots of us invested in Danskos for shoes, but whatever your feet need and keeps you comfortable for long hours on your feet (a pair of light compressions stockings is also a great investment to stave off varicose veins, even if you are young. Stethoscope - they recommend the Litmann Cardiology III and a couple others on the SON website and many of us got the Litmann, which they also have at the bookstore, but there are other (cheaper) ones you could do fine with, too, unless you're actually going into cardiology or respiratory nursing in particular. Some hospitals like Children's we don't even use our own stethoscopes. I think I got all your questions! Also ENJOY you relative freedom and ability to hang out with family and friends now, because it is much more limited once you get into the program!

tyang · Feb 19, 2014

macrina, thank you for your generous information and your willingness to help the next cohort. I hope one day we can meet up so I can thank you in person.

tyang · Feb 19, 2014

macrina, one other question. I saw that when you began the program, you had concerns regarding visiting home. My husband will be moving to the Kitsap peninsula later this year. Is it ludicrous if I commuted everyday via ferry from Bainbridge Island? How often do you visit home?

abalone · Feb 24, 2014

New applicants always ask so for future reference:

2013, for the class beginning Summer of 2014,The UW School of Nursing received 157 applications for 48 spots in the ABSN program

48 applicants were offered admission
30 were placed on the waitlist
79 were denied admission

abalone · Feb 25, 2014

As for textbooks: often the graduating students (BSN2) and some of the BSN1 sell their books. The previous cohort of ABSNs will not yet be graduated when you start, so fewer sell their books. From my experience, students selling items send out an email to the undergraduate list servs (BSN1yr & BSN2yr [at] uw [dot] edu) in late May or early June. Around that time, it may not hurt to send a message out indicating you are interested. Many of the books are the same (Pharm, Care & Illness/Med Surg, Assessment), but you should double-check. You will know more soon. Also, Amazon tends to have the cheapest new/used prices (not the UW bookstore).

Soon, you will be able check out your proposed schedule at the links below & required textbooks (you won't know anything about your clinical placement or schedule until maybe May). (As of 2/24 it doesn't look like UW has finalized the schedule yet, only NCLIN 302 is listed)

http://nursing.uw.edu/sites/default/files/files/ABSN-Grid.pdf

NURSING

NURSING CLINICAL

macrina · Feb 26, 2014

tyang, regarding commuting to Bainbridge Island - If you are very close to the ferry on the Bainbridge side I think it could be feasible, but sometimes it would be very difficult if you didn't have a bed available on the Seattle side. I have had some clinicals that didn't get done until 10PM. Ferries still run at that time, but you might end up waiting an hour for one at the terminal and getting home super late then need to be back at 7:30 or 8:30AM the next morning. The Bainbridge ferry leaves from downtown which is pretty easy to get to from the UW and the downtown hospitals, but a huge commute if you are doing clinical up in Everett (north 45-60 minutes from the UW, depending on traffic - most of us will have been there at least one quarter by the end). And the ferry is also a good study environment during the crossing, so it might work great for you. But if you had a long drive on the other side it would be tough to do that every day, I think. I only go home during my breaks between quarters and my husband comes for the weekend once or twice during the quarter to visit. We've been married 17 years, so that's probably a different factor to consider - we take it well in stride. But for me it is 2.5 hours one way and totally not worth it - I would lose so much time in the car going home and would be much more stressed by commuting every weekend. I would never consider doing it daily. But Port Townsend is an hour's drive from the ferry on the Kitsap side. If it's possible, I would suggest NOT living so far away your first quarter and then perhaps make a change once you get nursing school workload under your belt.

brinnym3 · Mar 4, 2014

Congrats to all that applied and got in or on the wait list!

I am looking at UW ABSN program for next summer (2015) but I am worried about my pre-req GPA. I know there are other factors to it but I was wondering if anyone that got into the program would be willing to share their GPA and such or direct message me.

Completely understandable if you guys wanna keep that confidential, just wanted to ask! :) Again, Congrats to you guys!

abalone · Mar 5, 2014

Brinnym3

I don't know what it was like this year but, I was accepted into the 2012 ABSN program. Ultimately, however, I chose the BSN program (2012-2014) and will be graduating this June!!!

In 2012 my stats: Previous BS in Public Health; BA in Geography. All of my nursing prerequisites were 4.0 (some were taken at a community college some at UW because of a lower tuition and better schedule but I never repeated a class), my overall UW GPA was a 3.54 (I think). I volunteered 400+ hrs over 3 month period at an urgent care clinic, had a job shadow, and got CPR, first aid, HIV-AIDS, & HIPAA training. I also got my CNA training and state license (I did clinical hrs but never worked as a CNA).

But: there are certainly plenty of students (at least in the BSN cohort that I am familiar with) that did NOT have a 4.0 in nursing prerequisites. The director of admissions at UW SoN says that you need to look like a solid student (3.2 +). They really want to select students that will complete the program on-time. The ABSN program is HARD work!!!

mlauren1 · Mar 7, 2014

I'm starting to look into potential places to live near the University, which is a little challenging because I live in Minnesota and cannot actually drive around and look. It might be a little early to find a place with a June 1st move-in, but I figured better to start looking earlier, just in case. We have a small dog and a cat and I'm having a hard time finding places that accept pets. Is this common out there? I looked at the website for Radford Court apartments (student housing), which allows pets and I've seen mixed reviews. Can anyone shed light on this? I'm willing to pay a little more for a better location and my pets of course, but I am a student after all! Any advice is much appreciated!

tyang · Mar 8, 2014

I also live out-of-state and started my search as well. When I contacted the properties, I was told that WA only requires a 20 day notice which means they will (most likely) not know what is available until May. I have been reading reviews on Yelp and apartmentratings.com which are helping me narrow down my list.

Did you create your NETID? Once you do, there is a pdf with good information re: off-campus neighborhoods. I have been using Uloop where students post sublets and there are some available in June. Also, try dawgdigs.com to see a list of properties. Lastly, did you join our cohorts' FB page? Try posting there as well. Good luck in your search!

mlauren1 · Mar 8, 2014

Thanks tyang! That's really good advice. Wow, 20-day notice is pretty short! It's usually 60-days where I'm from. I did create a NetID and will look into that info. Do you know if we can use that NetID to do our compliance items now?

macrina · Mar 11, 2014

Sorry, no help with specifics of housing. As far as the GPA goes for ABSN, I agree with Abalone. Mine was 3.95 or so and most of my colleagues had similar. I feel the essays for the application were very important too, as well as experience hours. Most of us had way more than 100hours experience. (I did not in medicine, but was a teacher.) As Abalone says, they are trying to make sure you are going to succeed in the program and not either drop out or be overwhelmed by the workload.