University of Washington DNP 2020

Nursing Students School Programs

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I've been waiting to see if anyone posted a topic for the UW DNP 2020 application cycle. Anyone here apply this year? Nervous to see how the online interview is structured.

Specializes in ICU.

Anyone who got in want to give a quick update?  How are you liking the program?  How's the work load? Work/Life/School balance? 

Specializes in Critical Care.
On 2/7/2021 at 9:10 PM, BiscuitStripes said:

Anyone who got in want to give a quick update?  How are you liking the program?  How's the work load? Work/Life/School balance? 

Hi! I am in the FNP program. We are wrapping up Winter semester (second semester for us 1st years) now. We have been distance learning, of course, and the course work is manageable. I currently work per diem in an ICU while also supplementing with a few days giving COVID vaccinations at my hospital. Grades are all As so far so all is well. I have been able to balance things well. Things might be different though once we actually start going to campus in the Fall for year 2 and the REAL work begins, which is what we are expecting. Please don't hesitate to ask any more questions. Thanks and good luck!

-Kat

Specializes in Critical Care.

It's going very well. Here is my summary and perspective.

I have 5 years Critical Care experience (PCU, ICU, ER, PACU), work full time and have a family with young children. I am enrolled full time. The first year, as noted by previous students, is very manageable with full time work ( depending on your ability for self-discipline, time management, and also your desire for material retention). Across the board in graduate programs they will assign/suggest reading that is typically more than most students will actually read. The less you work/more time you devote to school, the more you can read/retain.

I keep hearing that year 2 is very much more intense. I plan to scale down to part-time or per diem (hoping for per diem) to focus on more of the material I honestly care more about retaining and spend more time reading/studying/absorbing (take a look at the curriculum grid on the website for an example).

I went back and forth between a cheap online program vs brick and mortar for years and..up until the last minute. While there is an endless supply of discussion about this on allnurses and the web, I will not revisit. My personal thoughts of my personal situation are as follows. I chose UW because I always wanted to attend and, in the end, wanted both the name recognition and the training that I thought I would receive at UW. Thus far, I am not too impressed (and I have no experience of an online DNP program to compare it too)-  we are online and learning distance and I am paying double what I could've paid at a online school for virtually the same format. But I am only in the first year... time will tell.

However, I'm in the AGACNP track and part of my hope was for the anticipated skills labs, lectures, and preceptors (set up for me) to exceed those of an online program. Time will tell for this also but I do have one important thing to consider that makes my experience unique. I have worked all acute care and work in a float pool where I am exposed to numerous providers and potential preceptors. I always knew that if needed I could likely find my own. I am also very sociable so I knew this could help as well...I live 1.5 hrs away from the campus and my track lead suggested that if I was interested to reach out to potential preceptors in this area to decrease the commute burden for my precepting experience in the Seattle area...since then I have found all of my potential preceptors! While I will likely commute to Seattle for a few rotations with some preceptors I've connected with the ICUs, I wouldn't need to if I didn't want to.

In summary, my thoughts are: If you're well connected and experienced, don't mind missing out on the brand name recognition, and do well with self study, you could probably save half the money by attending an online school. But if you crave the name recognition, want your rotations set up for you, and desire a (arguable and debatable) higher education, or have a personal dream of going to a school like UW - then follow your heart and do it!

Biscuit, I think that as with any program, you will get what you put into it. All the classes have been valuable to me as an individual and as a future DNP-FNP. I am passionate about advocacy and effecting policy changes, as well as applying evidence-based practice, and I'm getting all of that and more. We have some amazing professors and I am fortunate to be learning from some really talented faculty who are passionate about their work. They teach us, they challenge us, they nurture us. I'm loving the journey, even though I don't always enjoy all the homework. And there is a lot of that! I study all day every single day when I am not working. I work per diem, one to two days per week. I don't think I can handle working more than that and feel like I am doing well on my studies. As mentioned above, tuition is expensive, and I intend to maximize my time in grad school. This was my dream. I have no regrets, and I am excited for each quarter! Good luck to you, Biscuit!

Hi, 

I had a question about NSG 530 for fall quarter. Do any of y'all remember what the class was like? Is it a lot of in class participation or out of class work?

How did your essay go? Any tips 

Specializes in Pediatric Nurse.
On 3/16/2020 at 11:21 AM, bamaximus said:

It’s for uw employees. I work at harborview

Hi- I was wondering, what % of tuition does UW pay for if you're an employee? In Portland where I am at, if you've been an employee for 5 years they pay up to 85% (RN going to DNP program). Just trying to compare but I can't find any concrete numbers, percentages, or anything regarding HOW MUCH they actually cough up for tuition! Thank you!

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