UW ABSN 2020

Nursing Students School Programs

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Specializes in Ophthalmology.

Hi everyone! Just wanted to start a forum for those applying to University of Washington's ABSN program for Fall 2020. I'm applying from California and unfortunately, I don't have any healthcare experience working directly with/under nurses as I'm an ophthalmic technician. I graduated last year with a BS in Health Science with a focus in Community Health.

Any feedback/advice on becoming a stronger applicant are welcome, or sharing your progress in the application is great too! Thanks! ?

1 Votes

Thanks for starting this forum. I was trying to figure out how to do this from my cell phone. I’ve heard from friends already in the program they look for experience as a CNA in a hospital-like setting. I’m currently applying to Seattle Children's and Swedish Hospital as a CNA to get some experience.

2 Votes

Hi everyone! Thanks for starting the thread. I am also planning on applying to the ABSN program at UW for fall of 2020! As far as experience, I have a little over 3 years of full time experience in the mental health field (5000ish hours) working directly with nurses. I also volunteered for about 100 hours on a med surg floor. I’m also planning on getting my CNA this July and working part time as a CNA to gain some medical experience other than mental health. ? My GPA is not super awesome but I’ve heard UW is more interested in the whole person and experience so I’m hoping that won’t be a big issue! My prerequisite GPA is a lot higher so hopefully that will help me out. ? I’m looking forward to hopefully meeting some of you in the future!

1 Votes
Specializes in Ophthalmology.
2 hours ago, MollyGPsych said:

Hi everyone! Thanks for starting the thread. I am also planning on applying to the ABSN program at UW for fall of 2020! As far as experience, I have a little over 3 years of full time experience in the mental health field (5000ish hours) working directly with nurses. I also volunteered for about 100 hours on a med surg floor. I’m also planning on getting my CNA this July and working part time as a CNA to gain some medical experience other than mental health. ? My GPA is not super awesome but I’ve heard UW is more interested in the whole person and experience so I’m hoping that won’t be a big issue! My prerequisite GPA is a lot higher so hopefully that will help me out. ? I’m looking forward to hopefully meeting some of you in the future!

Thank you guys for replying! I was a little worried when I posted the forum that no one would respond at all. But that's great to learn to both of you have gained some insight and experience of working with nurses.

For MollyGPsych, when you volunteered on a med surg floor, did you have to go through an application process or did you personally communicate with the hospital that you wanted to volunteer? Unfortunately, a lot of hospitals near me are very strict with who they want to volunteer.

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3 minutes ago, an.bri said:

Thank you guys for replying! I was a little worried when I posted the forum that no one would respond at all. But that's great to learn to both of you have gained some insight and experience of working with nurses.

For MollyGPsych, when you volunteered on a med surg floor, did you have to go through an application process or did you personally communicate with the hospital that you wanted to volunteer? Unfortunately, a lot of hospitals near me are very strict with who they want to volunteer.

I contacted the hospital I wanted to volunteer at and they had me fill out an application and do an interview. ? They weren’t very strict about who volunteered I don’t think, I just had to pass a background and commit to 6 months or 100 hours. I hope that helps!

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Has anyone applied during another cohort? How was that application? How was the proctored essay?

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Hi, I'm actually not applying until next year, but I'm hoping you all can help me out anyway. I'm currently working at an accounting firm that pays me well, but I want to transition into nursing. The problem is that I don't want to quit my current job until I actually start the program (because $$$), so I'm struggling to figure out how to fulfill the health care experience requirement. Do any of you know of any specific examples of volunteer experiences successful applicants used to fulfill the requirement?

1 Votes

You can start volunteering at various health clinics and hospitals around you. If you don’t have the means to quit your job (which is totally understandable) I would begin volunteering Swedish, Seattle Children’s, or local community health centers.

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Specializes in Emergency Department LPN.

Thank you for starting this thread! I am excited/nervous to being my application for Fall of 2020. I have a bachelor's degree in Communications from UW and currently work full time in healthcare as an Optometric Technician; I volunteer at a local hospital in the ED, and am getting my 100 hours of volunteer experience at a Cancer infusion center.

I don't know about you all, but I am overwhelmed by the application process/resume/essay requirements! Has anyone started on theirs? Also, I will finish my 3rd Natural World prerequisite at the end of August, and hopefully submit my application by mid-September. Does anyone know how quickly official transcripts are typically available?

Excited to be a part of this forum! Thanks in advance and good luck to us all!

Dani

1 Votes
Specializes in Emergency Department LPN.

One more question in case someone comes across this:

Does anyone know how we submit the Letter of Recommendation? Does the recommender upload it themselves, or do we upload it with our application?

Thanks!

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Hi Everyone! Excited to see this thread begin. I deciding whether or not to do ABSN to DNP or do straight ABSN.

My Stats:

Undergrad: is a low 3.22 (Art History)

Prereq: 3.87 (I have finished all the Natural World)

My experience:

1000+hours in-home caretaking for children/young adults with Autism and developmental disabilities (helping with medication, communicating therapists, helping with bathing/toilet training.

500+ Hours with being a full-spectrum doula (Birth, Postpartum, Induction termination), working at SF General Hospital and being a coordinator for the postpartum doula program. Working directly with midwives, nurses, IBCLCs, and social workers. Also, help facilitate training for new incoming postpartum doulas, training them onto the hospital unit, and scheduling/coordinating 50+ every month.

100+ hours as Patient "Buddy" at Stanford's children hospital, helping relieve parents or guardians, playing/supporting young patients, and also working directly with staff to how best advocate for young patients and supporting nursing staff.

1000+ Working as Clinical Coordinator/Admin for Pediatric OT/Speech Therapy/PT Clinic, helping Medi-Cal patients obtain resources, also helping with doing patient in-take, and scheduling. Working directly with Public Health nurses, Insurance, and OTs/SLPs/PTs.

I can speak some Spanish, but hoping to get more comfortable in the coming months.Even though I do have a lot experience, it still makes me nervous because I don't have any certifications like CNA or EMT. Any thoughts about that?

Does anyone know anything about this proctor exam and how it works? Is it apart of the online interview process? Kinda confused there.

Best of luck to everyone in this crazy process! ?

2 Votes

Hi all,

Thanks for starting this thread! I'm Rachel, and I'm applying for both the ABSN and BSN at the UW for Fall 2020. I've been working toward becoming a nurse for ten years (!), and I'm excited to get started. Starting in 2009, I accumulated 10,000+ hours of experience working with patients and nurses in urgent care, rural primary care, and women's health. For the last five years, I've worked in public health administration, and work with nurses who are involved in administration and program management. I'm currently working as a CNA to get some hands-on hours that are more current. I'm passionate about holistic patient care and community health. My end goal is to pursue a DNP, though I haven't nailed down which specific field. I look forward to hopefully meeting you all when we start next Fall ?

1 Votes
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