UVM DEPN (Direct Entry Program in Nursing)

lumen4 · Mar 6, 2015

Anyone on here planning on attending UVM in the DEPN program? Or anyone already in the program?

skiday · Mar 6, 2015

i was accepted to the FNP DEPN program and am trying to decide between UVM and a couple other schools...it's been tough getting in touch with admissions to get more information beyond what's on the website! are you planning on UVM lumen?

lumen4 · Mar 6, 2015

UVM is currently my top choice but I am deciding between a couple others as well. I would recommend getting in contact with KC (her initials) the person who sent out the acceptance letters. Call her and leave a message, she'll get back to you. I had a great talk with her today and she was kind enough to answer my laundry list of questions! I can also try to answer questions you may have, as I've learned quite a bit in the past couple days (outside of the website).

skiday · Mar 6, 2015

yeah i called her and left a message and emailed as well, and i finally got an email back from her. i replied asking my questions..but maybe you can answer some too :) is the program accredited yet? (seemed vague on the website). what percentage of classes are online? what's their nclex pass rate? what's the clinical preceptor/student ratio? i also wanted to get a sense of where the different clinical rotations were after the first year. it seems like during first semester, they're either in an inpatient rehab center or a nursing home, then second semester, they're in fletcher allen. what about after that? i'm also trying to decide whether it's necessary right now to get a DNP, versus just an MSN. how much more can you expect to be paid as a DNP post-program? does it justify the extra year of school and debt? i'm guessing you're out of state, like me, which makes the program pricey...BUT i love the curriculum and it seems that grads have generally positive things to say about the program (the MEPN program, at least)!

thanks! sorry if this totally overloads you haha..feel free to skip around, i'm sure KC will answer some if not all of these.

vinvt · Mar 6, 2015

Has anyone from in state received acceptance yet? If anyone has questions about Vermont let me know!

lumen4 · Mar 6, 2015

Not sure about the accreditation, you've got me worried about that now. It's not listed on the CCNE website as accredited. I asked Kristen about it this morning and she said she thinks it is, but needs to double check. If it's not accredited, I'm out.

Classes work on a rotating online/in class schedule, AFTER THE FIRST YEAR. First year is 100% in class. So say we're in our second year, and we have class A & B. 1st week of school, we have A in class, B is online. Next week B is in class, A is online.

I was told NCLEX pass rate is mid to high 90s.

Not sure about preceptor/student ratio. KC did imply that after the first year, you would be going out to clinical sites possibly by your own, or in like groups of 3 or so, so I would say pretty small. The program itself is TINY. Our incoming class will have ~12 total, so 6 AGNP, 6 FNP.

DNP is a personal decision at this point. From what I have learned, you'll not make much difference in terms of pay with a DNP vs an MSN. This would obviously change if DNP becomes the new standard instead of MSN. Other than that you can expect very similar pay, especially as a fresh grad.

skiday · Mar 10, 2015

Heard back from CBR, the grad program coordinator, regarding accreditation:

"UVM's NP program has always been fully accredited, and our current 10 year cycle ends in 2020, at which time we will need to be re-accredited. We are following the process that is required by AACN when a new program is begun, which involves submitting paperwork to alert AACN of our changes. This paperwork has been submitted, and is in process.The actual site visit from AACN will not occur until close to the completion of the first cohort of DNP students, per AACN procedures. We do not anticipation any difficulties with full accreditation as we transition to the DNP."

mtompsid · Mar 11, 2015

Hi all, I am considering applying to this program for next year so I would be articulating in Fall 2016. I was wondering if any of you would be willing to share your background before getting into this point. I would be a new undergrad and am not sure if I actually have any chance of getting accepted. I have healthcare experience hours and actually have some experience at Fletcher Allen as well as an undergrad GPA of 3.55 ( at this point in time). Thanks for your time!!

Borak · Mar 25, 2015

Has anyone heard anything since the first round of acceptance letters?

KBVT · Mar 30, 2015

Still haven't heard anything from UVM's DEPN. I heard that some students in the current class didn't recieve their acceptance letters until late April/early May. I'm assuming they send them out in bunches until they have filled their class size. Unfortunately, I believe the program recieved over 1000 apps this year for the 15-20 available spots for the direct entry into nursing program.

skiday · Mar 31, 2015

Hopefully you will hear soon @KBVT! Those accepted in the initial batch of letters didn't have to give a yes/no until March 18th, but I imagine they will be sending out a new round in the next week or two! Where did you hear they had 1000 apps??

KBVT · Mar 31, 2015

Thank you and congratulations on your acceptance @skiday, you must be a great candidate! If you have any questions about UVM or VT as a whole let me know, I've lived here my whole life and went to UVM as an undergrad. I heard about the >1000 applications from another grad program advisor whom I've been in contact with the last few months. Kind of a scary stat, but somewhat understandable when you think about how competitive PA school is becoming.