Yale GEPN 2020

[think34]

Hi All,

I have been on the lookout for the 2020 thread but figured that I'll have to create one. I am sorry if there is one that I am not aware of.

I am a 2020 hopeful that is looking to make a career switch. I was at one of the information sessions where I gained further insights on the application process and the program. I took the GRE yesterday and was around the 50th percentile for both Q&V.

One of the changes to this years' requirements is that you don't need the GRE if you already have a masters degree or would complete one before the start of the 2020 session. I haven't taken the major prerequisites, but I will take and complete them in the summer of 2020.

I will start talking to my recommenders from next week, I have a tentative list that I composed with a view of having them tell different stories about my candidacy.

May I crave the indulgence of both current and past GEPNs and the benevolence of prospective class of 2020 to make this thread the best one yet. Your views and insights are welcome and appreciated!

[Ohm108, MSN, NP, CNM]

1 hour ago, Daeron said:

Hello,

I'm happy to have found this thread/forum as I'm sure I will have more questions over the next 2 months. So thank you in advance to fellow applicants and current students.

Currently, I do have a few questions that someone might be able to help me with. In terms of the admissions process, applicants are required to apply to a chosen clinical specialty, but doesn't this make the applicant pool vary greatly per specialty? Theoretically, wouldn't one have a better chance of getting in if they choose a less popular specialty than the majority? Maybe YSN is only looking for individuals dead set on specializing in one field? But, if you were to be denied in one field, and think you might have comparable desire for another, wouldn't it be beneficial to be considered for both? Just food for thought...

I plan to apply to the dual Nurse Midwife/Women's Health Nurse Practitioner track and was wondering if there are or have been any men in that speciality. Do any current students have a feeling of how that might be received amongst the fellow students (or even the admissions committee)?

Lastly, I worry about my candidacy in regards to experience in and around medicine. I initially started doing pre-med in college and have a fair amount of those courses under my belt, but I ended up pursing a career in dance and have been performing professionally for the past 12 years. Simultaneously I have worked as a bartender and bar manager. I think my career experience can translate to health care well, but it is not immediately obvious on my resume that nursing is the next step. It's a clear career shift for me, and I'm wondering if that is something other students have seen or experienced? Have there been people accepted/enrolled who come from what might be commonly perceived as a completely different career path?

Thanks!

Most direct entry nursing programs with an NP component will require that you pick a specialty prior to joining their program. One of the reasons is logistics, if you had an entire class of prospective Psych NPs as an example, there just isn't enough clinical sites in CT to be able to accommodate so many people. You can either have a very small cohort of only Pysch NPs or a larger cohort with people who want to go into different specialties. Secondly, as you progress in your education and obtain graduate degrees, the expectation is that you do become more specialized in your field before becoming a subject matter expert in your field when you have obtained a doctorate which is the terminal degree for most areas of study.

Yes, you will have a better chance of getting into a specialty that isn't as popular with applicants but that is offset by the fact that those specialties accept a smaller number of students. This is true regardless of which program you apply to.

The important thing that all applicants need to understand when you apply to this or any other direct entry nursing program is that you need to have a clear idea of why you want to go into the specialty that you have chosen. The expectation is that you have explored and researched your chosen specialty prior to applying and know why this specialty speaks to you as a future provider over all the other specialties. If you do not have a clear idea which specialty you would like to practice in, take some time to explore other specialties prior to applying. Shadow a provider in the area you are interested in, volunteer, calling friends of friends who are in similar programs. Leverage your network if possible.

Not knowing or being sure of why you have chosen your specialty is the second most common reason not to be accepted. Alternatively, the Physicians Associate programs might also be an option for you since as a pre-med student you might already have the classes necessary to apply but you might still have to retake the classes since it looks like some time has passed since you took them. But they might be easier for you to complete since you have previous knowledge to leverage upon. PAs come out as generalists and might be a better choice for individuals who do not know what they want to specialize in. It is the nature of being an APRN that we specialize and it is reflected in how graduate NP programs are structured.

There is always a portion of direct entry nursing programs with students who have had very long, varied, and diverse experiences in other careers. But the proportion of these individuals are small compared to the rest of the class. The average age of the current incoming 2019 cohort is 25 so the majority of individuals in this year's cohort either have had 2-3 years of work experience or they just graduated with their bachelors. It is rare at least in the programs that I have looked at to have individuals who have more than 5 years of pure work experience in another field. When you start looking at individuals with more than 10 years of experience, it is almost non-existent. Like you, I also had a long career in another field prior to applying and being accepted into Yale's program. It is looked upon favorably by the faculty and the admissions committee to be an older student with experiences in fields other than STEM. We have people coming from backgrounds in finance, scientific research, and the arts but that is more the exception than the rule. Most of the individuals who apply and are accepted have some background in the sciences like neuroscience, biology, health sciences, psychology, public health etc.

I can tell you that there have been a few individuals with a dance or art background who have applied and been accepted into Yale's program over the last few years so you are in good company with your 12 years of dance and professional experience. Yale does value individuals with different and unique experiences and you have that coming from the arts.

Re midwifery - I would suggest that if you want to go into this specialty and this is the area you want to specialize in, that you try and obtain some birth-related work or work with babies and children prior to applying. Volunteer birth doula, postpartum doula, MA on an L&D floor, tech on a postpartum floor, nanny etc are all possibilities. The admissions committee would like to see that you took some time to explore and be sure of your specialty prior to applying as I discussed earlier. It also gives you a chance to explore if this specialty is for you as well. Perhaps you didn't know that you didn't like amniotic fluid prior to working with birthing mothers or that baby breast milk regurgitation causes you to be nauseous or that laceration repair is just not for you.

Lastly, I repeat again that all applicants need to have a clear vision of why you want to go into your specialty especially the CNM/WHNP specialty. This specialty after FNP is probably the hardest specialty to get into so have a clear understanding of what a midwife does, what their job entails, the population that they focus on, and the types of procedures that they perform.

There is a lot more that I can say but hopefully, this will help you get started thinking about your application.

Good luck to you.

[Daeron]

Thank you so much Ohm108! This is very helpful and just the sort of information I was looking for. Much gratitude!

[Psychmeout2]

3 hours ago, Daeron said:

Hello,

I'm happy to have found this thread/forum as I'm sure I will have more questions over the next 2 months. So thank you in advance to fellow applicants and current students.

Currently, I do have a few questions that someone might be able to help me with. In terms of the admissions process, applicants are required to apply to a chosen clinical specialty, but doesn't this make the applicant pool vary greatly per specialty? Theoretically, wouldn't one have a better chance of getting in if they choose a less popular specialty than the majority? Maybe YSN is only looking for individuals dead set on specializing in one field? But, if you were to be denied in one field, and think you might have comparable desire for another, wouldn't it be beneficial to be considered for both? Just food for thought...

I plan to apply to the dual Nurse Midwife/Women's Health Nurse Practitioner track and was wondering if there are or have been any men in that speciality. Do any current students have a feeling of how that might be received amongst the fellow students (or even the admissions committee)?

Lastly, I worry about my candidacy in regards to experience in and around medicine. I initially started doing pre-med in college and have a fair amount of those courses under my belt, but I ended up pursing a career in dance and have been performing professionally for the past 12 years. Simultaneously I have worked as a bartender and bar manager. I think my career experience can translate to health care well, but it is not immediately obvious on my resume that nursing is the next step. It's a clear career shift for me, and I'm wondering if that is something other students have seen or experienced? Have there been people accepted/enrolled who come from what might be commonly perceived as a completely different career path?

Thanks!

I'm not a current student or an admissions officer so I know they could be more helpful but I would like to provide my own perspective if you don't mind. Nursing is missing men across the board so it is my personal belief that it would be a strength that you are a male interested in these specialties. However, maybe I'm overthinking but you may want to think about how to possibly respond to women who may be uncomfortable working with a man. Plenty of women are fine having a male provider but maybe think about how you would address working with women who have trauma that center around men. Obviously you have your reasons for choosing Midwifery and Women's health and you have thought it through. Plus, it is always helpful to have a person who carries a privileged identity advocating for those who may not have a voice. As for the career aspect I was on their website looking through people who have entered the program and they had a wide range of careers. I think as long as you are able to convey skills and experiences you had that will aid you in nursing, you should have a fair shot. I was feeling the same way because while I have worked in healthcare I know plenty of nurses professionally and personally so I was feeling insecure about not having hospital/ nursing bedside experience. Plus I'm pretty young competing against people who have plenty of life experience but as you mentioned I am one of those people who know what I want to do in life, i just came across the method to do so late in college. Anyway, I hope this helps at least a little bit.

[Psychmeout2]

Also I think they want you to know because while nursing is a field that you can move around in ( part of what makes it so great), the program is so rigorous that on those days you wanna just give up you need to be able to call on the reason why you did this to get through. It is much harder to do that when you're not as much passionate about the specialty. I had a nervous breakdown after realizing how popular psych is and started looking into women's health programs. Then when I researched the scope of practice, I was reminded why I decided psych in the first place. It'll be a disservice for patients to be working with a provider who only kinda likes what they're doing. Plus most good nurses and admissions officers can spot lack of passion/the fact that you're choosing a specialty for safety from a mile away.

[Psychmeout2]

@Ohm108 or any other current students. As I have been lurking on previous years of other schools ( I have not fully looked at Yale's yet if I'm going to be honest ) I have noticied a trend of not being able to get in communication with faculty and staff in the program. I wanted to get an honest opinion regarding how timely Yale is in terms of getting back to people.

[AmyS4, MSN, CNM]

Yale is very responsive to inquiries, especially Joseph Korevec. I left him a message in early July and he got back to me within 48 hours. Last week I called and he was available to answer my questions. He is very informative and helpful.

I’ve had trouble getting a return call from Frontier but not Emory, Yale, Or Penn. I haven't needed one yet from Vanderbilt.

[Psychmeout2]

5 minutes ago, AmyS4 said:

Yale is very responsive to inquiries, especially Joseph Korevec. I left him a message in early July and he got back to me within 48 hours. Last week I called and he was available to answer my questions. He is very informative and helpful.

I’ve had trouble getting a return call from Frontier but not Emory, Yale, Or Penn. I haven't needed one yet from Vanderbilt.

I have been able to get in touch with Vanderbilt so far but people on previous years forums were making complaints once it got closer to decision time and even after enrollment. I have had some trouble with other schools, especially UPenn. I honestly would rather be able to get in touch faster after I get in than before if I had to make a choice between the two. However, good to know your experience has been good so far. I have not had much of a need to contact anyone yet at Yale. I just want to get honest perspectives.

[AmyS4, MSN, CNM]

I suspect Vanderbilt was over run with calls about when decisions were going to be released last year, even after having made it clear that it would be mid to late February. I think clogging up the phone lines with those calls may have contributed to the lag in returned phone calls. (But that’s just my opinion having read Vanderbilt’s Allnurses feed.)

[Psychmeout2]

Oh yeah I read that too, I understood them feeling overwhelmed by all the calls. Especially, as you said after they gave a tentative date. My problem was reading that it went past that date with no blanket response for everyone, and even that people were hung up on. Then people were complaining even after they enrolled in school. I know that does not encompass everyone's experience, still something I am keeping in mind. Schools should be held accountable for that, just as they would us if we messed up somehow. Or the irony of how if you are late to a doctor's appointment you cannot be seen but plenty of people have had to wait for a doctor like they don't have other things to do. Things happen outside of their control, but at least be gracious about it.

[jules]

Hello @Daeron,

I just wanted to say that I have a dance/visual arts background, planning to Nurse Midwife/Women's Health Nurse Practitioner track, and I am a queer man!

I have the same question about how male students might be received in the program. That would be so nice to hear from the fellow students about what they think!

In response to your question, what I can say that there are definitely male (AMAB) or male identifying folx practicing in the field, and some programs (like the midwifery program at OHSU in Oregon) even encourages specifically male students to apply. What I gather from the male RNs working in the L&D units is that some pregnant people do not feel comfortable and do not prefer to be seen and helped by male nurses. I understand that, because I actually want to be there for them at my best capacity to facilitate their informed decision making process. Also, when there is a student who struggles at school because of their gender, Yale carefully adjusts its policies accordingly. I know that from a tgnb student's story in the Physician's Assistant program at Yale.

Good luck with your application!

[Daeron]

@jules you're kidding! Well I certainly hope we're the only 2 applying with such similar backgrounds. Good luck to you as well!

[AmyS4, MSN, CNM]

Is anyone else having trouble adding a 4th recommender to the application after you've selected 3? The instructions say you can upload as many as 5 but there is not a button on the application to "add recommender", which is what other applications have. Does anyone know anything about this? I left Joseph a message today so I'll update this once I hear from him if no one else has found a solution.