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[miniaturebeaker]

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[ketamine]

Hey,

I did a nursing degree as my 2nd undergrad. I went to BCIT though (3 year program), a polytechnic institute, so some med schools in Canada don't count it because it's not a "university" degree (even though you still get a bachelor's). UBC med DID count my BCIT grades though. I recommend university nursing vs college or other institutes if you are still considering medicine down the road to open up your school options.

With that said, pros of BCIT was that it was easy to get high grades (90s+), lots of clinical hours, paid preceptorship, opportunity to take specialty courses. I'm not sure about marks or grading at UBC nursing. Some of my colleagues went to UBC - it is very condensed, no summers off I believe, less clinical hours, but you get it done quicker. Any differences in schooling evens out in practice. For UBC nursing, you can do employed student nursing as well (work experience while you're in school).

I'm not familiar with schools outside of BC, sorry! PM if you have any more questions 

[miniaturebeaker]

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[sykern]

On 10/27/2020 at 6:47 PM, Raisin Bran said:

Hey there,
I'm considering the possibility of a 2 year post-degree nursing program down the road, and I'm wondering if anyone has any insight into quality, difficulty, pros, or cons of any 2 year Canadian programs? I was considering UofA, UofC, and UBC, but would love insight about any Canadian programs. Thanks!

U of T - very research heavy (at least it was in 2012 when I applied), they like to pump out nurse researchers / admin; if that's the route you want to take then they're good for that. You get a summer after June, but don't finish until June the year after as well (I think)

Mac - is where I went. They were... okay. Great for exposure to PBL (Problem Based Learning), amazing pharm course (like.. we learned more than I did in my entirety of med school), but placements are harder and harder to come by. Also because of PBL you don't get (IMHO) a thorough understanding of patho. Plus, not guaranteed to rotate through every type of nursing as you have to pick in the summer (unless that's changed.. again, was there 2012-2014). Nice that you're done in 5 consecutive semesters though.

Queen's - I've heard really good things and almost went there. I like that you actually get to go through every nursing rotation. Con is you have to do 2 full summers.

Trent - 3 year program, but solid one. I think they had advanced patho courses or something; downside is its in a smaller center (Peterborough).

York - not bad, don't know much else about the program. Hard to get placements as you're competing with other GTAH schools (Ryerson, U of T, Humber etc)

Feel free to PM me, I'll see what I can recall from the past

[BNurse1418]

Graduated from U of T a couple of years ago, it was a great program, very organized with great clinical experiences. I had no research experience while applying and got in. It’s two years with each year running from September to end of June so you get a two month break.

I knew I was passionate about pediatrics and was able to spend my entire second year in pediatric placements/courses (with 2/3 placements at Sickkids in my second year and I also had one in first year). So if you have an area you’re passionate about, you can likely get placements in those areas. Or if you’re interested in building a general/wide range skill set, there are other placement/course options to do that as well. 
 

I can’t think of too many cons of the program... I remember the grading being tough but I worked hard and pulled off a high GPA so it’s doable. It’s also expensive tuition and costly to live downtown, but I don’t know how the tuition compares to other nursing programs. Other than that, no complaints! PM me if you have any Q’s