UBC or BCIT nursing?

[powermed]

Does anyone have any insight on these programs?

 

I live about an hour drive from UBC and have a 2 yr old, the thought of leaving her for longer than I have to every day is tough. BCIT is only about a 15 minute drive.

 

That being said, UBC is only a two year program, vs the three years at BCIT which means less time not working and paying for daycare.

 

I would like to know whether it is easier to do well in either of the two programs, what hospitals they do their clinicals in, other merits etc..

 

Thanks!

[dent55555]

not sure about BCIT program but i can tell you a bit about the ubc program.

 

the fact that it's two years long has both positives and negatives. the obvious positive is that you finish early which means you'll start working/earning early (yay).

 

the big downside is..most nursing programs are 4 years long, the fact that ubc is 2 years means they will cram all the info you would've learned in 4 years, into 2 years. some people dont mind this, i personally was okay with it. you just have to be very organized and on top of things. but it really was a lot of information to learn over two years. the learning curve is steep.

 

another downside to 2 years is you will have less clinical experience compared to other schools. i didnt like this because when i finished the program, i had a hard time adjusting as an actual nurse due to lack of clinical experience. but you can work around this by applying as an ESN so you get more clinical exposure (and earn as well while being a student still).

 

not sure if ubc changed their program but when i was in there a few years back they also had a summer term, so you'll have to consider that as well.

 

as for clinicals, ubc does their clinicals pretty much everywhere. i know some classmates went into some facilities as well. main hospitals for sure are included: surrey memorial, peace arch, st pauls, vgh, richmond, burnaby gen, royal columbian, womens, bc childrens..etc

[powermed]

Thanks very much for this info. I really appreciate you taking the time to respond.