the_peripatetic_epi Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 Hi Everyone, I'm considering applying to the UofA accelerated nursing program (for entrance in the fall of 2013) and wondering if there are any current students or Alums kicking around on these boards. Pro's/con's about the UofA program in particular would be great. I'm open to going elsewhere, however I have a condo downtown Edmonton that I will never be able to sell in the current market and tired or renting it out while living elsewhere (I'm currently in the NWT now). A few of my specific questions include: -what style of learning do they primarily use (ie traditional vs PBL or something else??)? - How 'touchy-feely' are the courses? I've heard some schools aren't that bad in that sense - Are the people in the program generally pretty happy with the quality of the education? - How hard is it to come out with a solid GPA? Thanks in advance for any of you thoughts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cnb88 Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 Hi Everyone, I'm considering applying to the UofA accelerated nursing program (for entrance in the fall of 2013) and wondering if there are any current students or Alums kicking around on these boards. Pro's/con's about the UofA program in particular would be great. I'm open to going elsewhere, however I have a condo downtown Edmonton that I will never be able to sell in the current market and tired or renting it out while living elsewhere (I'm currently in the NWT now). A few of my specific questions include: -what style of learning do they primarily use (ie traditional vs PBL or something else??)? - How 'touchy-feely' are the courses? I've heard some schools aren't that bad in that sense - Are the people in the program generally pretty happy with the quality of the education? - How hard is it to come out with a solid GPA? Thanks in advance for any of you thoughts! I'm not in the program personally, but I do have a friend that is. The only one I can speak to with 100% certainty is the GPA question. At the UofA they bell-curve for the accelerated program. I was shocked when my friend told me this- I mean, the minimum GPA is 3.0 going in with a full degree... All of a sudden you're competing for marks with people who are already pretty smart in the first place... And when x% is guaranteed to get an F in the course no matter what their mark is (be it 80% or 20%), it makes it tough to say "yes, you can get a solid GPA" or "no, it's very hard". I would say that if you work hard at everything and study your butt off, a strong GPA is possible, but you also have to remember the subjectivity in the marking of essays and assignments. Writing for a nursing course is quite different from writing for a science course or English course. I do know my friend enjoys the program and her classmates, and despite the competition for marks, she says that the atmosphere is more collegial than you'd expect. Good luck in whatever you end up deciding:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockey_whiz Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 Hi, At UofA, PBL is used, it's called CBL though (context based learning). I guess overall it's a pretty good program as UofA nursing students score the highest on the CRNE board exams. "Natural breaks" are used in determining your clinical grades. Taken from the faculty of nursing document "In a team meeting, the course instructors identify the natural breaks. A natural break is a cut off point in a list of marks. For example, let‟s assume that there were many students who received a score of 78 and that the next best score was 74 followed by many 73s. Seventy-four would be a natural break. The natural break system helps establish those students who will receive A+, A, A-, etc… Finding natural breaks is not the same as bell-curving the marks. Bell curves are not used in the Faculty of Nursing. " In terms of getting a solid GPA, it may be an adjustment at first to do well, but honestly if you work hard on your assignments and you work well in groups, getting a solid GPA is definitely do-able. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_peripatetic_epi Posted March 14, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2012 Hey CNB and Hockeywhiz, Thanks for your responses - the (non) bell curve grading sounds interesting - although I always wonder why they've gotta give a letter mark instead of just leaving it at 78% or whatever the actual mark is!! I emailed UofA a couple days ago asking if their program would meet the 'grade' requirements of the UofC med admissions (ie 18 graded credits in each semester) and was told that all credits (including the practicals) are graded - so apparently there are no 'pass/fails' which is great. Anyway.. things are looking good for applying next year. I signed up for an English course at Athabasca to meet that requirement and will be starting next month (or sooner if I get the materials ahead of time). I plan to take the Anatomy/phys course through them in the fall - Damn my animal bio undergrad where I learned about cow/pig/chicken anatomy! Anyway.. thanks again.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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