Hello! I’m a grade 12 student and I applied to Mac for nursing.
I was wondering if there are any 1st or 2nd year nursing students willing to share their experiences?

I have a few questions if anybody can answer them:
- What exactly is Problem-Based Learning (PBL)? Is throwing problems at you and then you work as a group to solve them? Do you think PBL is more effective than a traditional lecture? Would PBL change your decision to attend or not attend Mac?
- How was the course load first year?
- Would you say the courses are nursing specific? I was comparing the programs between different universities. It looks like other universities have “Chemistry for Nursing”, but nursing students at Mac take the same chemistry courses as Life Sci and Health Sci students. Does anyone see that a negative?
- Why did you choose McMaster over all the other universities? Do you regret your decision or think there are other things you should’ve considered?
- Any advice?

Hi there! I'm so glad to hear you're considering nursing at mac! I'm in first year and I'd be happy to answer some of your questions, especially since they seem to resemble a lot of the questions I had going in.

What exactly is PBL?

PBL or problem based learning, is somewhat like you described it (i.e. "throwing problems at you and working as a group to solve them") but not at first. When you first start PBL, it's mostly about getting you comfortable with the group process, helping you to settle into what it means to be a nurse and how nurses work with other members of health care teams. It can feel VERY dry and boring in the beginning, as well as a little awkward since they expect you to evaluate yourself and your other group members at mid-term and finals. When you finally begin Case Studies, you're presented with a patient problem, in the form of a video or a write-up, and as a group you brainstorm ideas about the patient, questions you might have about their condition, etc. In first term, your PBL tutor (kind of like a TA/prof) will usually give you readings to do on each case scenario, but later in the year you'll be expected to decide what additional research needs to be done. You'll spend a few weeks on each scenario and then move on to the next one. I personally don't find PBL more effective than a lecture as far as solid knowledge is involved, there is little memorization of facts and no final exam to study for. I will say, however, that while PBL can be irritating, uncomfortable, and boring as hell, it is also pretty good at teaching you how to approach clinical problems as a group and how to "play nice" with others

How was the course load first year?

Well, I've already described PBL, but the homework load outside of class varied according to the scenario you were working on and how much research you have to do. However, since there are no exams in PBL, the grade is based entirely off of assignments worth a large portion of your grade. If you don't spend time on those, you probably won't get a very good grade. Clinical classes are a little less heavy first term, but they pick up quickly second term, so watch out. You might be able to get away with skipping the readings first term, but be ready to spend a lot of time prepping come winter. Anatomy is definitely the course that I spent the most time on first term, it is a VERY tough course and you need to stay on top of it in order to do okay. It gets easier second term, once you've adjusted to the course load. Psych is easy first term, not too much work if you keep up with the lectures and participate in tutorials. Second term, however, the psych work load increases significantly. Biochem is second term and begins with easy material, but it too will pick up quickly, so its important to spend time reviewing as you go. Overall, the course load wasn't too heavy. At times you'll be swamped, but most of the time, its manageable. I would suggest taking a relatively easy elective though, I had a friend who took calculus and the added workload negatively affected her other marks.

Would you say the courses are nursing specific?

I would absolutely say that the courses are nursing specific. It is true that Anatomy is the same course as the health sci kids, BUT it has a different marking arrangement for the nursing students. We are not marked on labs, nor do we have bell ringers and the tutorials are clinical scenarios that often cross over into what we are learning in PBL/Clinical. I also found Psych very relatable to the things I was learning in my nursing courses and a lot of second term psych is simply an expansion of the neuroscience unit in anatomy which makes it slightly easier for us nurses. Biochem is probably one of my favourite course, not because I'm particularly good at it mind you, but because our prof has designed the way she teaches the class around providing information to support what we are learning this year AND in years to come. In each class and tutorial we are given clinical scenarios regarding the best way to diagnose or react to a patients condition from a biochemical standpoint. I personally don't see the organization of the Mac Nursing science courses as a negative, but as one of the programs highest achievements!

Why did you choose McMaster?

I personally chose McMaster because I live in Hamilton and because I had three older siblings who went there. I knew McMaster's Nursing program was well rated and I hoped I was making the right choice in program rather than choice of school. I won't say the program is perfect because it definitely isn't, and I can't say whether I would have been happier somewhere else, but I can say that one year after I first applied I am very happy with my progress thus far.

Advice?

Two things! First make friends! Especially within your PBL group if you can. It took me the whole of first term to become good friends with the other members of my group, and I have to say I only wished we'd become close sooner! This group will be with you in PBL and clinical all year and they are your best support! Second, try not to overthink things, I started off first year judging myself too harshly and freaking out if the smallest thing went wrong with school. Keep in mind that you aren't in high school anymore, the grades don't matter as much so long as you do your best! Good luck, and I hope you do decide to come here!

Thanks so much for your reply! I already got into Western, so I'm still waiting on McMaster.

I think PBL is preferable to other schools' approaches (according to my personal preference). At other schools you would take a course in specific areas ex. Psychiatric nursing, pediatrics etc. You would have to write a midterm and final in these courses. One of the notoriously hard courses in the med surg course (at other schools) and it has a high failure rate (but this is more an issue at US schools.) With Mac you learn all that content through PBL and Clinical.


i actually excel at multiple choice tests, but I preferred to take PBL where I wrote essays / did presentations.


The sciences are all nursing specific. The anatomy has a mix of midwifery, biomedical engineering, and the health sciences program. They only have the lectures in common the tutorials and labs are different , and the the grading allocation is different.


The sciences are considered to be harder in the Mac program. You also have to do presentations in virtually all the science classes, and many of the other classes. You get pretty adept at doing presentations.


If you are painfully shy or have any kind of social anxiety the McMaster program may present challenges. Some of the other programs might be better in that regard.


There is a lot of attrition in the nursing program either people who become ineligible to stay in the program, or drop out voluntarily.


Soon the Ontario college of nurses will publish stats on pass / fail rates for the licensing exam. It will be interesting to see how Mac fairs compared to other schools.


If you want to learn more about the school of nursing’s pedagogical approach look into the Kaleidoscope curriculum.


This is an after though - I think one of the worst aspects of the current curriculum is the psych 1xx3 and 1xo3 requirement. I think I like the way other schools run their 6 units of level 1 psych a lot better. Those two courses might also be a deal breaker for me in retrospect. I think the school of nursing should look into running a nursing oriented psych, and I hear the Health Sciences program has a new program specific form of the 6 psych units.


I wish they had of at least ran tutorials geared toward nursing students for those two courses.



People who took Mac nursing really don't have much of a basis of comparison to comment on other school's RN programs. I hear some of the programs that are BScN programs run by Community Colleges are great . Ex. the Georgian York program . With those programs you still have a degree and transcript from the University but the 1st two years are really college courses.



The Mohawk / McMaster program is virtually identical to the McMaster program w. the exception to 3 electives and takes place on the same campus. Although you have the option to take those 3 electives at Mohawk. The Conestoga McMaster program is virtually identical as well but the whole program takes place in Kitchener. Mohawk students wind up enrolled in many of the same sections of courses as McMaster students, but Conestoga is segregated.

Soon the Ontario college of nurses will publish stats on pass / fail rates for the licensing exam. It will be interesting to see how Mac fairs compared to other schools.

They actually have! I looked up the pass rates before applying to McMaster last year!
2010- 91.9% of McMaster nursing graduates passed the CNRE on the first write
2011- 92%
2012- 89.4%

Also! McMaster has one of the highest number of people writing & passing for their first time in these years (usually around 160) , meaning a higher number of its students are passing on the first try when compared to a school with say, 60-100 students writing for the first time and having 90% of them pass.

This information was taken from the CNO's Nursing Registration Exams Report- Published 2012, revised 2013

Originally Posted by browneyedgirl

Soon the Ontario college of nurses will publish stats on pass / fail rates for the licensing exam. It will be interesting to see how Mac fairs compared to other schools.

They actually have! I looked up the pass rates before applying to McMaster last year!
2010- 91.9% of McMaster nursing graduates passed the CNRE on the first write
2011- 92%
2012- 89.4%

Also! McMaster has one of the highest number of people writing & passing for their first time in these years (usually around 160) , meaning a higher number of its students are passing on the first try when compared to a school with say, 60-100 students writing for the first time and having 90% of them pass.

This information was taken from the CNO's Nursing Registration Exams Report- Published 2012, revised 2013

2012 was the last year that started under the old curriculum. I don't know much about it. you only took patho once in 3rd yr, and there was more electives. 4NR3 and 1KO2 and 2KO2 did not exist.


I think pass rates will go up with NCLIX. NCLIX in theory is an easier exam because you only need an Associates in Nursing to write it in the US.

I don't know how it compares to other schools, but a close to 10 percent failure rate seems kind of steep.

the data on the failure rate of people educated outside Ontario is abysmal.

found it

http://www.cno.org/Global/2-HowWePro... amsReport.pdf

Thank you! I'll probably take a tour and hopefully make a decision.