George Washington University Hospital
Mother-Baby Unit
I am thrilled to be working on the postpartum unit at GW Hospital. It is the perfect starting point on my path toward DNP-Midwifery:
As a midwife, I really need to understand the postpartum period. I’m not sure I’d take a year off from L&D to purposefully gain postpartum experience, so this is a perfect opportunity to learn.
As a mom having just done an accelerated nursing program, I am looking forward to a little easier on-boarding and a more predictable day-to-day work environment. Don’t get me wrong - my heart and soul is in L&D and midwifery - but I welcome a chance to slow my roll for just a bit.
With all the breastfeeding experience I’ll be getting, I plan to work on my IBCLC so I can better serve my postpartum nursing mommas as a midwife.
Mid-pandemic, I’m a bit relieved to know that by the time most of my patients are on the floor, we will know their COVID status. It isn’t foolproof, but it does decrease my exposure quite a bit. And with one virtual school pod running out of my house, and another child in a pod down the street, it feels good to be able to tell parents that my risk at the hospital is a little bit lower.
George Mason University
Accelerated BSN Program
I started GMU’s accelerated BSN program in Fall 2019 and graduated mid-pandemic in August 2020. If you are looking for advice on what the program is like, how you can do in general and how you can survive if you have kids and a part-time job, get in touch. I’d love to chat with you about my experiences!
Applying
Be sure you have double-checked all your pre-reqs. GMU only admits once a year, so you want to line up all your classes about a year out to make sure there are no surprises in the months leading up to your application.
GMU does a great job curating a class. It seems they are looking for all kinds of diversity - ethnic diversity, gender diversity, and diversity in the each student’s background (their first degree and their subsequent career). They definitely widened their search to include several male candidates, stay-at-home moms who hadn’t worked in years, immigrants from medical backgrounds, and more. In other words, if you have a unique history, make sure you weave that into your application.
Surviving
The best advice I got was: “Just do today what needs to be done tomorrow and you’ll make it through.” This was incredibly helpful. It sometimes feels like you are drowning, but remember that you just need to get passing grades and you’ll be fine.
Simple Nursing and Osmosis saved me. Find your ideal online tools early and use them.
Find one or two study buddies who are at your level who are willing to sit and work (not sit and talk).
Coffee will be your friend. Trust me. I hated coffee my whole life until nursing school. Cliche but true.
Don’t worry about the NCLEX until the middle of your last semester, then prep like a banshee. UWorld was pretty much all I did and I passed in 60 questions.
Job Hunt
Prep your ideal resume early on in the program and work slowly toward those goals. I wanted NRP, STABLE, and CLC certifications completed. I also went on a study abroad to Botswana to study HIV/AIDS prevention and care because I knew early on I wanted that on my resume.
Start looking for new grad residency positions in about mid-June to early-July.
At first, apply for jobs you are qualified for, not just interested in. You need a couple of interviews under your belt before you start to get your groove, and you don’t want your first one to be your ideal job.
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