Students in the Houston Christian University MSN- FNP program enjoy earning a highly respected degree at a time and financial cost they can handle.
I’m grateful for being here, it’s a great opportunity to share my story a little bit. I had always planned on going back to school to be an NP, but I hadn’t necessarily planned on doing it so soon.
I have a big medical background and I’ve worked in the medical field for a long time, but I just graduated from University of Houston from their accelerated program in 2016, so as far as nursing experience goes, I didn’t have a lot. But I got a job at East Houston in the ER and one day there was an education fair that they held at HCN Health, and I thought, well I’ll go check it out because I knew the University of Houston was going to be there and I wanted to see my professors and say hello to my professors. Well in the ER you know how crazy it can get and I was so busy and about 2:50 I looked at the clock and said I got to go.
So, I handed my patients to someone else for 10 minutes, and I ran down there, and University of Houston had already packed up and left. But there were other people there, so I just decided to look around and see what was there, and Houston Christian University was there.
I live right down the street from Houston Christian University. I take my kids walking in the beautiful campus and I’ve always been really impressed. But, one of my impressions about Houston Christian University, as well, was that they were expensive, because it’s a private school. And you know, I’m working, I have three little kids, my husband has his own business and it’s not like I can afford to take a huge student loan or something. So, when I was talking to the representative from HCU she says, oh, yes, we do have an NP program. We’re just starting it and she said, oh, and it’s $16,000 for the whole program. And I thought, really? I had no idea.
So, I put my name on the list to be contacted for information and Joan Wolff called within days, and she found out my situation and she said, would you mind sending me a resume? She made the process very easy.
She called me in June or maybe it was the end of June, beginning of July, and she asked if I wanted to start in August. And I said, I don’t think I can do it. And she said, what about January? I said yes, maybe January. So, I went home and talked to my husband. I said, I’ve always wanted to go back to school and this is my goal, this is my direction and I have an opportunity now, what do you think? He said go for it. So, that’s what I’ve been doing since January.
An MSN-FNP Program for Busy Adults
Some of the things that make this program doable for me:
I really love the eight-week courses. We have eight weeks. We have one course at a time so I can focus. I can kind of compartmentalize my life and focus: this is school, this is work, this is home/family. And if I had two or three courses I was doing at the same time it would very difficult to do. So, I really appreciate that it’s one course at a time with eight weeks. I can focus. I can pour my heart into health assessment and then once it’s done it’s done. I don’t have to think about health assessment, and nursing theory, and statistics all at the same time, because that would just be too much. That’s one thing that makes it really do-able.
Another one is that it’s online – you can make it according to your own schedule. I could do my homework at three o’clock in the morning after everything else and so it’s very flexible to my schedule – which is really important if you’re a nurse.
Another thing that I really like about the program is exactly what Chelsea said. She said it’s very professional, but at the same time it’s very personal. And I felt that from all the professors. I felt that from Denise. I felt that from everyone that I’ve talked to – that it’s a very professional, very well-developed school, and well-developed program. However, they know who you are, and they care about you personally. And they listen to your stories, and they know that your family is going through this, so they work with you. And that’s another reason why I feel I can be successful in this program.
Another thing that I wanted to mention that I really appreciate about this school, is that it has a name. HCU is well known, so when I go out - and I’ve gone out - to try to find preceptors to accept me to do some clinical work at their practices and they say, oh, HCU? Yes. You’re going to HCU? And that name carries a lot. But, if I was going to some XYZ nursing online school, that wouldn’t be the same. It just wouldn’t be the same and it would be a lot more difficult to get that recognition right in the door. As soon as they see HCU, they’re like, “Oh! You’re an HCU student!” And so, I really appreciate having that as part of it too.
So again, I’m just really grateful to have the opportunity to share my experience. It’s been a very positive experience. And I understand, too, that it is the very beginning of a program so they’re working and its flexible still, trying to find the right way that do things and I’m glad to be a part of that process.