Personally, I don’t think anything could be harder than 3rd semester so 4th semester like felt like I had finally overcome the peak of a mountain and can begin to relax as I head downhill (in terms of academics).
4th semester is challenging, but I really enjoyed all the classes. I have found one of my passions to be in critical care so I really enjoyed it although it can be challenging. This is also the semester where you will be submitting your choices for residency, submit your BRN stuff, and have your first Kaplan week!
My schedule looked a little like this:
- Monday: Varies (Usually some sort of training, sim lab, orientation, etc.); towards the end you will have Mondays off
- Tuesday: Community Care Clinical 0700-1600
- Wednesday: Leadership 1000-1200; Scientific Writing 1300-1600
- Thursday: Community Care 1000-1200; Critical Care 1300-1600
- Fridays: Critical Care Clinical 0630-1700
Community Care
There really isn’t a secret to passing this. You would have to try to fail to fail this class. In terms of difficulty, it is much easier to past courses. These course will enhance your teaching skills if you take full advantage of this course. You can also truly make an impact and have something great to add to your portfolio if you get involved. There were mostly short writing assignments. Stay on top of those and you will be fine.
Leadership
This one is also much easier in terms of difficulty. I love that it is focused on preparing you for graduating! You will work on your resume, portfolio, cover letter, and interview skills in this class. My advice is to actually put your all into the assignments so you won’t have to spend extra time on them later when you are applying to jobs. I would also recommend making both a hardcopy and online portfolio if you have the time. I went with a online one, but I am pretty internet savvy (as you can tell with this blog). I would also like to make a hard-copy once I have time after residency. I will post a sample of all the above in the future when I have landed a new grad position (hopefully by the end of this year!).
Scientific Writing
Find your topic and submit your PICOT ASAP! Time management is how you will do well in this class. There are many large writing assignments and you need to make sure to avoid procrastinating! My advice is to find a topic that you can easily find enough articles on and get your PICOT approved ASAP. The sooner you do this the sooner you can start working one each assignment. I worked on it a little each day because it takes so long to write evidence-based papers. Utilize the writing center and your APA book as well!
Critical Care
There is so much to know and there is no way to know it all. Like in previous classes, focus on what is different. How can you differentiate one condition from another? What will the labs look like? How will they present? Know your labs, basic ECGs, and hemodynamics!!! Review your ATI if you are rusty on skills like central line care and trach care! Know how to prioritize!!!
Hi Bri! Thank you again for sharing your experience and taking the time to answer my questions. I just found out today that I was accepted into APU’s ELM program! Your blog has been such an amazing resource for me, thank you again!
Congrats!!! I am so happy for you! You are beginning a challenging, but very rewarding journey!
Thank you!!! I do have a couple questions about loans lol. I’ve been in touch with the financial aid office regarding the federal loans. They said grad students can borrow up to $20,500/year and that there’s also the option of the Grad Plus loans. Since each semester varies in the amount of credit hours, is there a significant difference in tuition fees per semester? I’ve only received information on first semester tuition costing $9,000 (not including books and uniforms ect.). Do you think the $20,500 per year will cover all the tuition?
It depends on what semester you start. The loan year is based on the academic year (fall/spring/summer). For tuition alone, I believe it ranged from $9,000-$13,000 depending on the semester. What happens is they make available the loans you qualify for and then you can pick how much you accept each semester. If you end up needing to dig into the loan plus, you can. I would contact a financial aid advisor to confirm tho.
Thanks again!
Hi Bri! First of all thanks for all the great info on the blog. This is by far the best info I could find to make my decision to apply to APU. I was recently accepted to ELM program for Spring 19 and was wondering if you have any suggestions on what material to go over before starting first semester? Also I’m subscribed to your email list, but haven’t received a password for the resources tab any chance you will be sending that out again? Thanks!
An email should have been automatically sent out. The password is 2018!