Life in NP school/ direct entry program

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mlm55

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I'm considering applying for direct-entry MSN programs to become a psychiatric nurse practioner. I'm wondering if anyone has been through one of these programs and can weigh in on what the social life is like. It is pretty important to me to have the typical grad school experience of getting to know and bonding with classmates, hanging out outside of class, etc and I'm concerned I won't get this in nursing or NP school since it seems like a lot of people work part-time, are older and have families, etc. I'm also concerned I wouldn't fit in because I tend to be more introverted and more of a "dreamer" rather than a people-person who is practical and down to earth.
Can anyone who has been through it weigh in on what your experience was like?

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I'm considering applying for direct-entry MSN programs to become a psychiatric nurse practioner. I'm wondering if anyone has been through one of these programs and can weigh in on what the social life is like. It is pretty important to me to have the typical grad school experience of getting to know and bonding with classmates, hanging out outside of class, etc and I'm concerned I won't get this in nursing or NP school since it seems like a lot of people work part-time, are older and have families, etc. I'm also concerned I wouldn't fit in because I tend to be more introverted and more of a "dreamer" rather than a people-person who is practical and down to earth.
Can anyone who has been through it weigh in on what your experience was like?

My class was extremely close, especially during the 12 month accelerated RN training. We studied together, we had all day cram sessions in the library, went to happy hour after clinicals together, had lots of house parties, etc. Very few people worked at all during the RN training because it was so jam-packed. What we were doing was so stressful and time consuming that it forced us to bond quickly. Even those with outside families and other things going on still made an effort to be part of the group. Things change during the NP training, since we had experienced RNs joining us and the pace slowed down. However, I've found that it's been nice because I still have very strong bonds with my friends from the accelerated RN year, and then I got to meet the new people in my cohort who are interested in my specialty specifically. Overall, I've made a lot of friends (I was actively trying to do so, since I moved for grad school) and the social support is invaluable. I had read about people having very isolated graduate school experiences and I didn't want it to be that way for me.
 
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