r/McMaster • u/Responsible_Two6770 • Jul 29 '26
Courses Nursing students?
Anyone here doing the BSCN at Mcmaster, if so, how do you like it? What's your overall opinion on the school/ the profs?
Also what were your first year courses like? Did you get to pick your class times?
I know a lot of people who have done the Mohawk- McMaster route, but I'm curious to know about everyone's experience with just McMaster.
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u/c_Bucket Jul 29 '26
I just finished my first year of nursing, main site. All of the professors were very reasonable in terms of difficulty in my opinion, tutors for nursing specific courses were also reasonable, all of them are kind and willing to help with office hours. First year courses include two PBL, two nursing practice (where we learning basic nursing skills and assessments, two anatomy and physiology, one social determinants, one biochem, two psych, and one elective of your choosing. This year however, they are changing it so the first years have a placement in the winter term. most lectures are the same time for everyone so you can’t choose, but there’s some options for tutorial times and such. Overall, the professors and people have been nice and welcoming, the upper years are super helpful too as we have a NUB (nursing upper year buddies) program, i enjoy this program a lot. My main complaint is that the nursing courses have a lot of readings which are time consuming, but that’s a constant across pretty much all nursing programs at all schools.
Some people tend to be a bit more negative and complain about some courses because it can feel like a jump from highschool if you’re not used to this workload, but they make it very possible to do well if you put in the time and effort (w.g, i got all 12s, many of my friends did very well in all their courses as well, so don’t feel discouraged!)
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u/Responsible_Two6770 Jul 29 '26
Thank you for your insight and response. We're majority of your classes during the morning/afternoon/ evening? I have previous college education as a PSW and also university credits that I plan to hopefully transfer over. Do you know of or have any info on credit transferring? I'm not sure if there's another application process for that etc.
Thank you again for your information 🙏
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u/c_Bucket Jul 29 '26
no worries! happy to help. I would say majority of my classes started in the morning or around noon. However, for some tutorials you have the option to choose morning, noon, or evening classes (like pbl classes for example, there’s 3 time slots).
I’m not personally sure if those credits will transfer, but i have friends who did have credits transferred. i’m pretty sure that once you’re in the program, you can just book a meeting with the nursing academic advisor and they see what they’re able to transfer! (My friend did pre-health in college and wasn’t able to transfer any credits because it was college not uni, but again, the academic advisors can give you a proper answer)
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u/Responsible_Two6770 Jul 30 '26
Thank you I'll definitely have a look. Yeah I don't think my college credits will transfer over, but hopefully my previous uni credits will. Do you know how long the first winter clinical placement is by any chance?
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u/Direct-Strategy8719 Sep 15 '26
Hi! I really appreciate your in-depth response! I'm just starting my first year right now, and I'm feeling kind of swamped. I've been spending every waking hour doing the readings, but it just doesn't feel like enough. I guess the main issue for me is not knowing what is relevant. There is SO MUCH reading. I don't know what to take notes on. Are the textbook readings more important or the slides? What are the key things I should know for a test, and what should I expect in a test?
Do you have any tips for how you managed the readings?
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u/Direct-Strategy8719 Sep 15 '26
Also adding on to that, for the 1F03 readings + questions. If I answer the questions, would that be enough to succeed in the class?
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u/c_Bucket Sep 15 '26
not necessarily, the learning aims are more so general concepts of what you should know but they don’t tell you much about the specifics. take notes that summarize and consolidate the readings and go off those, i know it sounds like a lot but if you split the readings over time it’s not so bad to just review your notes and use repetition to be able to recognize the right answers on exams
bear in mind, this is just what works for me, don’t be afraid to change it up and try new things if your techniques aren’t working! first year is for figuring that stuff out
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u/c_Bucket Sep 15 '26
to be honest it depends on each class. absolutely zero need to do anatomy readings (i finished with an 100% in that course and didn’t touch the textbook lol). but STUDY STUDY STUDY the anatomy lectures, a lot of times he’ll say something that’s not explicitly on the slide but will be tested on. take thorough notes using the lecture recording after it’s posted.
At least last year, mainly focusing on the slides for 1l02 was good enough for me (it can be helpful to skim the textbook if you feel the slides didn’t go over it well enough).
For pbl, you really do need to do the readings and take notes. Some people find it helpful to use the learning aims to guide what’s important for the readings, but it honestly takes practice and you naturally start getting a handle of what is realistic for them to ask. a good tip imo is to ask yourself when you’re reading something that seems kinda irrelevant is “what kind of question could they ask me?” If it’s obvious that it’s more just overview/intro info and less so the main content they want to test you on, it’s usually okay to skim it. but focus a lot on the main content, for pbl especially they do test on specific details, so just try to know it well enough to recognize it on a test (not necessarily to be able to recall it since it’s so much into).
I treated SDOH similarly to PBL in the sense that the exams are heavily based on readings and you may need to pay closer attention to smaller details.
To be honest, after the first set of midterms it usually gets easier because you can get an idea of what the kinds of questions they ask are like. Just do your best for now, i hope this helps and good luck!
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u/c_Bucket Sep 15 '26
also just a general tip, i downloaded a pdf calendar and would write out what tasks i needed to complete each week on sunday, and so on every week. i found this super helpful for making sure i was on top of deadlines and readings because it ensures nothing slips away by accident. this might not be as helpful if you’re more type b and find it hard to keep up with schedules though
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u/Direct-Strategy8719 Sep 15 '26
Thank you so much for these in depth answers! I feel much better about this now. For psych, do you have any advice? How important are the psychology readings for the exams?
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u/c_Bucket Sep 15 '26
psych is very transparent about their breakdown, i believe readings is worth ~10-15% of exam questions. I always skimmed the readings but i’ve also had friends who didn’t and still did fine. imo, it’s best to skim the parts of the readings that repeat the module content and highlight/focus on the new info. if you’re really strapped for time and just completely don’t have time to read it at all, it’s usually still worth it to go through the key terms at the bottom of each chapter as it can help you out for those textbook based exam questions and doesn’t take too long
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u/DrawingQuiet9667 Jul 29 '26
heres a nice post about people rating the first year courses https://www.reddit.com/r/McMaster/s/TLxfnHe2du
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u/Pickle7015 Jul 31 '26
Hey there! I just finished up my first year so here are my two cents.
Overall, I like the program so far. First year can be a little boring just cause everything is so general and a lot of just nursing theory (circle of care, nursing models, etc.) but it gives you a good foundation to think critically like a nurse.
First year courses were overall pretty easy, I would say! As long as you stay on top of things you should be alright. Anatomy exams are very fair, the prof is great, and the lectures are entertaining. Psych courses are built for your success, seeing as they are built with the psychology of learning in mind, so just use all the resources there and you'll do great. PBL isn't difficult in the standard way, it's just hard sometimes to stay focused and there are a lot of readings. The nursing practice courses can get a little iffy on the grading and it really depends on your tutor, but you learn valuable skills with standardized patients (actors) in the simulation labs. Overall, none of the courses are excessively or unfairly difficult, and it is DEFINITELY possible to get 12/A+ in them.
For picking class times, there are a few options but they tend to be earlier in the day. I would honestly recommend taking the 8:30 classes, but that's personal preference! You'll learn what works for you.
I hope this helps at all :))
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u/Responsible_Two6770 Aug 02 '26
Thank you for your info! Do you know if any of the textbooks are available online or wether it's better to purchase ? If possible, could you DM any of the textbooks you've used?
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u/Best_Performance9080 Aug 06 '26
hii im selling my first yr textbooks if you’re interested! some are required readings so id def recommend to get them!
they’re in perfect condition (unhighlighted & new), and i can sell them individually or in a bundle. from the campus store the total is $650+ (including tax), but i can sell them way cheaper!
Canadian fundamentals of nursing
jarvis physical assessment
health promotions throughout the lifespan
social determinants of health
send a text for individual prices & good luck :)) 🩺
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u/Usssfkk Jul 29 '26
I am currently on the Momac stream, starting 2nd year, but I have a couple friends on mainstream; as well we have some classes with Mac site.
The Mac profs were very nice, for example, Dr Helli (Anatomy and Physiology course), he is very good explaining and the course has a lot of grade boosters. Or the psych profs. they are also very approachable and the course is made to help you in all the possible ways
I can't speak for nursing specific courses since I had Mohawk staff, but from what I heard from my friends they were also pretty good.
In general, there might be profs/ instructors that might be more complicated (cough biochem), but it will just take you a little more time and effort to get through it! So If you are planning on choosing Mac, I would recomend
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u/Responsible_Two6770 Jul 29 '26
How did you find your first year courses? Like your timetable/ schedule? We're they given to you or did you have some choice in class time selection? Also what was your class size like?
Thanks for your info (:
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u/c_Bucket Jul 29 '26
we’re given a list of all the classes we need to take via email and in mosaic. since nursing is a very specific major, most courses are nursing specific so you’re guaranteed a spot in them (only people in the nursing major can take them). you’re allowed to choose you’re own timetable as long as all of those required courses are on there (some classes have multiple options for times, others only have one time slot so you have to choose that one). your elective is the only one where you can choose any course you want (doesn’t have to be nursing specific). The smaller tutorials or labs have ~30 people, like a regular highschool class. the larger lectures have a couple hundred people.
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u/Responsible_Two6770 Jul 30 '26
I like that you get some sort of say in your class times. I think that's a little more flexible than some of their colleges/ universities out there. We're you primarily in the IAHS building?
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u/c_Bucket Jul 30 '26
I’m mainsite (not mohawk) so i wasn’t in IAHS very much (except for anatomy lab). for mainsite at least, nursing labs are on the hospital and most lectures are held in various buildings across campus
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u/Best_Performance9080 Aug 06 '26
hey future mac nurses!! as you guys prepare to enter first yr, im looking to help anyone out who’s buying textbooks!!
they’re in perfect condition (unhighlighted & new), and i can sell them individually or in a bundle! from the campus store the total is $650+ (including tax), but i can sell them way cheaper!
-
Canadian fundamentals of nursing
-
jarvis physical assessment
-
health promotions throughout the lifespan
-
social determinants of health
send a text for individual prices & good luck :)) 🩺
(im also selling 2nd yr textbooks for medsurg&pharm, in perf condition, lmk!!)
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