Nursing Program @Grand Canyon University

If it is a myth than a lot of the recruiters believe it. I heard this straight from two hospital nurse recruiters and an ER charge nurse.

Hi! I'm new here, and am looking for different options for NS. I graduated from ASU with a degree in Journalism just this past year and decided I want to go into nursing. Eventually I want to be a NP, but for now I just want to get into a good accelerated BSN program. I looked into NAU, which I am interested in, as well as U of A (which I am not so into....I personally don't want to live in Tucson for the next four years). I will be done with my pre-reqs in May of 2009, and am wondering if anyone has thoughts on GCU and NAU. I would love to stay in Phoenix and have a partnership program, where most of school is paid for. Is that a feasible option? Someone on this thread mentioned that they are going to GCU now, and have everything paid for....

Any help would be wonderful! I really appreciate it! Thanks!!

jac2077777,

Welcome!!

I am currently attending GCU, but I am attending the Tucson Nursing campus. So I would not be of much help regarding the Phoenix program. Yes, GCU has a sponsorship program in Phoenix in which your entire tuition and books are paid for in full, in return for a 3 year contract to the hospital. Nurses I've worked with at the hospitals have mentioned that GCU students are somewhat more advanced than students from other programs... I don't know why that would be, perhaps the large amount of clinical hours (I have almost 600 clinical hours and just finished my 3rd semester... 2 more to go).

You may be misinformed about the UofA program - if you already have a Bachelors, their accelerated nursing program is actually 14 months - not 4 years.

I would apply to every school you are willing to attend, because as I'm sure you know, it is extremely competitive and there is no guarantee you will be accepted to the school of your choice.

What made you decide to switch from Journalism to Nursing??

Best of luck... feel free to PM me if you would like more information.

Thanks for the info! I know the accelerated program from U of A is a shortened time period, but I think that it is a three-year commitment to the hospital, which means I would have to live in Tucson, where my fiance doesn't have a big job market, for the next four years. The prospects for him are much, much better in Phoenix, which is why I would love to stay here in Phoenix, and hopefully find a partnership program for a contract after NS. I do have a question regarding the whole Christian perspective though-it seems as though on this thread people were going nuts about this fact. What's the deal with that? Are there prayers before and after class, and do you feel as though your classes are somewhat limited in knowledge, as if you were learning through only the Christian perspective (I hope this makes sense!). I went to a Catholic school for HS, but I am not religious at all. If you could give me some more information, that'd be great! What are your thoughts on the program as a whole? I really appreciate your help. Also, what is "pm", is that some kind of messaging? (I'm new!)

I wanted a switch from Journalism as I was already worn out through multiple internships, and I was never really into it. Plus, the thoughts of having a family now makes me want a job that I am very happy with as well as allowing me more flexibility.

Blondee43,

I have a question for you regarding the sponsorship program you mentioned. I have spoken with an advisor at GCU Phx but she neglected to tell me about this program. Do you know what hospital or how the program works?

Any info you have at all relating to GCU would be wonderful. I worked with a girl about 8 years ago that attended & graduated from GCU's BSN program and she always had good things to say. I'm curious about how the classes are structured, days, times, etc. ??

:rcgtku:
determined 2succeed

I find that very hard to believe. We get a LOT of GCU students who do clinicals at St Joes esp due to their affiliation with St Joes and several of my peer RN's teach clinicals at GCU and they do just as much clinical time as the ADN programs. I find clinically the GCU students to be more prepared to working as new grads when they complete their programs than those I have met from the community colleges. Their expectations from their instructors are higher, they chart and do all care, whereas the community college students I have had do not. It also seems the work day for those from GCU is a 12 hour shift often whereas the community college students work the 8 hour shift and have to leave early for post conference and more often than not want to shadow instead of being involved in caring for the patients.

Well the community college I go to has very high expectation from us also. And when we went to our clinicals, we were charting and doing the care within the scope of our practice. And I highly disagree on community college nursing students just wanting to shadow because we take care of our patients from the time we get there until we had to leave. ANd yes we do have pre-and post conference and trust me, it is helpful because we are able to tal kabout what we did at that day and share our thoughts and inputs....And now that we are on our next block, we have the option of 12 hours or the 8hrs. Some people cant do 12 hours because of a variety of reasons like family and work or something. And the very first week we go back to school, we already start our clinicals..so we do have enough (if not a lot) clinical times on our hands that makes us prepared for the job when we graduate.

We get lots of GCU students as well and they are completely opposite from what you've described. They get 'dropped' off in our ICU and the Clinical instructor never comes and checks on them. They are poor in skills, and dont' seem to be all that motivated-at all! And the ones we get are all in their last semester.

If they are pulling 12 hour shifts then it's not in our hospital.

Overall, I am not impressed and would rather not have them in my unit.

I am currently a level 5 (of 5) student at GCU. I am in the St. Joseph Fast Track Program. Are classes are on St. Joes campus, and almost all clinicals are there too. Here are the program stats.

We have programs in Tucson (that require contracts with hospitals), on campus/traditional, fast-track at St. Joes and John C. Lincoln.

1. Fast track is 5 semesters (year-round). I started sept. 07' and graduate May '09 (20 months). Most classes are 8 weeks in length, a semester is 16 weeks.
2. We have clinicals throughout the whole program. (Including community health, home health, and Leadership/management/practicum). Hours vary sometimes 8hr, sometimes 12hrs per shift. Usually 2x week.
3. The program is expensive, but worth it. St. Joes pays a portion of our tuition (so it is cheaper than the traditional program, and slightly less than ASU). We do not owe St. Joes anything, they give us incentives throughout the program in hopes of retaining us.
4. We have NO waiting list, each round of admissions is new. Apply early, sometimes the fast-track does not fill up. People are scared of it, but it really isn't that accelerated, we just do not get much of a break (ie: one week in summer, 2 in winter, and 1 for spring break).
5. You can get partial tuition assistance if you extern at St. Joes (but then you owe 1 to 3 yrs depending on how much you take).
6. I started at a community college (a good one), our training is very similar. Most of the community colleges here are great, but with the wait list it can take almost as long to get an ADN as a BSN. Just depends if you want to go on or not. I know I want to be an NP, so I went BSN. It is a personal choice. Many hospitals will no longer payoff BSN so dont count on a RN-BSN degree for free. I think AZ community college grads are at the same level clinically, as all other New Grad BSN RNs (the skills are the same). We have a few more classes/hours/book knowlege (like management, coummunity/public health ect.)
7. Yes, GCU is a Christian University. Sometimes we pray before or after class but you are not required to do so. We have all religions, including atheists in our class. We do have one book about spirituality in nursing. They do make a emphasis on assessing your pts spiritual needs, but as a RN you are suppose to do that anyway. As for pre-reqs you have to take 2 religious based classes ( world religions counts, and most other PHI/REL courses do too). We do not have to attend church like the non-nursing programs do.
8. If you have a previous degree, they waive some pre-reqs.
9. GCU is very supportive, and will do anything to help you along the way. Our CEO, and Dean are both RN's. (FYI CEO of St. Joes is RN as well). However, they are still transitioning and growing, this means things can get confusing, and you have to stay on top of your own stuff. But I found ASU to be the same way.
10. You will write a lot of critical thinking papers (They are kind of like a huge care plan). They will be 20-40 pages long in APA format. Sounds scary but they ease you into it. You will feel very prepared for Masters level course work.
11. Since we have a rapport with the hospital, we have gotten to see nontraditional nursing school clinical areas as well. We have been to Barrows Neurological OR (amazing), Interventional Radiology/Specials (very cool), PACU, Pre-Op, NyICU, Peds CTICU (congenital heart floor, great area). Outside the hospital we did hospice, home health, schools, jails, CP/rehab clinic, homeless shelters, and the option of parish nursing. (These are all areas you dont always get to see in other programs). Plus, the normal clinical areas like med/surg, geriatric, cardiac, peds, OB, mental health ect.

HINTS: Get an extern position (most pay, some like JCL offer full benefits). Apply in 1st or 2nd block. It will help you clinically and teach you time managment. Plus, it is easier to get a job in an area that you like. For example if you like ICU, extern in telemetry for one year. Then when you are a senior transfer to the ICU of your choice (or ED). You get six months there before you graduate, and can make your transition to RN easier.

Thanks Everyone. I hope this was as unbiased as possible. I started down the ADN route myself, and did all pre-reqs at community colleges (it saves you tons of money). I feel very well prepared to start my career.

I just called an 800 number for GCU and the rep said he believes there is a wait list for the RN program. I sure hope there isn't because I really want to apply there next semester. Or are you saying there is not a wait list for the accelerated program? I need to finish a few more pre-reqs according to their list, but I can finish in 2 semesters and then apply to the accelerated....at least that's what i think. But I don't want to waste my time if there is a wait list. Is it really competitive to get in??? Also, where exactly is GCU located? Phoenix area?