I need to know... Do Gurnick LVN get hired easily?

U.S.A. California

Updated:   Published

I wanted to post to this board specifically, because I'd like feedback from nurses that are in the field already. Members on the students board will have a bias opinion about their school too.

Please respond if you have ANY feedback regarding Gurnick LVN grads (any location, but I'm in Modesto Calif.).

Thanks. - Jeanie

Specializes in nurses assistant way back when....
No LVNs get hired easily in today's economic climate. Employers do not care what school you attended, they care whether your license is clear and they care about your nursing work experience.

well that sucks!:mad:

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well that sucks!:mad:

knottygirl....don't get discouraged. Keep in mind that there is an assumption that getting employed as an LVN means "getting employed as an LVN in the acute care setting."

Just so you know, there are many, many, many unfilled LVN positions in sub-acute, long-term, hospice care settings. Not to mention, staffing agencies are desperately seeking LVNs to fill in for home-health and caregiver positions. There are tons of jobs for LVNs, but you have to know the professional channels and right people in order to receive the right information and to make an informed decision. Call an LVN school and ask to speak to their placement department about all the unfilled LVN positions. Keep in mind, it is the well prepared and "professional" LVN that gets the interview. And that starts by talking to the "right" professional people. Avoid negative people who are just trying to discourage you.

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Dear Caliotter,

I am afraid that some of your information is very misleading. You are suggesting that a community college LVN program requires LVN students to take the same type of anatomy (with lab) and physiology (with lab) required as a pre-requisite of RN students. There isn't one RN school that will accept ANY "anatomy" course from a LVN program (regardless of whether it is a proprietary or community school). Your comment suggests that a Gurnick or Carrington student would be declined, but not someone from a community college. You should understand more clearly that ALL LVN graduates must take a 5 unit course of Anatomy (with lab) as well as 5 unit course of Physiology (with lab) and 5 unit course of Microbiology (with lab) in order to get accepted into ANY RN program.

An approved LVN program such as Gurnick or Carrington meet the requirements by BVNPT for LVN licensure. ALL LVNs that have not taken the above mentioned courses (which are completely different) than LVN program specific courses will be required to do so.

Hmmmm. Each of the RN programs I have been in had different requirements. Your statement about 5 units is incorrect. The truth of the matter is that each program has its own requirements. And it is a pretty safe generalization that anatomy taken at Gurnick won't be accepted anywhere but Gurnick. And RN programs that are resident at schools with LVN programs typically require the same anatomy course that the LVN program requires. They don't typically have RN anatomy as opposed to LVN anatomy. At least at the numerous programs I have looked at over many years.

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Specializes in CNA, LVN, RN.
Dear Caliotter,

I am afraid that some of your information is very misleading. You are suggesting that a community college LVN program requires LVN students to take the same type of anatomy (with lab) and physiology (with lab) required as a pre-requisite of RN students. There isn't one RN school that will accept ANY "anatomy" course from a LVN program (regardless of whether it is a proprietary or community school). Your comment suggests that a Gurnick or Carrington student would be declined, but not someone from a community college. You should understand more clearly that ALL LVN graduates must take a 5 unit course of Anatomy (with lab) as well as 5 unit course of Physiology (with lab) and 5 unit course of Microbiology (with lab) in order to get accepted into ANY RN program.

An approved LVN program such as Gurnick or Carrington meet the requirements by BVNPT for LVN licensure. ALL LVNs that have not taken the above mentioned courses (which are completely different) than LVN program specific courses will be required to do so.

Savvy,

I completely agree with you. This is one of the age old and endless concerns of anyone new getting into the field. Nursing has many paths, and just because one path is different does not make it invalid. The LVN has a specific curriculum designed for the scope of practice and level of nursing care expected of the entry level LVN. The RN curriculum is based on a different set of expectations for the entry level scope of practice of the RN. But, the LVN level of education is easily embraced within the RN curriculum, and one should always expect that to increase one's level of scope of practice...one must also broaden their level of knowledge. This does not mean disregard the education of an LVN because the LVN brings knowledge and experience that is vital to the completion of the RN education.

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Specializes in CNA, LVN, RN.
Hmmmm. Each of the RN programs I have been in had different requirements. Your statement about 5 units is incorrect. The truth of the matter is that each program has its own requirements. And it is a pretty safe generalization that anatomy taken at Gurnick won't be accepted anywhere but Gurnick. And RN programs that are resident at schools with LVN programs typically require the same anatomy course that the LVN program requires. They don't typically have RN anatomy as opposed to LVN anatomy. At least at the numerous programs I have looked at over many years.

Hello Caliotter and Savvy,

I'd like to comment on this. It seems that Caliotter is missing the point with saying "LVN Anatomy" vs "RN anatomy".

The problem is the term. Most schools rename the anatomy course in an LVN program for this reason. The course meets "anatomy and physiology" requirements for an LVN program is often called "Anatomy and Physiology" such as the one you are referring to from Gurnick. It is never assumed that this course will be transferred to an RN program as "Anatomy and Physiology" but that the LVN license (which requires this "anatomy and physiology course such as the one at Gurnick" is part of the "transfer" as an LVN as advanced standing...as well as all the other required LVN courses such as Med-Surg, pediatrics, etc... None of the courses are "Transferred" as separate entities, but part of the whole. So, I agree with Savvy, that once someone completes the LVN program and has an LVN license, they would then be required to fullfill the undergraduate degree courses in science such as the science course which included labs. This is standard for any degree granting institution.

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Specializes in CNA, LVN, RN.
Hello Caliotter and Savvy,

I'd like to comment on this. It seems that Caliotter is missing the point with saying "LVN Anatomy" vs "RN anatomy".

The problem is the term. Most schools rename the anatomy course in an LVN program for this reason. The course meets "anatomy and physiology" requirements for an LVN program is often called "Anatomy and Physiology" such as the one you are referring to from Gurnick. It is never assumed that this course will be transferred to an RN program as "Anatomy and Physiology" but that the LVN license (which requires this "anatomy and physiology course such as the one at Gurnick" is part of the "transfer" as an LVN as advanced standing...as well as all the other required LVN courses such as Med-Surg, pediatrics, etc... None of the courses are "Transferred" as separate entities, but part of the whole. So, I agree with Savvy, that once someone completes the LVN program and has an LVN license, they would then be required to fullfill the undergraduate degree courses in science sucnh as the science course which included labs. This is standard for any degree granting institution.

Many institutions chose to rename the "anatomy and physiology" component in an LVN program to "Structure and Function" in order to decrease the confusion and make it clear that an RN program that grants a degree such as ADN or BSN by an accredited degree granting institution will require a RN student in the degree granting path to take the pre-requisites such as anatomy with lab, etc.

LVNs to RNs who chose a non-degree path, are often limited to the state for licensure and practice and often cannot transfer their license to another state if they did not graduate from an accredited degree granting institution RN program

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I would bet all the money I have in the bank that the courses at Gurnick will not transfer into MJC's or CSU Stanislaus's RN bridge programs.

I'll find out on Thurs. when I go to Stan State and speak to a counselor and go to the nursing dept. info mtg. I'll be sure to post what I find out, for those who are interested in (or going to) Gurnick. :-)

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Hello Caliotter and Savvy,

I'd like to comment on this. It seems that Caliotter is missing the point with saying "LVN Anatomy" vs "RN anatomy".

The problem is the term. Most schools rename the anatomy course in an LVN program for this reason. The course meets "anatomy and physiology" requirements for an LVN program is often called "Anatomy and Physiology" such as the one you are referring to from Gurnick. It is never assumed that this course will be transferred to an RN program as "Anatomy and Physiology" but that the LVN license (which requires this "anatomy and physiology course such as the one at Gurnick" is part of the "transfer" as an LVN as advanced standing...as well as all the other required LVN courses such as Med-Surg, pediatrics, etc... None of the courses are "Transferred" as separate entities, but part of the whole. So, I agree with Savvy, that once someone completes the LVN program and has an LVN license, they would then be required to fullfill the undergraduate degree courses in science such as the science course which included labs. This is standard for any degree granting institution.

I said "LVN anatomy" and "RN anatomy" to point out the previous poster's fallicious point. There is usually no such difference, as this person was trying to state as fact. I have spent enough years in the process to know what various four year colleges and two year colleges have as requirements for entrance to their nursing programs. Not every school requires 5 units of this or that. Most of these courses are four units. It differs. Anatomy from Gurnick won't cut it at very many schools. Common knowledge. And no school is going to negate the LVN license, but that doesn't mean they aren't going to require the potential student to take an anatomy course. It isn't something that should be a surprise.

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Specializes in nurses assistant way back when....
knottygirl....don't get discouraged. Keep in mind that there is an assumption that getting employed as an LVN means "getting employed as an LVN in the acute care setting."

Just so you know, there are many, many, many unfilled LVN positions in sub-acute, long-term, hospice care settings. Not to mention, staffing agencies are desperately seeking LVNs to fill in for home-health and caregiver positions. There are tons of jobs for LVNs, but you have to know the professional channels and right people in order to receive the right information and to make an informed decision. Call an LVN school and ask to speak to their placement department about all the unfilled LVN positions. Keep in mind, it is the well prepared and "professional" LVN that gets the interview. And that starts by talking to the "right" professional people. Avoid negative people who are just trying to discourage you.

I'll probably read this post over and over for the next two years...thanks!:D

At my tech school, there is no RN program, but for whatever reason they offer two anatomy's (maybe it's for surgical tech or something not sure). They have a 1000 level anatomy for the lpn, and then some mysterious 2000 level anatomy as well as a 2000 level microbiology. Really not sure why they're offering them, but two different anatomy's are offered. Also, they're BOTH 5 credit classes...interesting indeed.

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Interesting discussion.

CA BVNPT board requires all LVN programs to have a curriculum that contains Anatomy and Physiology in it. However, BVNPT doesn't specify the minimum number of hours that the program must provide to their LVN students.

(Code of Regulations. Article 5. Schools of Vocational nursing. Section 2532)

In general, I have seen programs providing anywhere from 50 to 90 clock hours for their LVN students. Which approximately would be equivalent to 5-9 quarter units or 3-6 semester units. Also, from what I have seen LVN programs tend to provide both Anatomy and Physiology as one course.

RN programs on another hand much have their students to complete Basic Sciences (which use are required as prerequisites or maybe offered within an RN program), that include Anatomy, Physiology, Microbiology, Societal/Cultural Pattern and Psychology, etc. (Title 16 of RN regulations, Article 3). For some reasons all RN programs that I have seen require Anatomy with Lab and Microbiology with Lab (A minimum 4 or usually 5 units would be required). I couldn't find specific hours or units requirements within RN regulations. Anyway, completion or 3 semester units anatomy course (within LVN program) doesn't equal to completion of Anatomy course with Lab which is 4 or 5 semester units. So that's pretty much the reason why majority of LVN graduates have to retake Anatomy course again to satisfy admission requirements to RN program.

I agree with Caliotter3 that all RN programs have different entrance requirements, but those requirements are pretty much consistent with RN Board's requirements.

If the college offers only LVN program (and doesn't offer RN), the chances that Anatomy and Physiology course that was provided as part of LVN program would satisfy prerequisites to get into RN program are very low. However, if there's an LVN program out there that offers Physiology and Anatomy as separate courses and Anatomy would have a lab component in it and the program has regional or national accreditation, I do not see why RN program can't accept thaat Anatomy and Physiology course...

Also, if someone completed an Anatomy Course with Lab which = to let's say 5 semester units prior to enrolling to LVN program; they can get into LVN program and Anatomy course will be credit granted to them. Once they complete LVN they can go to RN program and Anatomy with Lab can be credit granted too. So this way students only end up taking Anatomy 1 time.

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Specializes in LTC.

I went to Gurnick and finished in Dec 08. The vast majority of my classmates are still not working as LVNs. I had to move out of state to find a job.

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I decided not to inquire further at Gurnick here in Modesto. Just too "iff-y". Couldn't get any straight answers out of them. By the time I finished their LVN program, I could have been in CSU Stanislaus already.

Thanks for the feedback. :-)

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