Info on Denver School of Nursing

Agreed, he's a snake oil salesman, he will tell you whatever you want to sign with the school. Although after talking to the associate dean about accreditation they are on track to submit regional accreditation by this fall and NLN accreditation soon after that. They have been in talks with the NLN for quite awhile and have been setting things up according to guidelines. Some people don't understand this is a process and takes awhile. The school has only been around since 2004, it's going to take time for everything to come together. It is also harder b/c they are both a BSN and ADN school, which requires a lot of different requirements.
I currently work at both U of Colorado Hospital and The Children's Hospital and both are willing to hire me upon graduation. I graduate in Sept 2010 and we should have all 3 accreditations by then if things go according to plan.

Hi Niecystewka,

If you don't mind me asking, where did you get hired with a sign-on bonus so much that would help pay for the tuition???

I would love to know about all the opportunities so that I know where to look when appling for jobs as a RN. Thanks in advance!

bfrdncr41 - that's so great to hear both of those hospitals are willing to hire you!!! Especially Univ. of Colo., they've been so stickler about DSN, so I didn't think they'd be open so quickly!

They are waiting for us to get NLN accreditation and said they have been waiting for awhile! They look forward to hiring our grads according to the new grad program coordinator. So that's great news for DSN!

Hi! I'm interested in applying to the BSN program at DSoN for July 2010. Can anyone tell me about the application process? I am just confused.. on the website it just gives a date (Jan 4) to call and set up an appointment.. I don't get it. Can someone just run me through this?
Thanks

You have to call on Jan. 4 to set up an interview. The catch is that you have to actually reach a live person, you can't leave a message. And if you don't get through to a live person before they fill up the interview spots, then you have to wait three months for the next day to call.

Alice, I had the same question, I'd never seen an application process like this and it's a little confusing. I was also reading about there placement test.

An applicant’s placement into any program start date is based on the date of the successful completion of the entrance exam (HESI A2 cost $35); all application paperwork completed and reviewed and receipt of the $50 application fee. Only during the application interview will a time be scheduled for the entrance test.

My questions is, do I need to take the HESI before my interview because it says placement into any program is based on the date of the successful completion of the entrance exam? so do I want to get this done ASAP or does this test come after my interview?? And from the sounds of it, it's hard to get a live person. sounds like getting concert tickets.

Thanks for any input

The first step is to get through on the phone on the date you can call. I started calling at 8am and did not get through until around 10am. So, just keep calling and calling and calling until you actually speak with Jeff or Kelly. It does feel like calling a radio station, I felt like I was probably annoying the heck out of them hitting redial so much.
After you get through on the phone, you will set up an interview date. During that interview they will go over your unofficial transcripts to see if you have met the requirements for whichever program you wish to get into. Once that is complete in the interview they will tell you when to take the HESI. I took mine the next day with a lot of other people.
When you finish the HESI exam, you go right away to Kelly or Jeff's office and they will meet with you about your results. If you passed and there is still room in the class, you will be accepted!

It sounds confusing but the whole process was pretty simple. Hope that helped!

Thanks so much Kelly, very helpful, I'll be calling like a mad woman I guess on April 1st. 8am too, which is 9am colorado time.

Does anyone know if the HESI similar to the TEAS?

I'm not trying to be a total downer here but this is the info I have... I'm in the accelerated program at CU-Denver and overheard a conversation between a clinical instructor and staff/students. This clinical instructor (the hospital shall remain nameless) said to tell friends not to go to DSON, that it would "take an act of legislation" to get DSON accreditation through (they are accredited as a technical school only) and that DSON will never be accredited. Furthermore, she said that many hospitals WILL NOT hire DSON graduates, except for those that are already working at the hospitals as CNAs, etc. and are "grandfathered in". This instructor is a very well respected professor at one of the local colleges as well as on clinical faculty at her hospital. She seemed to think that DSON will never have an accreditation as a higher learning institution. No judgement from me, just FYI. It's hard enough to get a job as it is when you graduate, I would imagine it would be even harder with a degree from DSON and not Regis/Metro/UCSHC.