Univ of Phonenix and Nursing??

[Cnoek]

So I recently graduated from a State University with a degree in History. Since receiving my degree I've worked in really mediocre,minimum wage jobs until pretty recently where I'm in a management trainee program with a fairly decent company. However, I don't see this career path setting me up for success during my latter years.

Long story short, I am now considering attending Univ of Phoenix to receive an RN or BSN.. But would I be wasting my time? We all know the stigma that Univ of Phoenix has, will that stain limit my chances of become coming a RN??

And to that, are online programs recognized by employers as being Legit?

What advice would you have for someone in my position??

I'm a black male I'm 28 and I stay in Southern California...

Thank You for your thoughts and education even beforehand!!

[llg, PhD, RN]

Since people aren't sure whether or not U of P will survive financially as people using educational assistance funds from the US military, I would be very hesitant to bet on them at this point.

Also, for an "entry in the profession" degree ... online is not the way to go. In order to become a nurse, you need to do clinical work -- and that requires your physical presence. There are a few programs for people who already have degrees/licenses in other health care fields, but those are not well respected and it will be hard to get a job with a degree from those place. The one school you might look at for something like that in Western Governor's University. I've heard that have a program in which the online students can get clinical experience with certain designated hospitals using staff as preceptors, but you would probably have to move to be near and approved hospital. And if you are going to move to do that program, you may as well move to be near a good brick and mortar school.

Where I live, the common route into nursing for people with degrees in other fields is to attend a local community college while simultaneously taking courses at a state school for a BSN. They get the BSN about 1 semester after the ADN. It's cheaper than doing just a BSN at a university because many of the courses are taken at a community college. And it's faster (and ultimately cheaper) than getting an ADN ... then getting a BSN. Combining them is more efficient. Of course, some people do entry-level Master's Degrees in nursing. You might want to look into that, too.