Citizens school of nursing

[jlpsu]

Hi everyone,

I already posted a similar question in the PA school forum but am not getting a lot of responses and a search did not come up with much either. So, please forgive me for posting in the general forum - I thought that I might get some previous grads from this school who no longer check the PA nursing programs board.

Anyway, I am trying to find people who went to Citizens school of nursing. It is a diploma program affiliated with West Penn Allegheny Health System in Pittsburgh. I have applied there and love the WPAHS and think it sounds like a good program - but I have not been able to find many people who have gone there, which worries me. I've had a few positive recommendations, nothing bad yet - but only a hanful of posts here also have me concerned. I have also applied to UPMC Mercy. UPMC has me scared as well, but for a complete other reason for another post another time!

If you've gone to CSON or you know someone who did, please either PM me or respond to this message to let me know it's reputation in the area, quality of education, etc....

And again, I apologize to the nurses who have no interest in this thread. Just trying to make the very best educated decision on my schooling and I am not getting very far in my research on the appropriate forums or in the search.

Thanks for your patience....

[2BRN123]

Hmmmm, Pittsburgh and Allegheny county in general is kind of one of those places you have to judge on a street by street basis. The area has a high rate of opiate abusers in seemingly unexpected places. Its not as neatly packaged as some other cities. My neighborhood for example. House less than 200 yards away from me in the front just sold for over a half million dollars, and yet 200 yards behind me on a perpendicular street is swarming with police, domestic abuse situations, drugs, shootings, robberies. Its like this in alot of places in the area. While crime in Pittsburgh is not overwhelming as it is in some cities, it just pops up in unexpected places. I think New Ken is a good example of this also. While New Ken can be a nice neighborhood, it also has recently been a hub for abusers of the prescription painkiller persuasion. Where there are drugs, other types of crimes typicall follow. Its also somewhat blighted like many other areas in the city and is a little more on the Rural Suburban spectrum of neighborhoods. If being able to walk or bike to bus quickly to grocery stores or fun social events, New Ken probably isn't the place for you.

**edit** I'm not making a statement about Citizens either saying its in not such a great neighborhood...isn't it odd that all of PGH's nursing centers are seemingly located in or next to slums? Mercy and Duquesne are in the Hill, West Penn is a block from Garfield, Shadyside is in East Liberty, St. Margarets is nice and nestled in Aspinwall but does 1/2 their clinicals at McKeesport lololol

[nurse2be13]

Is anybody attending this school that will be commuting from Pittsburgh?

[Adrienne2015]

I am starting Citizens in the fall and am very excited. We currently just moved from Tarentum which is very close to the school to Monroeville. It is a bit farther but will work better for me while I am in school. I would not recommend living in New Ken, but there are many places to live around New Ken that aren't as bad.

[Adrienne2015]

I am commuting from Monroeville. There are a lot of back roads to take to get to the school.

[ELRRN]

I graduated from Citizens and liked it. No abnormal gripes. Unlike some of the other diploma schools in the area, they dont harrass students about their work schedule as long as your grades are fine.

I would not follow their college course plan as they want students to mostly attend PSU for prerequisites which is the most expensive way to go. (Same classes are available for way less money at community college) (they have 'agreement' with PSU (penn state).

The biggest gripe i had was that they incrwase enrollment but downsized their space. Now they are moving to the mills mall (where ITT tech was).

I know a lot of people who went to this school, not only because i went there but because im from the area. New ken has a bad rep, but its a safer area (at the hospital now), but they are moving.