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Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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I live in So-Cal and just graduated high school. I am going to start classes at Los Angeles Valley College and Pierce College in the fall semester to do my prerequisites. My plan was originally to go into the LAVC nursing program and get my ADN and start working. Recently, I spoke with a few of my mother's co-workers who are nurses at Kaiser Permanente and they told me that hospitals, especially Kaiser Permanente, will not hire RN's with ADN's. Is this true? In this case, the other scenario for me is to complete the ADN program at LAVC and apply to UCLA's nursing program to get a BSN. Thank you for the help.

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Specializes in ICU.

You will probably need a BSN in your area. Some areas that are not impacted wii still hire ADNs but not yours. I would also talk to the school about how long the wait list is. I heard out there it can be a few years to get in. I would not like to be a nursing student in CA.

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Specializes in L&D, infusion, urology.

The major cities are especially particular about BSNs. You can find work in a non-acute setting (home health, skilled nursing, etc.), but hospital work will be tough, especially as a new grad. I know Cedars Sinai won't hire ADN-prepared nurses.

Regardless of which route you choose, Kaiser is notorious for not taking anyone without at least 1-2 years' experience in an acute setting.

Look at the CSUs, not just UCLA. The CSUs are less expensive and you don't have to do the whole IGETC.

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Would you recommend for me to get my ADN, get my license, work in a non acute setting, and take online classes for a BSN as I'm working?

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Specializes in L&D, infusion, urology.
Would you recommend for me to get my ADN, get my license, work in a non acute setting, and take online classes for a BSN as I'm working?

That's a matter of preference. Consider that there are more and more 2 year BSN programs, so you would be going to school for about the same amount of time (there may just be a couple of extra prereqs). When the time comes, apply to more than one school, as nursing programs are very competitive. Look at the prereqs for all schools you're considering to ensure you take everything needed, and then cast a wide net.

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