Accreditation and hiring nurses

elkpark · Dec 18, 2015

Many healthcare employers will only hire nurses who are graduates of ACEN or CCNE accredited programs -- the entire US military, the entire VA system, most (all?) major academic medical centers, and many of the preferred other hospitals. IMO, there is no justification these days for paying to attend an unaccredited program.

AshBuggin · Dec 18, 2015

I've worked at two major hospital systems that hire both. Check with the career advisor at your institution of choice and ask what hospitals are hiring their grads! That's one of the main things I considered when choosing my program this fall. I hope this helps!

roser13, ASN, RN · Dec 18, 2015

Wondering why you're asking? Just curious.

elkpark · Dec 18, 2015

I've worked at two major hospital systems that hire both. Check with the career advisor at your institution of choice and ask what hospitals are hiring their grads! That's one of the main things I considered when choosing my program this fall. I hope this helps!

Of course there are employers that don't care or differentiate. But that number is shrinking as time passes. Also, in many aspects of life, I tend to operate on the principle of "better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it." You can't go wrong attending and graduating from an ACEN or CCNE accredited program -- there is no healthcare employer I'm aware of that has a policy of refusing to hire graduates of accredited programs. On the other hand, while it's perfectly possible to have a long, full career in nursing as a graduate of an unaccredited program, you never know when it's suddenly going to matter -- when you're suddenly going to stumble across your ultimate "dream job" but, oops, that employer only hires graduates of accredited programs (people have posted here in the past of having that experience). There is no disputing that choosing to attend an unaccredited program is closing the door on a lot of future professional opportunities for yourself before you even get started in nursing, and, to me, that seems like a really bad idea.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Dec 18, 2015

Although I completed a non-accredited associate degree nursing program and have enjoyed what many would consider a moderately successful career so far, I would not recommend this educational route in good conscience.

Attending a nursing program that is accredited by ACEN or CCNE will be more beneficial to you in the long run.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Dec 18, 2015

Thread has been moved to our Pre-nursing Student forum.

augurey · Dec 19, 2015

I agree with the others.

I would even check job postings in your area to see if it's specified. I started out at an unaccredited school. I ended up switching to a regionally accredited school. During my time at the unaccredited school, I began researching (something I should've done before, but I also didn't understand a whole lot about accreditation, etc at the time). I began looking up job postings at the hospital I wanted to get into. Every job posting specified that the applicant must have graduated from an accredited school.

Not only could it impact employment, but it could impact continuting education. I could only find one school that would accept me, but I had to jump through several hoops, and that still wouldn't guarantee me a spot in the RN to BSN.

If you're considering an unaccredited school, do your research first and see what future employers are looking for in regards to schooling. Also look into your continuing education options if that's something that may interest you in the future.

Purple_roses · Dec 19, 2015

Here's the deal:

Yes, you can graduate from a program that is not nationally accredited and get a decent job. The problem is that it's usually hospitals in your college's area that would be willing to hire you; so if you had to move for any reason (and we can never predict these sort of things), you may have a hard time finding a good job. If you want to enter a bridge program or eventually go for your masters, you may have to start from scratch. Are these things guaranteed to happen? No, but they certainly could. On the other hand, if you graduate from a nationally accredited school, you can almost guarantee that you won't encounter problems when you decide to bridge/move/switch jobs.

Going to a nationally accredited school is a security bonus for you. Why risk something as important as your education and future job?

Maky · Jan 13, 2016

Wondering why you're asking? Just curious.

want to make a right the choice

Maky · Jan 13, 2016

thank you everyone.