Accreditation

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I've been so excited about starting Middlesex County Vocational and Technical School in February that I didn't even ask whether or not it was accredited. I assumed that it was being that it's a public school. This is what it says on their website:

The Licensed Practical Nurse program is approved as a Program of Study by the NJ Department of Education and meets all requirements for instruction as prescribed by the NJ Board of Nursing.

Do you know if being approved as a Program of Study is the same as being accredited? Thanks in advance for your help.

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

Approval and accreditation are two different things. Approval by the state BON means that you will be eligible to take NCLEX-PN following graduation. Accreditation is a voluntary option schools can take in addition to being approved. LPN programs can be accredited by ACEN; I don't know if there are other accrediting agencies for LPN programs or not.

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Ok, thank you for clearing that up!

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Is there anyone who attended a nursing program that wasn't accredited and was successful finding work? Anyone who attended this school?

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

It depends on the job market whether accreditation comes into play regarding employment; however, I have never worked as an LPN and couldn't give specifics about LPN job postings. What you can do is investigate job postings in your area or the area in which you want to work and see if there are any specifics regarding graduating from an accredited school is a requirement for employment.

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From my understanding if they aren't ACENTRAL accredited you can't bridge into RN at a public university , Atlanta

Least that's how it is here in Florida

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Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
Is there anyone who attended a nursing program that wasn't accredited and was successful finding work? Anyone who attended this school?

I didn't go to an accredited LVN program & never had trouble getting a job *or* getting into a bridge program.

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.
From my understanding if they aren't ACENTRAL accredited you can't bridge into RN at a public university , Atlanta

Least that's how it is here in Florida

What is ACENTRAL accreditation? A Google search returns nothing.

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Acen auto correct messed me up .

What I was trying to write was trying to write was that I believe here in Florida and from what I've seen at the colleges in my area if your school isn't accredited Acen or otherwise you will have trouble going back for your rn not saying it's impossible bc you can go to private colleges. Also far as jobs if your school doesn't have accreditation it will be hard to work bc it's like your licenses is not backed up.

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Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.

According to ACEN, only NJ accredited LPN program is at Union County College.

NJ is one of the states where it takes awhile to find first nursing position due to glut of graduates except for rural areas.

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Thank you everybody for the comments, they help so much. I'm definitely breathing a little easier!

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Specializes in Pediatrics Telemetry CCU ICU.

Well that's funny. I just bridged into Pasco Hernando State College (Wesley Chapel Florida) from LPN to RN. My Practical Nursing Degree was 28 years ago from a school that is now closed. (Although it was an excellent program), It was not accredited at the time. I never had problems bridging into accredited programs either up north in Pennsylvania or down here in Florida.

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