Last year, I applied to OHSU's accelerated program and did not get in. This year, I decided to be safe and apply to every program in the area. Also this past year, I finished my prerequisites and got some experience as a CNA. Well, that's just what I needed... So far, I've been accepted to University of Portland (Spring 2011), Walla Walla (Summer 2010), and Linfield accelerated program (Summer 2010). I'm still waiting to hear from OHSU. I didn't apply to Concordia because I had already been accepted to UofP before Concordia's application was due.
Anyway, now I'm faced with the dilemma of where to go. They all want responses by May 1. I plan to visit each school before then. I would appreciate any helpful advice from former or current students in any of these programs, or if you just have any good info that would help me make the decision.
- The cost! Even with scholarships and loans, it's going to be difficult. I need to work at least part time for rent and food money, and I'm not sure I can fit that in with the grueling accelerated schedule.
If you were accepted into the program, they obviously think you can do it. It's busy, but not overwhelming - plus you have lots and lots of support. Go for it!
- Clinical sites: Even though the school is right next to Good Sam Hospital, that doesn't mean that your clinicals will be there. Mindy said they have many clinical sites, some as far away as Salem. That is one possible deterrent for me: I don't want to commit myself to such a long commute for more than a year.
They will make some accommodations for you if you can't travel. In reality you are at the clinical sites are for just a few weeks at a time, not the whole year. You will be expected to drive. With 12 Nursing schools in the area it is hard for every school to place students. I wouldn't worry about Salem, it is a favored site and there will be plenty of people willing to go there in your place...LOL.
- The program itself: Looking at the names of the courses in their curriculum, it's hard to compare it with other programs. They don't have any traditionally-named courses like pharmacology or pathophysiology. It seems to be much more focused on how to care for and communicate with patients, which I agree is extremely important; I just worry that they might downplay the technical knowledge and skills that are also very important. ...but their accelerated program recently had a 100% pass rate on the NCLEX, so I'm sure they must teach you what you need to know!
You get all the same required courses as other nursing schools, that is how programs get nationally accredited as well as approved by the OSBN. Path & Pharm are integrated into each course. So if you are doing your OB class, you get the path and pharm associated with that pt population. If you want even more detail, you can take additional electives in Path and Pharm. I took Pharm elective just before I graduated - it was a great review course for the NCLEX. If by "technical knowledge" you mean rudimentary lab skills like IV starts, then it is not a the focus at Linfield, but you do get your training in it. You do get a lot of critical thinking knowledge and skills. And the reality of it is, you do not get hired on how many IVs you have started.
I'm currently a CNA and I work with a nurse who is a recent Linfield graduate. She pretty much confirmed everything you said. She did get sent to many different clinical sites, some far away, but she learned something extremely valuable from every place she went. There were some places she couldn't go because of having to coordinate child care. I don't have any children so, really, I could go anywhere, anytime. I was just whining about the prospect of a long commute, but I see that it is temporary and very worth it.
She also said that because of the relatively few clinical hours in the senior practicum (compared to other schools), she felt her skills were somewhat lacking when she started working. Linfield stresses patient care and assessment skills. I'm a quick learner and I know I'll get the technical skills one way or another. Learning how to be a good nurse (care/assessment) are a huge priority for me.
One more thing I'm thinking/worrying about is that I plan to go back to graduate school later and become a nurse practitioner. I was also accepted to UP and they have graduate programs (Linfield does not). I wonder if I would be more likely to get accepted into their graduate program if I did my undergrad nursing there. hmmm...
I'm not sure it I'll muddy the water, or help, but here goes. I applied to both OHSU's and Linfield's accelerated programs. I got into Linfield and not OHSU, which saved me from having to decide I suppose. :) My sister-in-law is an OHSU grad, and my partner works for the legacy system (doctor) and did his residency there, so I've heard a lot about OHSU and Good Sam etc.
Besides the obvious differences in size, cost and national ranking, there are differences in the academics. I've heard both pros and cons about both places. I also sat down with a friend who graduated from Linfield to talk about his experience (he is very happy with Linfield). I've heard that OHSU grads are, on average, better prepared than graduates from all the various 2, 4 and accelerated programs in Oregon. However, every person I hear that from can think of both good and bad nurses from most of the programs. So I don't think there is a magic formula that says one is better for a particular individual. A lot of it is what you make of it.
As for where you do your clinicals, OHSU students spend more of there time at the main hospital than students at Linfield. That does not mean you are shipped all over the place though, and that you'll necessarily have a long drive. Kerrie in registration at Linfield told me that the instructors often group students based on their location so that they don't have as far to drive, or can carpool. So if you are on the West side of Portland you are more likely to get a clinic on that side of town, than say someone who is living on the East side, who is more likely to get a clinic on the East side of time. Nothing is guaranteed, but there is some consideration for the type of clinical you want, where you'd like to work, where you live, etc. And, while I don't know the numbers, I'd imagine only a small fraction of the accelerated program students actually live in the dorm. Many of us probably are settled in the area (have homes) etc. So it makes sense they'd work with us as much as is reasonable.
I was also put off by the names of the course at Linfield. They weren't labeled pathophysiology or pharmacology. I did a lot of digging on their website though and found some interesting pdfs of information. I found the following to be interesting (it is not written for students but rather for the clinics students are going to):
There are competency and skills checklists as well as quick overviews of the classes in general. It seems clear to me that the subjects are distributed through the classes we take.
One thing that isn't clear to me is if we will have the time to take a couple of electives. There are specific classes you can take (BIOL 315 - Pharmacology, BIOL 324/326 Pathophysiology, and a long list of other nursing (NUR) and Biology electives). If you want to take additional classes they are available, the only question will be whether you have the time to do it.
On that note, I've been told that the typical Accelerated BSN student does not work, and if he/she does, it is only for a couple of hours a week. I'd love to hear from people who've been through whether they worked, how much, and if they took extra classes, and if so, what.
Sorry for the long post. I hope it helps more than it muddies the waters.
I'm an ABSN student at Linfield (graduate in December '10).
Electives: Many students in my cohort take one elective per semester such as patho or pharm. It makes for a busy semester but it is possible. Linfield integrates patho and pharm into the subject matter for each class so students who do not take these electives are still learning patho and pharm. This semester I am auditing one elective: (Trauma / Sudden Illness). Auditing your elective is a good way to go so you don't need to worry about your grade for that class.
Working during school: Among the accelerated cohort I would estimate half of students work at least one day per week. So far I haven't worked during nursing school, but I've come to realize that I'm doing fine with the workload and am ready to start working one 12 hr shift per week.
Clinical site distance: Ya, there are sites from Salem to Vancouver. The school does do a good job of placing students at sites near their homes whenever possible. As mentioned before students are really good about carpooling to sites that are any distance. I have had one rotation at the Salem Hospital; however, it was my choice to be placed there because it is an awesome OB site. All of my other 5 rotations so far have been in PDX.
Hope this helps. Its a great school, congrats on your acceptance!
Thank-you for the information. That is great information. It is great to hear what is really going on from someone in the current cohort.
I think I'll take an extra elective before signing up for work. Are you saying though that you can work one day a week and take an elective? That has to be a pretty tight schedule!
Are you saying that the pharm and patho class are completely covered in the regular classes? I noticed they are BIOL classes and not NUR. Would they be redundant then?
And is the first summer with NUR103/106 really busy? I was asked to teach a class this summer at PCC, and I told them no because I didn't think I'd have the bandwidth to do that. And of course I'm afraid of being half way through a term teaching and finding out that a clinical clashes with the class I have to teach. I don't know how much flexibility there is in clinicals.
Pharm and patho are covered in the classes. It really comes down to if you want more detail or not. They are both bio courses taught by professors with backgrounds (phD) pharm and physiology rather then in nursing. You will get more detail in these classes then in the normal required classes and students dont seem to think of them as redundant. You are right it would be a lot to work a day a week and do electives. For me it has to be one or the other. I think you have have good idea of going into the summer with a lighter load (not working much), seeing how the work load is for you and then deciding what you want to register for in the Fall and at that time.
You wont have clinicals over the summer until August and then it is only a couple 8 hr days per week. It is busy but not too that bad. I think the only reason it can be really busy is that you will likely be doing ALL of the reading etc until you figure out what you need to efficiently learn the material. When you start your clinicals in August that class is set up Mon tues thurs, or mon wed fri.
I have been accepted to Linfield's acc. program and UP's spring cohort and rejected by OHSU.
After reading this forum, linfield has gotten great endorsements but nothing was said about UP. I am not very farmiliar with either schools. Can someone from UP comment on their nursing program.
I'm sorry I don't know much about UP myself. I'd like to hear from some UP students too.
I said before that I really had my heart set on Linfield and yes, there have been some great endorsements. Thank you all for your advice. After visiting Walla Walla last Monday, however, I am seriously considering going there instead. I got such a great feeling being there, even more so than at Linfield. I sat in on a couple of classes and the instructors seemed very friendly, knowledgeable, helpful, and well-organized. The students were also very friendly and eager to talk to me and tell me how much they loved their school. I liked how their clinical sites are more centralized in the Portland area instead of spread out from Ridgefield to Salem. They generally have a higher pass rate on the NCLEX than Linfield's non-accelerated programs. Also, it costs less and is much closer to my home.
OMG, I never heard of Walla Walla University Nursing program. I am kind of sad I didn't apply. It looks really nice and the tuition is so much more affordable. =(
I didn't know about Walla Walla until I started researching nursing schools. I wonder if the fact that it is so unknown is actually going to be detrimental to me finding a job after school, especially if I leave the state. At Walla Walla, they said that they rely mainly on word-of-mouth to recruit new students. The one year that they did advertise, they got far too many applications to deal with. Honestly, before I visited, I didn't know much about it and it was my last choice. Going there and seeing the school in action really changed my mind. It seems ideal. The only possible down sides are their relative obscurity and their strong religious focus (they are a Seventh-Day Adventist school). I am not particularly religious and it seemed odd to me when the teachers started each class with a prayer. Also, there are required religion classes and "assemblies" (it sounded like these were church services). But that doesn't deter me. Overall, it seems like an excellent program.
So now that OHSU letters for the BSN program are starting to arrive I wanted to revisit this thread and get additional thoughts on OHSU v. Linfield. I know the difference in cost and program length, but does anyone out there have any additional insights? I'm still waiting to hear from PCC, but at this point I am trying to decide between Linfield and OHSU.
I just got my OHSU acceptance too! The problem is - I've already sent my deposit in to Walla Walla, already told my job that I'd be switching to part-time next month (Walla Walla starts in the summer), and already mentally felt set on going there. I visited the school, met some students, sat in on some classes, and felt a good vibe there. Walla Walla gave me a great financial aid package, the majority of which is grants. Most terms I'd actually wind up getting a refund! And, it's right around the corner from my house.
But... OHSU is also an excellent school. It definitely has a more recognized and respected name. At this point in my life, I feel like I need to consider my future more than just "what feels right." If I move out of state after nursing school (which is highly likely), are employers and graduate schools more likely to accept a student from a school they've never heard of or one from one of the top schools in the country?
So, now I'm back to trying to decide which school I should go to.
Apdxstudent-
I visited Linfield and I plan to visit OHSU next week. I highly recommend doing the same. Don't take someone else's advice about which school is right for you - go and see for yourself. I regret not sitting in on a class at Linfield; I would have gotten a more complete picture if I had. Linfield's cirriculum, strong focus on community health and holistic nursing more than technical skills, and the overall feeling I got from being there made me feel like it wasn't right for me. But that doesn't mean they're not an excellent school and that they aren't right for you. Visit both schools and insist that you sit in on some classes and then decide!
OregonBSN
166 Posts
If you were accepted into the program, they obviously think you can do it. It's busy, but not overwhelming - plus you have lots and lots of support. Go for it!
They will make some accommodations for you if you can't travel. In reality you are at the clinical sites are for just a few weeks at a time, not the whole year. You will be expected to drive. With 12 Nursing schools in the area it is hard for every school to place students. I wouldn't worry about Salem, it is a favored site and there will be plenty of people willing to go there in your place...LOL.
You get all the same required courses as other nursing schools, that is how programs get nationally accredited as well as approved by the OSBN. Path & Pharm are integrated into each course. So if you are doing your OB class, you get the path and pharm associated with that pt population. If you want even more detail, you can take additional electives in Path and Pharm. I took Pharm elective just before I graduated - it was a great review course for the NCLEX. If by "technical knowledge" you mean rudimentary lab skills like IV starts, then it is not a the focus at Linfield, but you do get your training in it. You do get a lot of critical thinking knowledge and skills. And the reality of it is, you do not get hired on how many IVs you have started.