Am I crazy for accepting the invite to U of Miami accelerated nursing?

fazeila921 · Jan 3, 2008

Well if they are on probation for 2 yrs, then most likely you should be safe to finish up before then since you did say you start in May 08. I'm actually going to visit the school in about a week while i visit Miami. I am going to bring this topic up and see what they say, so i'll get back to you on that.

np_wannabe · Jan 3, 2008

I, personally, would be very concerned about the low nclex scores. i realize that one can study independently, but i would have to wonder how thoroughly they are teaching their student nurses...not so much so that i can pass the exam, but how prepared i am to provide good, safe care to patients. JMHO.

jerrylundergard · Jan 3, 2008

I, personally, would be very concerned about the low nclex scores. i realize that one can study independently, but i would have to wonder how thoroughly they are teaching their student nurses...not so much so that i can pass the exam, but how prepared i am to provide good, safe care to patients. JMHO.

Thats a great point.

I may be naive but it seems to me I should be able to learn the basics of nursing in school and on clinical internships. Most importantly, and maybe most foolheartdly, I hope to learn good safe practices on the job immedieately after graduation. Im going to sign up for their tuition scholarship in exchange for 2 years of work at the Miami Miller School of Medicine. I would guess that as long as they dont throw me to the wolves on my first day of work shortly after graduating that I could learn how to safely do my job from experienced nurses in my particular setting. I dont know how it works for newly graduated nurses but I hope my assumption about on the job training is correct.

Also, I wonder how much those nclex scores reflect the possibility of them taking less than stellar students as opposed to subpar instruction. Afterall, for Florida residents the other less expensive unis make alot of sense. So all of the greatest students most likely would go to cheaper public institutions. This could leave Miami in a situation where they are reaching a bit for some of their students.

Really my greatest fear is they get shut down and my plan never gets off the ground. That would pretty much nullify the rest of my rationalizations.

jerrylundergard · Jan 3, 2008

Well if they are on probation for 2 yrs, then most likely you should be safe to finish up before then since you did say you start in May 08. I'm actually going to visit the school in about a week while i visit Miami. I am going to bring this topic up and see what they say, so i'll get back to you on that.

Are you looking at their accelerated or traditional option?

I believe they were put on probation in April 07 and 2 years would be till April 09. I start May 08 and wouldnt graduate till May 09. So the probation is scheduled to do something 1 month before I would graduate.

Im looking forward to hearing from you after your visit to Miami.

fazeila921 · Jan 3, 2008

You have a good point, jerrylundergard. also, does anybody know what is considered a low passing % on the NCLEX? That is subjective. I've never been to nursing school but from what i hear, you don't learn to become a "real" nurse until you actually start working your first year anyway. So really, as long as you get a decent foundation in nursing school, you should be okay.

bluemartian, BSN · Jan 6, 2008

I graduated from UM last May and passed my nclex the first time around. It was unfortunate that the school of nursing recieved such bad press. I cannot imagine what caused such low scores, our class 2005-2007 was expected to improve the tarnished image that the school recieved. As a matter of fact we were grilled regularly with difficult level nclex questions, you either floated or sank. In addition to UM opened a state of the art building in 2007 with the latest in simulation technology and high security classrooms. I commend UM for taking such a strong position to correct this problem. And for whatever its worth I did not take any nclex prep classes except for the workshops that UM offered as a courtesy to graduating seniors with my nclex test shutting off at 75 questions. That should be an indication. Good Luck to you.

nurz2be · Jan 6, 2008

FBON puts a school on academic probation for an automatic 2 years. At the end of that 3 years, if the school has not increased their first time NCLEX pass rate they can lose their FBON approval status.

The national first time pass rate is 86% for the last semester of 2007. FBON puts a school on probation if they have fallen 10% below, or 76%, the national average for more than 6 consecutive semesters, which is plenty of time to get the average up. (I have called about the schools I was going to apply for and received these answers from Grace Johnson who is the FBON Educational Director.

That being said, I personally, would NOT go to a school who has had such poor academic status. Not that the students are to blame, but if the problem has been going on for 2 years + there is an OBVIOUS problem with the instructing and nursing faculty.

The other thing you can do, that I did and found it to help me make my final decision, was to call places that I thought I might work at after graduating and asked the nursing director what schools they have the most success with, as far as students easing into the RN role, they said the college I am currently attending. Part of what I am paying for, which is costly, is the opportunity to attend a school that is SUCCESSFUL. Yes, students drop out and fail at my school, BUT the pass rate for my school has been in the 90's plus since its inception. They are doing something right that being the case.

I don't think you should PAY for something that obviously isn't working well and it isn't working so poorly that the FBON has stepped in and in 1 year could very well cancel their support of the program.

As far as "waiting to learn things after school" you are going to have a time of transition, and it is true we won't learn real nursing until we are on the floor ourselves, but don't think that the nurses are their to hand-hold and teach you what you should have learned in school. They are their to advise you and push you. They have patients of their own and all the business associated with that. All of us should have a SOLID foundation from the schools we attend. If we don't we are setting ourselves up for discouragement and possible failure. Being a new RN is going to be nerve racking enough, the last thing you want to feel is that you have graduated and don't know feel like you know enough to be safe.

JUST my opinions.

fazeila921 · Jan 6, 2008

Wow, i didn't know they would put a school on probation after bad grades for 3 yrs. that makes a difference. that sets a trend of consistently poor performance. Geez, and as much money as Univ of Miami charges, they should be ashamed of themselves. I do think that it is a very good idea to call up hospitals or even nurse recruiters to find out what kind of reputations certain schools have. A recruiter will probably be the most candid since they have no incentive to lure you one way or another. I'm going to take that advice myself.

how's-it? · Jan 9, 2008

Back in 2005 I applied for their accelerated program and since I was not getting any follow up letters I decided to call. Well they had lost my paperwork and guess what? it was too late to get into the program for 2006. That told me right then and there that they were very disorganized. A year later reading the Miami Herald and finding that they were placed on probation, did not surprised me. If you ask around I keep hearing that nurses graduating from Barry University and FIU have much better bedside experience than those from UM. If you are going to spend the $$ in a private university. I will go Barry all the way !