Any FNP out there that went to a for profit online university out there?

BeeGeeRN · Sep 13, 2013

I fought that same bit too. I did a lot of reviews, reading, asking around. I ruled out all of them except maryville and chamberlain lol. I've applied to chamberlain who is accredited and has a long successful history... Online program is newer but the foundation n school is established. I am looking at some brick/mortar schools like clarkson etc.

thanks! ~b. Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Sep 13, 2013

Slightly off-topic: Your HOSPITAL doesn't offer discounted tuition to these for-profit schools, the schools themselves offer the discount to employers where they sense business could come from (aka- larger employers).

BritFNP · Sep 14, 2013

I agree with the passing of the same certification test and it not mattering. With that said, I haven't seen any problems with employers looking down on universities as long as a person is licensed and certified. The only time you may run into it is if the hiring manager was a X university grad and is looking for someone who also is (unfair).

I'm in Austin. I attended Angelo State University in San Angelo, TX. ASU is a long time brick and mortar school that I heard so many good things about. A friend (non medical) actually recommended the university to me as they went there for undergrad so I applied. Preceptors were difficult to find, but thats ANY online or hybrid program. You definitely need to use WHO you know, because honestly I've found thats what worked for me 100%. I worked with an anesthesiologist (as an outpatient RN) and his best friend was a family practice doc. So in my second year, as a favor to the anesthesiologist, the GP started precepting me. The GP liked me so much that he offered me the sole position as his NP 2 months before I graduated. He did not care where I went to school, I showed him what I knew.

My program was 2 years, full time. Thats 9 hours a semester, including summers. I had to go to campus once for a skills lab and once for a comprehensive exam.

Private message me if you like! The deadline for fall 2014 start FNP is April.

bisson · Sep 14, 2013

I'm getting ready to graduate Chamberlain's BSN program, overall it's a fantastic school, great experience all around. They took ALL of my previous credits and I completed the program in less then 1 year. They are CCNE accredited.

My only reason for not continuing on for my FNP with them, is that it's twice as long as my local college and it's twice as expensive.

What I found from my research, some states ( the states the I want to work in, such as DC & NY) rquire you to be AACN certified. In order to be AACN certified you have had to complete a CCNE accredited school. chamberlain is ccne accredited so therefor I don't see them being a problem.

to me it was a time & cost issue. also, I'm more of a traditional student and I miss student/ teacher interaction. I can't do another 4 semesters of online postings. although chamberlain has less online postings requirements for MSN then it does for BSN

BeeGeeRN · Sep 14, 2013

I'm getting ready to graduate Chamberlain's BSN program, overall it's a fantastic school, great experience all around. They took ALL of my previous credits and I completed the program in less then 1 year. They are CCNE accredited.
My only reason for not continuing on for my FNP with them, is that it's twice as long as my local college and it's twice as expensive.
What I found from my research, some states ( the states the I want to work in, such as DC & NY) rquire you to be AACN certified. In order to be AACN certified you have had to complete a CCNE accredited school. chamberlain is ccne accredited so therefor I don't see them being a problem.
to me it was a time & cost issue. also, I'm more of a traditional student and I miss student/ teacher interaction. I can't do another 4 semesters of online postings. although chamberlain has less online postings requirements for MSN then it does for BSN

how long is your program now? I will be able to get done in 2yrs and 8ish months.....thats about the norm from most of the univ I've looked at... the price to chamberlain is about the same as other schools...a tad more but nothing like you are saying (twice as $$).

Ptrv12 · Sep 14, 2013

Thank you all for your responses. FNPstudent15 thank for all the input, I would private message you but I believe I am unable to due to the fact that am new to this website and need 15 posts. I will definitely look into San Angelo University. I do agree that it is definitely about whom you know and that is for all jobs so I appreciate you re-confirming that. How soon do you think a person should start looking for preceptors because I have found that many people have problems in this area. I have talked with several doctors and they have all agreed that as long as you pass boards they do not care where you graduate from. A lot have said your experience as a nurse is what they look at when they are hiring. For instance there is a local oncology doctor in my area that is looking to hire an FNP or PA and he stated that if I had graduated FNP school no matter where I attended whether I be an online for profit school or the local university he would hire me because I have nursing experience in Oncology and have shown him through my work experience that I am a competent knowledgeable nurse. I was just wanting some input from FNP's, prospective student FNP's and current students in FNP programs. I really do feel you get what you put into from a program. I have another question... Would you recommend for me to work at a physician's office or continue working at the hospital? Thank you all so much for responding.

allnurses Guide · Sep 14, 2013

This may depend on where you live and how good your network of contacts is.

For example, I live and work in an academic medical area an there is most certainly a bias against online and profit programs, both in hiring and in obtaining preceptors.

Most jobs come from contacts made in school; if you lack good contacts (faculty, alums, preceptors) you may really struggle.

Ptrv12 · Sep 14, 2013

BostonFNP, I do agree that it depends on where you live and your network of contacts. I am aware of how many people have a bias against online schools but the fact of the matter is that many B/M universities are now doing online programs. I have looked into University of Texas Arlington and they offer the FNP program is online and you are required to find your own preceptors just like the online for profit schools. The only difference if I attend UTA or San Angelo is that whomever I get hired with will not know I attended an online program. I am aware no program is strictly online because you have to do the same number of clinical hours and I feel that this is where you get a lot of your experience from. I have taken many classes online and know I can handle an online program. In fact when I went to the university classes, there were many classes where the professors just read from the PowerPoint that they would later post online, so I would just not attend class sometimes because I felt I could learn this information at home. There were a few classes where I literally just showed up for class to take the tests and still managed to get A’s in them, because I was disciplined and studied at home. Thanks for your input though. I have not decided where I want to go yet but wherever I go I know I need to build up my network of contacts. I was just wondering if anyone that has graduated from an online university has had trouble securing a job.

BritFNP · Sep 19, 2013

Talk to docs you know around town. That's what I did. You can do the sit at home and call/email thing, it did land me some preceptors. Just expect a lot of non responses. As far as nursing experience, yes it can help you, especially if you are going into a specialty such as oncology!

I would not really recommend you trying to work in a physicians off (I wouldn't NOT recommend it either). The thing is, if you were working as a RN in a physicians office, #1, you would more than likely get paid much less because they can hire a MA to do the same office tasks at a fraction of the cost (you may not mind), and #2, while you would become familiar with the things seen in family practice, its not like you are going to follow him into room and hear his assessments all day like you do as a student. You may find an office position as unfulfilling, as a nurse. You will get plenty of clinic time in your program. If I were you, I'd stay at the hospital where there is familiarity and variety.

Ptrv12 · Sep 20, 2013

BritFNP, thank you so much for all your input as well as everyone else who responded. You all have been a huge help!

heliconiabay · Sep 20, 2013

Thanks everyone, this has been an informative thread. I am trying to decide which school to complete my MSN/FNP. I am in the Univ of North FL area and everyone here seems to be big fans of that school. If I went there, they are priced similarly or higher than some of the online schools. I believe some of their courses are online as well. They do seem to have clinicals set up which would be a plus.

I did my undergrad at a brick and mortar school but I am really thinking of doing my MSN/FNP at an online school. I could always do my terminal degree somewhere else. If I did decide on UNF then I would probably not be able to start until next fall since the app deadline seems to be in March. I really want to start sooner than that so that also makes some of the online schools like Chamberlain look more appealing.