Are there any nursing schools in NC that...

momathoner09, BSN, MSN, APRN · Sep 11, 2008

How do we find out about those things you mention such as NCLEX, pass rate, drop out rate, etc?

I know the boards of nursing for each state should have NCLEX passing rates online. Here is the link for NC .http://www.ncbon.com/LicensureStats/LicStat-CATRNWEB.asp

It is through the NC Board of Nursing. I have not checked but I would imagine other state's boards of nursing would have the same information. Drop out rate can be a tricky thing to find out. The school you are interested in should be able to provide you with this information but I would imagine if it was not a good number they would be reluctant to tell you. Keeping in mind that by nature nursing programs will have people that don't make it.My class at Mercy graduated 18 people this past May and we started with 35-36. We had a 100% passing rate on the NCLEX though :yeah:

Do you feel, in your opinion, it is better to go ahead and go to a college to get your RN-BSN or go through hospital program/comm college to get diploma and then try to transfer to get BSN-RN?

Since she is young and knows what she wants to do then a BSN program may be best. Many of us wind up doing the diploma and then the bridge programs b/c we originally did not want to be nurses. A hospital based program like Mercy will have you doing clinicals in your first semester. This can be a good and bad thing. We lost people b/c it turns out they didn't want to do patient care. They were either grossed out by what they saw or couldn't handle the emotional toll nursing can have. It was good that they found out sooner than later though. If she decides to stay in NC one of the best things you can do is visit the schools and speak with the counselors there. They will be able to provide you with all the information you need so that you can make a more educated decision. I know many of the community colleges have what are called "informational sessions" and it is requirement that you attend these in order to be considered. You can call those schools and ask when the next one is. They usually have 1-2 per semester. Either way it will probably take her 3-4 years to complete any of these degrees (obviously 4 years for a BSN). Even though they are called "2 year degrees", 1-2 additional years is spent taking the pre-requisite courses like Anatomy and Physiology, Microbiology, Sociology, Psychology, etc).

shoppergirl · Sep 11, 2008

Well this semester she is enrolled in the Allied Health II program at high school. They will begin going daily to hospital, doctors offices, etc to do clinicals on a daily basis. When they finish the semester they can sit for the CNA exam and their certification if they pass of course.

She is a senior so we do not have a lot of time to go to numerous schools because most of the major colleges have a Nov 1 deadline for apps.

Thanks again for all your help and info.

QueenCityNurse · Sep 15, 2008

I am not sure about 4 year schools in NC but I attended Carolinas College of Health Sciences (Charlotte, NC) which is a two year school and from my understanding, you can be admitted right into the nursing program. I came in as a transfer student but there were a couple of girls in my class that were right out of high school. If she chooses to go this route, there are a lot of RN-BSN programs out there which usually takes and additional year to a year and a half to complete.

Check out there website at carolinascollege.edu and you should be able to find the admissions requirements for high school students. If you need any additional info, you can also contact the school. The staff is really friendly and helpful.

celclt · Sep 16, 2008

her school guidance counselor or even college fairs would have info- good luck to her- she'll do great!

shoppergirl · Sep 17, 2008

celcit,

Unfortunately the guidance counselors at her school do not help the students unless the student badgers them and that is hard to do since the counselors stay out of the school in meetings and seminars, more than they are at the school. Honestly, I have called on numerous occasions about things and almost everytime have been told counselors are out of the school for a day and a half in meetings.

Well I may be wrong but feel they should be there more than gone especially at this critical time for the seniors. Then when the students do go to the counselors they get conflicting information on how to obtain info. As you can tell, I am just not impressed with these counselors at her school. And sorry to vent but feel like we have to help my daughter do the leg work since the counselors just are not a lot of help. And sometimes even seem fretted to get calls for request for help.

Now there are some kids who have learned to be friends with the counselors and they may get more help but the average student seems lost in the mix.

That is why I got on here and have been asking people who are nurses for input. I feel like if I want the scoop it is best to go directly to the source and the ones with experience.

My daughter will be having college day at her school the end of the month, however, it last about an hour which is not a lot of time for 250-300 seniors to talk to reps. Plus we live in a small rural town so some of the schools probably do not attend.

I did find out from a nurse in my Physiatry doctor's office that Lenior-Rhyne did offer the direct admit program but the schoo apparently is private because she said the program is expensive. She did advise me that if my daughter is considering her masters or NP or PA to go ahead and get it all while she was in school. The nurse said she did not get her masters and now that she works, even though she is single, it is hard to go back.

Thank you all for your input and information and please continue to give us any input you have.

celclt · Sep 17, 2008

have you also checked out cfnc.org

as for the guidance counselors- I would put a call in to the county school admin office- hold them accountable for their job- your tax dollars help fund their salary :)

shoppergirl · Sep 18, 2008

Good idea celcit but we live in a small rural "good ole boy/girl" area and everyone is friends with everyone else and so nobody does anything about complaints. They listen and make you think they will follow through but nothing gets done.

Trust me people have tried voicing dissatisfaction about things but things are still the same. These counselors will even talk to parents like dogs. They tried to move students out of AP English because they had too many students wanting to take the class and not enough teachers. Now I would think that would be a good thing that you had that many students wanting to better themselves. However, guidance counselors resolve was to call the students, not the parents, and just tell them they had picked and chosen who would and would not get into the class. Fortunately, since I am out of work, when the call came I was here. After the gc told my daughter, didn't ask if she would move, she was being moved, I took over call and advised the gc that this would not be an option for my daughter and if she and I could not resolve this and keep my daughter in class, I would come talk to principal and if need be, go to superintendant. She got left in the class but had I not been here she would have been moved. They even went so far as to just leave the msg on answering machines if no one was home and tell the child they were moved, period.

These gc's aren't really interested in best interest of student, they are interested in best interest of their friends, the teachers. I always thought gc was there to help student but ours are to help teachers...period.

I just keep thinking one more year with this bunch of non-caring gc's and we are done with this school system. It is a JOKE!!!!

But again thanks for listening to me get on my soap box, I could go on about other things these gc's have done that is so bad for students but I won't bother you with it. Just suffice to know they don't care about the students unless it is the students whose parents work for the school system or the ones that buddy up with them and basically are best friends with the gc instead of other students. If you aren't in these two elite groups, you get no help, just attitude to both parents and students.

Thanks for your input and suggestions, most welcomed. As you can tell, I am not impressed with our gc's being a first line of help for our students. They are too busy going to meetings and conferences, not being at the school to help.

baxtersmomRN · Oct 7, 2008

Hi shoppergirl!

Went to carolinas college of health sciences in Charlotte (don't know if traveling would be a problem)...great school...my graduating class of 51 had a 100% pass rate on the NCLEX for the first attempt. I think its like 93% at the last check. They graduate twice a year, in May and December. Clinicals were through the level-1 trauma center here in charlotte so you get great (and i mean great) hands-on experience.

Its a tough course, and by the end of the program the test questions for the curriculum are set up exactly like those on the NCLEX. There is an option to apply directly to the nursing program. I had to do the pre-nursing (which meant an extra 2 semesters depending on how much of a load you take on). However I didn't have many credits going into the program, so it was a better choice for me. My classmates that took the nursing along with the anatomies, and microbiologies etc. struggled with grades. With the pre-nursing, you get all that taken care of before you start with the nursing classes. But if she has the credits, call and see if they can be transferred in.

The website is www.carolinascollege.edu

Good luck! Hope this helps! :up:

Adams_Mommy_07 · Oct 9, 2008

To my knowlege, and I graduated from UNCG (I'm sure right up your alley) for my undergrad--not nursing-- and know quite a bit about the public universities in NC the only way you get accepted into a BSN program on day 1 is if the pre-reqs are already MET. So in answer to your question NO BSN program in a public (and likely private schools as well) NC accepts a Freshman without pre-reqs completed. Your daughters options are to A) attend a 4 year university, applying to the SON her sophomore year and begin in her Junior year B)attend a community college that will allow her to get her RN classes along with the pre-reqs. The only reason I suggest option B is because I'm looking to be a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner in a direct entry MSN program and have considered all of the options---many schools including Duke and ECU offer RN-MSN tracks. That way she can get her RN in two years, work as a nurse for one year (two in some cases like Neonatal Nurse Practitioner) and apply directly to a MSN program. If she goes the 4 year route, she has the four years plus AT LEAST one year (if she wants to be a Practitioner) of RN experience then the MSN.

If a Bachelors is your only consideration you are pretty much set on having to go four years.

BSNs are more competitive than the ADN (offered at local community colleges) as such they are more selective, completion of pre-reqs, possibly nursing experience (eg CNA), overall GPA of college work, etc. There may be Intro to Nursing courses that may be available to her though during her first year. My undergrad (UNCG) has one of the best nursing schools in the state and was so competitive that the even if the Freshman could somehow get accepted into the program (which they couldn't) there would be no way they could register for classes their entire first year because the seats fill up so rapidly. I had girls on my floor my freshman year who were afraid they would have to postpone their applications until their Junior years because they did not have enough credit hours (by virtue of being a Freshman) to even get in the Pre-reqs!! That was just to put it in perspective--