Bakersfield College vs CSUB

Volley88 · Jul 8, 2016

My fiancee graduated from CSUB recently.

He says its a matter of degrees. Would you want your Bachelors or Associates?

Nowadays hospitals are looking for BSN degree holders, hence why he chose CSUB. He loved the school and the curriculum. The faculty is always there to help with questions. There are no stupid questions, just very safe nurses.

Overall, I would go to CSUB. I would only go to BC if you didn't get accepted and if you plan on staying in Bakersfield after graduation. Feel free to private message me for more questions.

Lsc0604 · Jul 26, 2016

I just saw this. Thank you so much for the information. I am definitely leaning toward the CSUB program, because I know nursing is slowly going to go the bachelor's degree.

NICUismylife, ADN, BSN, RN · Jul 26, 2016

I go to BC, so of course, I'm biased towards BC. That said, when you do clinical and talk to the nurses, they will tell you that they can spot a CSUB nurse on the floor vs. a BC nurse. Unfortunately, CSUB focuses more on theory and administration and less in-hospital clinical time. This is fantastic for those who are wanting to go into those fields or obtain an advanced practice position later on. But BC throws you into the hospital within 3 weeks of starting the program! During 2nd semester, I worked with a Versant CSUB grad (new hire in the residency program), she didn't even know how to talk to the patient, she screwed up her med pass, I was so embarrassed for her. I felt like I knew more than her and I was only 2nd semester and she was already an RN! She told me that she only had 2 days in OB during her program. I got 10 days. Literally 5 times as much time. I'm guessing I got more in the other specialties as well. We also had nurses complain that CSUB students don't do anything on the floor, they congregate in the break room, etc. (NOT the students fault, they can only do what their instructors tell them to), whereas we are assigned a patient and take over full patient care for the day. You don't even see the nurse, you ARE the nurse. If your patient needs a foley or an IV or an NG tube, you insert it (with your instructor present). If they need meds or blood products, you administer them. If something is missing, YOU call pharmacy. When the doctor rounds, you talk to him about your patient's status, suggest new orders, etc. From what I understand, CSUB doesn't operate this way (I could be wrong, since I've not been in the program, this is just from what floor RNs have told me).

When the BRN came to BC last year, they talked to the nursing class and said that BC is the #2 program in the state, and that's including universities, not just among community colleges. 4th semester students get jobs before graduation, and usually get the specialty that they want. The hospitals LOVE BC grads. Once you graduate BC, the bridge to your BSN at Cal State only takes 1 year online. So you can still get that BSN status at a fraction of the cost. My ADN is completely free between my San Joaquin Community Hospital Sponsorship, my pell grant, and my scholarships.

Edited to add: My most stellar clinical instructor was a CSUB grad, she was amazing, I learned so much from her. CSUB puts out very knowledgeable nurses. But they just seem to take a lot longer to be comfortable in the clinical setting because of how their program is set up.

Megash · Apr 23, 2017

I know this is much later and you have probably already applied to both programs, but I wanted to share my experiences with CSUB. We typically spend about 12 weeks in our specialty clinical rotations. We had an entire school year of working on a medical surgical floor. We have plenty of hands on experiences. We start IVs, place foleys, give medications, and all other forms of patient care. Our instructors are wonderful and supportive. The BRN visited this year and was very impressed with our program. I would suggest obtaining a BSN simply because many hospitals are leaning towards BSNs for their employees. Good luck in your nursing school endeavors!