BSN - San Diego National University :)

[Words Matter, BSN, RN]

If you are getting ready to enroll in an upcoming cohort, or are trying to figure out if this program is for you, I just want to let you know to have faith. There is a reason that students who have passed Med Surg are smiling. If you can keep a positive attitude, and manage your time well so that you are able to make the connections between theory and clinical days along the way, THERE IS HOPE AFTER MED SURG! Make the most of your time in Pharm. When it is suggested to learn the classifications of the drugs and how they work in the body, this is good advice and will serve you well during clinicals especially when interacting with your CI and mentoring shift nurse.

Regarding FINANCES (personal) - during my initial orientation I was told to be prepared not to work by Med Surg. I was able to arrange with my current long term employer (non medical related) a planned leave of absence. I am a single mother to an elementary school aged child and I have a pet in particular who requires a bit more care than the average bear. Please know that if you are in a similar situation and use to being self supporting, financial aid will not cover ALL living expenses even with the additional allowance. Be prepared with a back up plan to cover your essentials.

I cannot compare this program to any others. This was the only path I looked into. If you are debating between this program and another, there are two major points I would like to share which I have learned along the way. First the bad: There is no externship after our program is complete. We have great clinical experiences along the way, but no foot in the door with an externship. Now the GOOD: Again, I have no experience with other schools, but I can say that our clinical rotations occur concurrently with our theory course of study. This means, that when we are learning about Maternity Nursing and newborn care in theory, we are also attending clinical days on the L&D units of our assigned facilities. I have heard through Clinical Instructors and staff nurses that this is not the case for all schools and that sometimes a clinical site may be assigned without any baseline classroom or textbook knowledge. It is truly a benefit to the patients, staff nurses, and student to have this experience of concurrent theory and practice.

Just though I would share a bit of my experience in hopes that this is helpful to a future nurse.

[thatnursingguy03]

First off. I'd like to say thank you for the information. I just got accepted to National University's 45th cohort that begins in January. I was wondering what you would recommend. I'm currently single no kids. Mid 20's and have no debt. Since I have no real bug commitments would you recommend me to wait to get into a less expensive option though it may take about her year or would you say this is a good fit. Also I was wondering how many clinical hours does the program offer total and have you graduated yet and if so do you have any job prospects yet. Thank again and I hope to hear from you soon.