National University San Diego

U.S.A. California

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Has anyone had any luck with applying at National University for their nursing program? I applied back in Oct 06 and have been waiting to hear from them. They are supposed to notify in 3 months. I have called and called and written email upon emails with no response really. :banghead: Please, if anyone has applied and received some sort of letter, I would greatly appreciate your reply.

Thanks

Expharmagirl,

did you start the program and you are dissappointed with it so far? it is a lot of money to be putting out to not be satisfied!

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Are there any current students right now with some feedback about the program?

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happymommy3,

NU has NEVER had a preceptorship as part of their RN or BSN program. Those are programs that all other universities and ADN programs provide to their students. It is an unpaid position that counts as a class and is usually in an area of the student's choice such as OB, peds or med-surg. As far as I know, every other school has a contract with a hospital that allows for this type of agreement, except for NU. This is a chance for the unit to become familiar with the student and vice versa as the committment is usually a full semester. NU does not have this as part of their program. Their reasoning is that NU students spend more time in the clinical setting than other programs and there isn't a need for it. I feel this is completely wrong because while although we spend 136 required hours in the clinical setting, it is for a shorter period of time and with multiple units or nurses because we float. Never one-on-one for 4 months straight (the length of most school program semesters).

The externship is a separate issue, but with the same end goal in mind...an RN job. Externships are paid student nurse opportunities provided by the hospitals...there are plenty of these jobs available right now online, just not for NU students anymore. You apply online and if selected, go for an interview and are paid by the hospital. Along with employment, it is required that students enroll in a class at Southwestern college, but the BRN recently made it impossible for all schools (NU, SDSU, etc.) to enroll in this class at SWC. NU has never had a class that enables students to take employment as a student nurse, supposedly because of liability issues (?). This was a major hit for many students currently enrolled in the class with paid employment. They now have to quit their jobs and terminate a promising relationship with a hospital that could have provided an RN job.

As you can see, NU students are at a disadvantage esp. in this current economic climate and it's going to get worse before it gets better. I'm a realist, not a pessimist by nature and finding a job in nursing right now is scary. It's not a good time to be entering the field at all. I would have attended a different school, but with a degree from a major school in SD, I wasn't allowed to attend their nursing programs. Just do your homework, ask NU why they don't have these programs and be educated about the process. Good luck!

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Hi sdwannabe1~

Thank you so much for the info about the externships and preceptorships--I appreciate your help. But, I'm really bummed now because I was REALLY looking forward to going to NU because of the accelerated program and 3 day a week schedule. I have three kids and no income, so I need to get through school and into the workplace as quickly as possible, and NU seemed like the best way to do that. Do you think that as the economy improves the BRN might reinstate the externship programs?

Does anyone know of any recent NU graduates that have found an RN job in the San Diego/Riverside area?

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I can see that the added experience would be a great confidence and skills builder for a nursing student and the face to face time with potential employers would be a sweet benefit so I emailed the nursing department directly regarding their lack of an externship program. I'm not sure a direct quote from my personal email would be appropriate, but as I understand it they are working on adding it to the curriculum.

Quite honestly, I was surprized to find that there are paid positions for unlicensed nursing students and think of the externship as an added perk rather than a right. I did some googling and it appears that these externship placements are limited (only so many) and require an application process (transcripts are generally required). It doesn't appear that a school's offering of an externship course is a guarantee of externship placement. (Please correct me if I'm wrong since my "research" was only cursory.) Additionally, extern placement does not appear to be a guarantee of job placement upon graduation and licensure.

Let's face it, this economy makes it difficult to secure any entry level position. There are so many factors affecting the new grad nurse's ability to find a job, but it does seem that the market has been flooded with more new grads than the hospitals are able/willing to bear the cost of orientating and training. Fortunately, the hopsitals are hiring new grads, they just don't have enough jobs for all of them. Understandably, a hospital is more likely to hire a new grad they had a positive experience with during an externship over an unknown new grad.

If this is just the straw that broke the camel's back in a string of disappointments with the nursing program at NU please share your experiences, because all things considered I'm just not seeing how the lack of an externship program is the absolute deal breaker it's being made out to be.

Oops, looks like Sd responded while I was writing. I'll read, but wanted to get the edit in that I hadn't seen the post before I posted.

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I am a nursing student at National and I am set to graduate May 2011. Therefore I was hoping to have an externship either this fall or Spring 2011... so yes I am disappointed and hoping they fix this situation soon. However, even if I cannot get an externship, I would still have gone to National. As DaleenMarine said, externships are limited anyway, not guaranteed and do not guaranty the student a job. The externships I'm talking about are the paid ones that you get on your own by applying and they are very competitive. But yes, your school needs to have a contract even for you to apply.

Most schools have a type of intern/extern program that is generally about 1 month, maybe the BSNs have a full semester, but I know Palomar only does 1 month, this is not paid, but is still a great opportunity for the student. These are included as a class. However, Palomar does not have near as many clinical hours as National.

Keep in mind also, that it is not National that stopped externships for the students, it was the BRN. SW college used to let National use them as a way to apply, and the BRN no longer allows that. Since National students had this option, the school did not have that as an option through them. They are working to get contracts, but of course, it will take time.

National had it's good and bad, but overall I am happy with the school. A 4 year university like San Diego State or San Marcos with a 3 year waiting list was not an option for me and I would choose National over Palomar or Mt. San Jacinto any day. Just my opinion.

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Hi maiday and daleenmarine~

Thank you so much for your encouragement about the NU program. I have been SO excited about it, so when the news about the externships and preceptorships came up, I started to get worried. It is good to know that they are working on putting another externship program in place. I guess it just worries me that there is no preceptorship like there is at other schools, but, as you mentioned, NU has more clinical hours than the Community Colleges do. It's so nice to hear that you are happy with the program and would recommend it over other schools. This economy is really scary right now for everyone, so hopefully it will improve soon and the difficulty finding jobs will be over. Good luck to both of you!

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Just to be clear... each person has different situations and it depends on yours which is a good fit for you. NU is NOT San Diego state or even CSU, it is more comparable to University of Phoenix. You would not compare U of Phoenix's business school to San Diego State's business school. It is what it is. It is a means to an end.

If you are young, single and have time... heck yeah go for San Diego State or CSU! But if you are like me and just really want to get a BSN in the fastest time possible with an accredited school, NU just might be for you.

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Specializes in Near Future: ED, Future Future: ACNP!.
Expharmagirl,

did you start the program and you are dissappointed with it so far? it is a lot of money to be putting out to not be satisfied!

No, I haven't started yet! I start in July. I'm curious to see why people are disappointed though. I'm going through regardless because that's where I applied and have been accepted and the format allows me to still be able to work full-time which I have to do.

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Just to be clear... each person has different situations and it depends on yours which is a good fit for you. NU is NOT San Diego state or even CSU, it is more comparable to University of Phoenix. You would not compare U of Phoenix's business school to San Diego State's business school. It is what it is. It is a means to an end.

If you are young, single and have time... heck yeah go for San Diego State or CSU! But if you are like me and just really want to get a BSN in the fastest time possible with an accredited school, NU just might be for you.

This is right. NU is a means to an ends. My concern is how the education though this program prepares one for practice. Yes, it has more clinical hours, but those clinical hours many times are unofficially cut. These hours are sometime filled with going to community meetings or writing a paper - which doesn't improve clinical skills or connections at all.

Yes, you will have a fast track to an RN, but to what end? Scripps only is only hiring internal applicants. Children's cut their new grad program to once a year and had 1200 applicants in their last program- Sharp had over 1600. I recently interviewed for a position at Sharp where there were 25 internal applicants for ONE position. No new grads being accepted at Alverado, or Palomar right now either. UCSD has scaled back their program, and I have no idea how many applicants have applied through there.

That's why there is a big fuss about the senior preceptorship and externships. Without this specialized focus, practice and networking opportunity, NU grads are at a huge disadvantage. Many of the people who I talk to that get hired did their senior preceptorship or an externship in the hospital that they were hired on to. We have neither of those options. The market is flooded with new grads right now, which makes it extremely hard to get noticed, even with extra certifications, volunteer work, etc. I hope the situation changes for the better.

Frustrated and Jobless RN:mad:

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Specializes in Near Future: ED, Future Future: ACNP!.

Hopefully the market will pick up soon for new grads everywhere. It is not just a problem in San Diego if you read other posts on AN.

Do the students on here that went to NU feel that you got good clinical skills training?

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I just got my acceptance letter for the San Diego October cohort--yay!! I know things are really tough in the nursing industry right now, but I can only hope and pray that they will get better for everyone soon. NU is really the only option that will work for my family, so I'm excited about it (but I am concerned about the preceptorship/externship issue). Is there anyone else on this thread that will be attending in October too? (tutubalu and ripplecal are part of that cohort, right?) Good luck to everyone! :)

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