Chamberlain or Mt Carmel?

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Hi guys! I've been accepted to Chamberlain and Mount Carmel and need to make a pretty hasty decision. What are your thoughts? I'm not sure I can imagine myself at Mt. Carmel just from the atmosphere I got strolling through, but I might just be judging too quickly. Chamberlain on the other hand seemed to be very up to date and I like that there aren't religious statues everywhere you turn, but I know Mount Carmel is much more respected as a good school to graduate from and Chamberlain is more of a "commercial college". Anyone have experience, does Mount Carmel really help you secure a better job or have a better looking resume? I'm going for the BSN program also. Thanks!

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Specializes in MR/DD.

I can speak on behalf of Mount Carmel. All of the clinicals are in the hospital adjacent to the school ( I worked at the hospital for 2 years). Because of this you are able to get your assignments the night before clinical and review your patients chart. ..Trust me ... that is a GREAT thing. If you go to Chamberlain you can be assigned clinicals anywhere, which means you will be driving to various locations throughout the city, and you will have no clue who your patients are.

I have done a lot of research and spoke to many nurses about various programs.

I found that Chamberlain is too expensive for me as well as Mount Carmel.

Chamberlain has been kicked out of clinical sites and are beginning to develop a poor reputation because of it. I learned about the poor reputation while doing clinicals during LPN school and was inquiring about RN programs.

Mount Carmel has a great reputation and has no problems finding a clinical site because they are next door to a hospital.

For financial reasons I chose to get my LPN, I will get my ADN from a community college.. But for my BSN I am seriously considering Mount Carmel, for I know Mount Carmel makes GREAT nurses! :)

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Mt Carmel. Hands down. Chamberlain is for profit, has poor clinical sites (very very few in the hospital) and you often to have drive 2+ hours to clinical sites (a friend had to travel to two nursing homes in two different parts of Toledo for clinicals two semesters in a row). They have a poor reputation in Columbus. You will have a much better chance finding a job attending a reputable program that is part of a reputable hospital like Mt Carmel.

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This is just simply not true. I attend Chamberlain and am close to graduating. We only have clinical at a nursing home for Fundamentals, our first nursing class. This allows us to get our feet under us, and develop the principal techniques like assessment. Med/Surg is at OSU East, Riverside, Doctors West, VA Chillicothe, and Clinton Memorial in Wilmington. Pediatrics is at Nationwide Children's Hospital. Obstetrics is at Grant Medical Center and Marion General. Critical Care is at Grant Medical Center. The furthest drive is an hour to Clinton Memorial and that clinical was awesome. This diversity of hospitals has made for a very interesting learning environment that allows us to get acquainted with the differences in hospital protocols and cultures. It has also exposed us to many different patient populations from urban to rural, and rich to poor.

Also, as far as a poor reputation is concerned, last year we had the highest NCLEX pass rates of any school in Columbus, and this year to date we have the second highest behind OSU. I also haven't heard of many problems with graduates getting jobs.

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Specializes in Women's Health NP.

"Also, as far as a poor reputation is concerned, last year we had the highest NCLEX pass rates of any school in Columbus, and this year to date we have the second highest behind OSU. I also haven't heard of many problems with graduates getting jobs."

I don't have much of a dog in this fight, but http://www.nursing.ohio.gov/PDFS/education/NCLEX/2010Q03RN.pdf

For Q3, Y2010 pass rates of BSN programs were:

Chamberlain: 86.96%

Mt. Carmel: 88.27%

OSU: 94.71%

Otterbein: 80.00%

I say go where you want to go and can afford to go. Mt. Carmel has been around longer and is a great way to get into the Mt. Carmel system. Employers also recognize Mt. Carmel by name and usually have some ties to Mt. Carmel, good or bd. Chamberlain is newer and not as established, but I've heard is more accommodating for non-traditional students in offering online/hybrid courses. Tuition is about the same for both, although if you're planning on working while going to school, Mt. Carmel associates get a significant tuition break on top of tuition reimbursement.

If you decide that you really can't afford either, consider CSCC for nursing school, or at least to get some of the non-nursing classes out of the way. I don't know about Chamberlain, but people I know who have gone to Mt. Carmel take their non-nursing classes (psych, etc) at CSCC, and they transfer over easily.

Whatever you decide, good luck! :yeah:

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"Also, as far as a poor reputation is concerned, last year we had the highest NCLEX pass rates of any school in Columbus, and this year to date we have the second highest behind OSU. I also haven't heard of many problems with graduates getting jobs."

I don't have much of a dog in this fight, but http://www.nursing.ohio.gov/PDFS/education/NCLEX/2010Q03RN.pdf

For Q3, Y2010 pass rates of BSN programs were:

Chamberlain: 86.96%

Mt. Carmel: 88.27%

OSU: 94.71%

Otterbein: 80.00%

You are correct. I was using the same source. Chamberlain has both ADN and BSN programs, I was using the cumulative average of both, and rating the school as a whole. Your BSN numbers are correct.

I also agree with your message to pagan64. Go to whichever school makes you feel the most comfortable. Good luck!

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Mt Carmel. Hands down. Chamberlain is for profit, has poor clinical sites (very very few in the hospital) and you often to have drive 2+ hours to clinical sites (a friend had to travel to two nursing homes in two different parts of Toledo for clinicals two semesters in a row). They have a poor reputation in Columbus. You will have a much better chance finding a job attending a reputable program that is part of a reputable hospital like Mt Carmel.

This really isn't true. I'm going to Chamberlain through their LPN-RN bridge. I've had clinicals at OSU East and Doctor's West. I should be going to Children's for my Ped's rotation, but find out in a couple weeks for sure. I talked to other students and they only went to a nursing home for fundamentals. Plus they went to Friendship Villiage which has a pretty nice reputation. From talking to coworkers and other nurses it's hard to get a new grad job as an RN regardless of what school you go to. What helps you is knowing some of the staff there and interviewing well. I like Chamberlain. It's a challenging program and I've learned a lot so far.

Now to the original poster I'm not saying you should choose Chamberlain over Mt. Carmel. I don't really know a whole lot about Mt. Carmel other than one of my coworkers is going through their rn to bsn program and is disgusted that they're switching to all online. (She had chose their program since they were one of he few that still did that bridge on campus. But now she has part online part on campus which wasn't how it was when she applied.) But anyhow I don't think you should discredit Chamberlain over clinical sites. Chamberlain's clinical sites from what I've heard and experienced are good. Honestly to find out that Mt. Carmel only goes to their hospital that is beside their school would discourage me a little. I kinda like the diversity of seeing how different hospitals.

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