Clinicals in nursing homes?

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I have just started a nursing program for a general RN associates degree, 2nd quarter in. Its a new program at ITT-tech, completely legitimate, 2 year program. I just found out the clinicals I start in quarter 4 are in retirement homes. I told my aunt this, who is an RN, and she seemed very upset- saying it will be difficult to get hired once I graduate because hospitals will consider clinicals in nursing homes to not offer adequate experience. Does anyone else have additional information to this topic and think this is true, that I'll have a difficult time getting hired?

Specializes in i can read really good lol.

i don't want to sound like debbie downer but i know of people who have finished LVN programs at a school like itt tech , uei, devry ect and have not been able to find jobs and have a hard time passing the nclex. please please please find out as soon as possible about the clinicals as well as the certifications ect. i would hate if you get all the way through school and find out it wasn't what you thought it would be. best wishes

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Yeah, I know. Its an RN program. All our exams are written exactly like the NCLEX to prepare us for it, so hopefully we wont have any problems with that. But the difficulty getting hired is what I'm starting to get worried about. Got a lot more researching to do, thanks!

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Is the program accredited? Most accredited program must follow a set guideline with a specific amount of hours spent in various areas of study and in various clinical settings. If on your 4th quarter you are only at a long term care facility, I would be worried. How many quarters is your program?

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Specializes in maternal child, public/community health.
Absolutely, the uncertainty bothers me. I know that they have set up the clinicals for the nursing homes, but what about later in the program? I would really like some clinicals in hospitals too.

I did, also, actually find out that the credits do not transfer to other colleges, BUT ITT themselves are offering a BSN program. So should I choose to further my education, I can aquire the bachelors degree through the same school. We still have no graduates, I believe the classes ahead of us are just beginning their 5th quarters in September.

Again, thank you all so much. I never knew blogs could help a person out so much haha.

If their credits do not transfer to other colleges, that does not speak well of the program at all and it may be very difficult to get a job even if you complete the program and pass the NCLEX. I would strongly suggest that you look into other programs. The uncertainty about clinicals and not being able to transfer credits should be enough to run from the program. There is no guarantee that ITT will even still be offering nursing when you want to do a BSN. If at some point you want to get a Master's, you will be up the creek. Your education is crucial to your future career. Please think carefully about your options.

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Specializes in Cardio-Pulmonary; Med-Surg; Private Duty.

I'm still choking on the $40K... my community college ADN will be under $10K, and that's with me paying out-of-district rates! :eek:

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
I'm still choking on the $40K... my community college ADN will be under $10K, and that's with me paying out-of-district rates! :eek:

Some are willing to pay a high price for the sake of convenience.

$40k for an ADN that lacks regional accreditation is expensive, but there's a private for-profit school in California (West Coast University) that offers a RN/BSN program with a tuition of $132,000. The student loan payments for a $132,000 loan would be in the $1,500+ range per month. Yikes!

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I'm in a 2-year RN program at a CC and my first M/S clinical was in a nursing home. M/S II was at a hospital, and I believe M/S III and M/S IV ("critical care") will be in hospitals as well.

Most nursing programs that I've heard of start clinicals out in a LTC because they're less stressful than a hospital, and you generally have less acute pts. As long as you get some serious, hands-on experience in a hospital before you graduate, I wouldn't stress too much about your school's choice of clinical sites. However, I do know that because ITT's nursing program is new and the school hasn't historically had the best reputation. I would suggest that you talk to some nurse recruiters from local hospitals or other facilities where you think you'd like to work someday, and see what their opinion of the program is.

I'm not trying to talk you out of sticking with your program of choice, but because ITT is SO expensive, I think it would be wise to do your research sooner rather than later. You don't want to graduate and find yourself unable to find a job while your student loans keep gaining interest.

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I've been curious about this for a while. Why would anyone go to one of these "career colleges" that offer outrageous tuition costs, questionable qualifications, and iffy job prospects when there are community colleges and universities everywhere? I have a degree from a university that didn't cost me 30K and my nursing degree at my local CC will run me about $4000.

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Specializes in Emergency/Trauma/LDRP/Ortho ASC.

LTC is great for learning in clinicals but surely you won't do all your clinicals there...I mean there won't be a whole lot of peds or OB going on in a nursing home :D

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LTC is great for learning in clinicals but surely you won't do all your clinicals there...I mean there won't be a whole lot of peds or OB going on in a nursing home :D

I don't know. I've heard of career colleges doing their clinicals at day care centers. I wouldn't be surprised if they did them all in LTC.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
I've been curious about this for a while. Why would anyone go to one of these "career colleges" that offer outrageous tuition costs, questionable qualifications, and iffy job prospects when there are community colleges and universities everywhere? I have a degree from a university that didn't cost me 30K and my nursing degree at my local CC will run me about $4000.

The outrageously expensive trade schools offer convenience in exchange for the pricey tuition: no waiting lists, no minimum GPA requirements, no prerequisite courses, and entrance exams that are usually not difficult. Some applicants have been rejected from multiple community college nursing programs and several state university schools of nursing, and would rather incur massive student loan debt in exchange for the RN license.

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The outrageously expensive trade schools offer convenience in exchange for the pricey tuition: no waiting lists, no minimum GPA requirements, no prerequisite courses, and entrance exams that are usually not difficult. Some applicants have been rejected from multiple community college nursing programs and several state university schools of nursing, and would rather incur massive student loan debt in exchange for the RN license.

Ah... it is all so clear now.

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