college of st catherine

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Any St Catts Graduates, Please Reply

I Was Planning On Going To St Catts Next Fall Since I Already Got Accepted But At My School Which Is An Lpn School, There Is One Instructor That Told Us That St Catts Graduates When They Become Nurses, Most Of Them Do Not Know What They Are Doing, Their Skills Is Not Great. True Or False Because I Know That This School Is Very Expensive, I Do Not Want To Take A Loan And I Am Not Getting Anything For My Money.

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Specializes in Critical Care.
Any St Catts Graduates, Please Reply

I Was Planning On Going To St Catts Next Fall Since I Already Got Accepted But At My School Which Is An Lpn School, There Is One Instructor That Told Us That St Catts Graduates When They Become Nurses, Most Of Them Do Not Know What They Are Doing, Their Skills Is Not Great. True Or False Because I Know That This School Is Very Expensive, I Do Not Want To Take A Loan And I Am Not Getting Anything For My Money.

I went to both St. Kate's (i.e. College of St Catherine-- it's NOT St. Catts) and the College of St. Benedict (St. Ben's). St. Kate's is a campus that, personally, I would not recommend to anyone. I was not a nursing student, so I cannot say anything positive or negative re. their nursing program. But they were militantly pro-female, and since half of my patients are male, that is misguided. At Christmastime, they didn't even have Santa on campus-- they only had Ms. Claus! As a grad student, we had guys in our program; they stated they felt like, as they walked across campus, they would have their manhood cut off. I wouldn't want my daughter going there.

St. Ben's (in St. Joseph, MN) has a great tradition. The community is fantastic. One of my best friends went through the nursing program and landed a PICU position as a new grad. CSB nurses are well-regarded. I wish I had initially gotten my RN through CSB (would have saved me a misguided MAOT, then transition to RN post-bacc program at the U of M). Although I have my RN through the U of M (which my husband pointed out to me on vacation recently, when he said that his wife was a "Gopher"), I will always consider myself a Bennie. I love that school.

Honestly, if you're limited to the Twin Cities, go to the U of M. They have a great program, multiple clinical sites, take care of their students, are cheaper than St. Kate's, and have the background of being the oldest university-based nursing program in the U.S. They also have multiple post-bacc subspecialties, as well as a DNP program. Once you're a student there, they'll take care of you.

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Specializes in GI and Telemetry.

Another alternative is MCTC - their 2 year nursing program is excellent, and I was told by some of the nurses I worked with that they preferred new grads from a 2-year school, since they had more hands-on experience in clinicals; apparently a lot of the St. Kate's/UofM nursing grads had more theory and management classes than actual clinicals - at least, that's what the St. Kate's BSN grads that I worked with told me.

Now, before all you 4-year BSN grads start jumping on me, I'm just reporting what I was told. I already have a BA in another field, and am beginning an ADN-BSN program. I agree with the earlier poster, I wouldn't have my daughters go to St. Kate's for the ultra-feminist vibe there. The U of M's program is extremely competitive, especially the program for those that already have a Bachelor's in another field.

Good luck with whatever path you choose!

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Check out Normandale...Good school and it actually has more nursing seats than MN State Mankato....

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Specializes in Pediatric Heme/Onc/BMT.

As a current St. Kate's student, I'd suggest that my school is merely the embodiment of the vision of the Sisters of St. Joseph, who created one of the first institutions of higher learning for women in the country. It is not "militant" about anything. The nursing program is not just about women - we learn about girl parts AND boy parts.

Does a campus need to have Santa to be good? I don't remember ever seeing either character in my four years there (and as a Jew, I don't know how that would have contributed to my care as a nurse anyway).

As far as skills - they are not our main priority in school. Our instructors continually tell us that we'll learn the skills we need in the field. We do focus more on theory and understanding systems. It can be frustrating at times, but I've enjoyed my overall education at St. Kate's. I had considered St. Ben's and the U as well. My mother is a nurse manager and told me her favorite nurses to hire were St. Kate's grads.

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Thanks so much Dinsey,

I am to start in the Fall of '08 at St. Kate's and it's great to hear the positive feedback about this institution. I've only ever heard Great things about the school and the education. Anyone I know who has come from there has only had positives to say about it as well.

This board was the first time that I ever heard about the "feminism" attitude's about it, but since when is "feminism" a bad thing? I'm proud to be a strong woman and I'm sure that I'll learn to care for Men the same as women.

Again, Thanks for the great feedback.

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Specializes in Travel Nursing, ICU, tele, etc.

As a Minnesota Nurse who has been in the field almost 10 years, I know that St Kate's has an excellent reputation in the field. The graduates that I have met are bright and good nurses. I also know nurses from every other program in the Cities and I can tell you that it is absolutely the nurse that makes the nurse and NOT the school she/he graduates from. It really depends on what YOU are looking for and what your future goals are as a nurse. I have been close friends with two St Kate grads and now that they are spending years paying off loans, they are wishing they had spent less money on their BSN and perhaps put that money into a Master's program later. But I will also tell you, they LOVE St Kate's. I don't know of any more outward loyalty to a place in nursing in the Twin Cities...(IMHO). Also, as a night nurse, I have met one of the clinical instructors form St Kate's who comes in early before clinicals and she has to be one of the very nicest and most grounded instructors I have ever met in my life. Her students adore her and thrive under her guidance. Now, I don't know if they are all like that, but I am truly impressed by this one in particular....

Personally, I graduated from MCTC because I already had degrees in other areas. It was a good program and I have certainly achieved what I have set out for myself as a nurse. It is a good program and I have heard that really all of the Community College programs are very good, as well as Metro State, Mankato, St Cloud.....

Have I answered your question? Probably not! Just know that success depends on YOU, not the school. Look at what you want to achieve as a nurse and let that guide your decision.

Good luck!! ;););)

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When I was still in LPN school, a lot of our instructors told us that same things, that no instructors go with you to the clinical sites and you are mostly by yourself... well, my friend who just graduated from there told me that their instructors do go with you to every site but you work one on one with an RN there.. I heard lots of good thing about that school.. I am starting saint kates next year for their RN mobility program and I think this is a good choice...

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I am a St Kate's grad, have my B.S.N. Also attended the U for my first 2 years of college. Have to say that I thought St Kate's had a great nursing program--the instructors were SO great, and everyone really had your best interest and success in mind. True, some clinical skills were left "to learn on the job" (such as IV starts, which honestly you can really only learn by doing over and over "on the job", so it's not that big a deal). Very conservative, feminist vibe. Be prepared for that.

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The reality of the matter is that, because of the way that nurses are educated these days (mainly academically, with minimal clinical experiences), all new nurses will be unprepared for practice. It does not matter which school you choose. certainly some are better and it is good to look at nclex results to see how a school fares. Additionally, talk to people from the places you want to work and see what experiences jobs are looking for. However, most large employers who do hire new grads spend months educating and re-educating new grads, essentially doing what nursing schools seem to have no interest in doing.

Good luck to all new nurses.:nuke:

chupacabra

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Specializes in Geriatrics.

I have been attending St. Kate's since Fall of 2006 and I LOVE IT. They teach you to be a strong, successful woman. I recommend it to anyone. The teachers actually want you to learn and be great role models to other women. Before attending St. Kate's I was at small community college, there you were just a face in the crowd. At St.Kate's you are one of many women in a sisterhood. We all challenge each other to be better and succeed more. I am so proud to say that one day I will graduate with these stronger, ambitious women, and we have St.Kate's to thanks for that.

Heather

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Specializes in Tele, OB, public health.

I second Heather's comments on St Kate's - I received my B.A at the St Paul campus in 2006 thru their weekend college, and after determining that I did in fact want to become and RN, I am now enrolled in the Minneapolis ADN program.

I adore St Kate's- they bend over backwards to assist all women, especially those who have to work full time in addition to being moms, etc. with completing their education.

yes, it is more expensive, but there is a reason why I chose to return as a "Katie" when I could of easily enrolled in MCTC, or other less expensive regional programs.

I am alarmed by some comments on here suggesting that it is militant , anti-male etc.

You con be pro female without being anti-man. The truth is when all of us crazy feminists get together, believe it or not we spend little to no time discussing men- we instead concentrate on talking about the issues relevant to our lives, how WE can Help OURSELVES and eachother succeed etc.

Any man who has felt his "manhood" in danger on St Kate's campus obvioulsy has some issues of their own to work out- who are these threatening females? The Nuns who work there, most of whom are 50plus years old? LOL.

I would strongly recommend St Kates to anyone. It has an excellent staff, faculty, and great job prospects upon graduating.

Finally I submit this article from St Kates alumni mag about "The Men of St Kates" and their feelings on it.

http://www.stkate.edu/scan/08-jan/article4.html

Enjoy:nuke:

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