Deconness Scam?

[MSBOM]

I spoke to Deconness several times today. I asked about the clinicals. First they told me worry about that LATER in the program. I asked again how would I do the clinicals? They told me call the hospitals in your town. Deconness told me that your local hospitals will do the TRAINING WITH YOU. I said they just do this for free? They said yes. Now my wife is an RN and I can tell you that they DON'T do training for people off the street. Hell there would be a line out the door for free Nursing School! Even when schools have students at the hospital they work with the instructor ONLY not the Nurse working at the hospital. So I made 7 or 8 call to local hospitals and they said NO WAY!!! Will not happen. I think the Deconness program would be great if it works. So I guess one question would be has anyone found a place to give them free Nursing School in their town???? FYI on the forth call they gave me a number of a place about 40 miles from here I called them they had idea what I was talking about and never heard of the School. Also I asked can a distant education student fly in and do the clinicals at the same place that the on campus students. They said NO they don't allow distant ed students at their clinicals. Can anyone cast some light on this?

Thanks

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Did you ever check to ensure that Deaconess was properly accredited?

[Little Panda RN, ASN, RN]

Sounds like a scam to me! I am a distance eduction student through a technical college in minnesota. We have students traveling as far away as chicago to do thier clinicals in this state. If you havent started this program and are just thinking about it, then dont do it. What reputable college would give you such a run around. The college I go to gives us two choices for clinicals, Grand Forks North Dakota (just over the river) and Bemidji Minnesota. We have clinical instructors at each site. Check into this school more before you sign on. Let us know how it all turns out, best of luck to you. Oh Yeah, we can also do our clinicals with the on campus students if approved by the school.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Something funny just occurred to me. I remember reading one of Deaconess' ads and even going to their site about a year and a half ago. Something about that 'school' just seems a bit too fishy...

[BBFRN, BSN, PhD]

They are accredited. Check with your local hospitals to see if you can do a nurse externship with one of them.

[sunnyjohn]

Guys, there are people on this board that completed the Deaconess program. They graduated, took the NCLEX and are now practicing nurses in their communities.

Deaconess in not for everyone. It works best for the EXCEPTIONALLY MOTIVATED go-getter.

The student must establish their own relationship with a local hospital, nursing home and clinical facility in order to complete the required clinical hours. In my conversations with Deaconess I was told it was best to work out those issues and make early attempts to line up clinical facilities BEFORE entering the program and putting out any money. They did offer some leads but made it clear the ultimate responsibility was mine.

From what I have been told by clinical students on on this board through posts and private conversations, some communities are more accepting of outside clinical students and it works best if you have worked there as and aide or agree to a work commitment after licensing.

Is the school accredited? Yes, both by it's regional association of school and colleges and by a few nursing bodies (though not all states accept the program) Is the distance program unconventional? Very.

Bottom line- Do your research and practice due diligence before you enroll in ANY nursing program, distance or conventional.

[fry.girl]

I am one of those DCN students that is currently in my third semester of this program. I obtained support from a local hospital through an externship and have had a wonderful experience. I had to contact a handful of facilities to find the one that was willing to work with but overall the process was not difficult. I think being able to properly communicate with a decisionmaker regarding the type of support you are looking for from the facility is key in being successful.

There are many posts on this board regarding how to go about obtaining "clinical sponsorship" or an "externship" from a hospital local to you. One thing I would suggest is obtaining some good information and understanding regarding how the DCN program works before making phone calls to hospitals that you would be interested in receiving support from, otherwise you may just burnout all your bridges before you even get started.

Here is a link to one of many posts regarding how to obtain clinical support for DCN...

https://allnurses.com/forums/f125/need-information-regarding-deaconess-clinicals-93226.html?highlight=director+education

Cheri :)

[rclimbr]

Does anybody know any thing about the BSN program at Deaconnes. I applied for the online ASN and was put on the wait list. No one can tell me how long that list is. I think i am going for the BSN.

[LTNurse]

Hi,

Yes, they are accredited; I graduate from Deaconess next semester with my ASN and I did all my clinical at the local hospital with a preceptor; to be more exact I have done 432 clinical hours at my local hospital so far and I have more to do next semester but it isn't as simple as it sounds; a lengthy contract has to be drawn with the hospital and it takes a while to get this done since it is a legal document and not all hospitals are willing to do it. Also you have to fly to St. Louis each semester at the end to spend sometime with your instructors at a hospital in St. Louis and that's what they call validation so it's about six trips to St. Louis. If you are a local student living in St. Louis you do your clinical with a clinical group at the same hospitals as their classroom students even if you are an online student; over half of my classes are online but they live in St. Louis. Deaconess can work out but it takes allot of effort on the part of the student and it can be very expensive as well. Overall I'm happy with my education and even happier to graduate next semester :-)

LTNurse

[over30nursestudent]

The school is not a scam. It is fully accrediated by the NLN and accepted by many state's BON. I live in Michigan and my BON said no problem. As far as clinical rotations, you do have to call around to different facilities and get the Right Department to speak with and all of their contact info. Deaconess has a clinical liason that assists students securing the clinical sites and sends all the proper legal contract info too them. You do however have to be an Accepted student for the liason to speak to the facility. AS far as the preceptors, many RNs that are interested in teaching are more open to the idea. It just depends on where you call. I find that Bigger Hospitals or VA Hospitals are more open to the idea. The bottom line is this... How bad do you want it? How long do you want to wait on a list that is considerable (in may cases years) I personally will start Deaconess in Jan!!!!!!!!

[Jo Dirt]

Something funny just occurred to me. I remember reading one of Deaconess' ads and even going to their site about a year and a half ago. Something about that 'school' just seems a bit too fishy...

It is a real school. The cost is outrageous, though, and I don't care how much you think you will make as an RN it is never going to be easy paying back that kind of money (around $26,000 for an associate degree).

I went the Excelsior route. A lot cheaper but the place is a joke and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who isn't some kind of masochist. The so-called clinical lab left me so traumatized I've not been the same since. It was more like the Gong Show.

Anyway, if at all possible I would suggest a traditional route.