Does nursing school matter?

djksjdalksjf · Sep 18, 2018

Check with the BON in the state you plan to move to that you will be allowed to take the NCLEX there after having after having attended that school with that curriculum.

Based on what you said this is not a school I would attend.

But if the BON approves and you are able to pass your NCLEX without that education, more power to you. Once you pass the NCLEX in that state that's all employers really care about.

TheSquire, DNP, APRN, NP · Sep 25, 2018

"Not having specialty preceptorships" sounds very fishy to me - do they make everyone do med-surg for their capstones?

Also, I'm not sure I'd want to be a new grad looking for work associated with a school that few local hospitals even want to deal with.

llg, PhD, RN · Sep 25, 2018

I would definitely avoid that school. We have some schools in my town that are not very good -- and my hospital does not allow them to use our hospital for clinicals and almost never hires their recent graduates. I feel sorry for those students who attend those schools, mistakenly believing that they are going to get jobs in the better hospitals in town. They won't.

Don't be one of those students who gets their careers off to a bad start. Go to a school with a good reputation so that you will be welcomed as a student and as a new grad someday.

Orion81RN · Sep 25, 2018

Run. Run far and fast.

akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P · Sep 25, 2018

Hello, so I am planning to apply to a BSN program this summer and I just found out that this program does not have a preceptorship program anymore and does not have any specialty area clinical rotations. I read some reviews that this school is not welcome at some clinical sites as well. It is also a fairly new and small school. Will this hurt me in anyway when it comes time to apply for a job? I will not be staying in state once I graduate if that matters.

These things are red flags that the program is in trouble. Serious trouble. If this is a private, for profit program, this should be even more troubling. While you may be considering going to an out of state location for a job, you should worry that your prospective program may not be considered a qualified program for you to get a license in that other state even if they remain open long enough for you to get the BSN they offer. Remember that one of the things you can put on your Resume regarding your education is the rotations you completed. If you have none listed, your future employers have little to weigh your Resume with, and if they do a little research about your program and find it's wanting... your application could very likely be tossed out in favor of a more rounded/experienced/appropriate candidate.

Just something to consider... and do so very carefully.

TheDudeWithTheBigDog, ADN, RN · Sep 27, 2018

These things are red flags that the program is in trouble. Serious trouble. If this is a private, for profit program, this should be even more troubling. While you may be considering going to an out of state location for a job, you should worry that your prospective program may not be considered a qualified program for you to get a license in that other state even if they remain open long enough for you to get the BSN they offer. Remember that one of the things you can put on your Resume regarding your education is the rotations you completed. If you have none listed, your future employers have little to weigh your Resume with, and if they do a little research about your program and find it's wanting... your application could very likely be tossed out in favor of a more rounded/experienced/appropriate candidate.
Just something to consider... and do so very carefully.

A lot of times it can just be from being a new school in too competitive of an area, that doesn't automatically mean that they're bad.

That aside, yeah, some jobs are going to refuse to hire any new graduates from certain schools. Those are jobs that you don't even want to work at if you graduated from their favorite school. Regardless of where you went to school, what matters is that you have your experience in your clinicals, and that you're able to pass the test to get licensed. If the rest matters to a future job, like what school you went to for their decision on if you can be hired or not, really think about if that's a job worth working... because to me, that sounds like a job that's going to expect you to almost immediately perform at the level of an experienced nurse.

llg, PhD, RN · Sep 27, 2018

A lot of times it can just be from being a new school in too competitive of an area, that doesn't automatically mean that they're bad.
That aside, yeah, some jobs are going to refuse to hire any new graduates from certain schools. Those are jobs that you don't even want to work at if you graduated from their favorite school. Regardless of where you went to school, what matters is that you have your experience in your clinicals, and that you're able to pass the test to get licensed. If the rest matters to a future job, like what school you went to for their decision on if you can be hired or not, really think about if that's a job worth working... because to me, that sounds like a job that's going to expect you to almost immediately perform at the level of an experienced nurse.

Not necessarily. It can also mean that the school is so bad that reputable hospitals won't have anything to do with it. And they know that their new grads have been poorly prepared. Those hospitals may be the most desirable to work for -- and they have so many applicants, they can afford to be picky.

We have some schools like that in my region. The top hospitals will not work with those schools because they don't have to.