Are you trying to figure out your plans for nursing school? Choosing a nursing school takes more effort than just deciding to go. It takes research. It takes knowing your goals. It takes deciding on your priorities, and accepting that some things come with consequences no matter what you decide.
As you consider beginning the journey into nursing, it is very important that you pave the way to success early. There are a lot of choices to be made, and it doesn't matter if you are a fresh new high school graduate or a 45-year old parent considering a second career - you need to consider some things up front. It's frustrating and sad to see, here on allnurses, posts from grads who can't seem to beat the NCLEX, or who have sent out hundreds of resumes, only to get no responses. If all of this time and money is being spent to begin a successful career, how can you increase your chances of meeting that success?
Here are some questions that might be helpful when you start to consider your options for school. This isn't a guaranteed map to success, but if you do take the time to consider all of these things and act on them, you will know that you have put your best effort in.
It's possible this will seem obvious to you, but for some, it comes as a big surprise to some after graduation when they can't find a job. The higher the degree, the better your job options, but the more time and money you have to invest. If you get a diploma RN, you are less likely to get the job of your dreams than an ADN, and an ADN is less likely than a BSN. It's a trade-off - do you spend more time in school to get a better shot at more jobs, or do you spend less time and money, but limit your options?
After you ask yourself these questions, and decide what is more important to you, be prepared to accept the consequences of your choice. You don't want to finish school and enter the job market feeling like it's unfair that others have had experiences you wish you did.
While accreditation is obviously something you need to look for in a school, you also need a school with a great reputation. You need to figure this out before you start applying. If you are able to move to a different area for a better school, you may decide to broaden your search and inquiry. If you can't move, this limitation might be a problem.
That said, find a school and find out: what is the school's reputation? Don't ask your neighbors. Don't ask your parents. Don't ask a guy who you know goes to the hospital a lot. None of those people will be looking at your resume in a few years. Ask the nurses. Ask the doctors. Ask the human resources people at hospitals you like. Ask the people who actually will be looking at your resume.
When someone says to you, "We love grads from XYZ school," that's the school you want to put on your list of places to apply. You should never just apply to a school that is easy to get into. Perhaps the school with the best reputation is the hardest to get into, with a year-long wait list. Would you rather wait a year to get into the program you want? Or would you rather wait a year to get a job after you graduate?
Your potential school's NCLEX pass rate is made public and probably is easy to find on the state board of nursing's website. Look this up!!! If you go to a school with a 50% pass rate, things are not necessarily looking good for your chances when it's your turn to sit for the boards. I know, I know.... "That won't happen to me!" Right? But it can. It is very possible you could be on the wrong side of that statistic.
There are people on allnurses who post that they passed the NCLEX years after they have graduated. If you get through all of school and then you can't pass the NCLEX, that time you spent in school will be meaningless. You need to consider this before you apply to schools. Don't get surprised by this after the fact!
Does the school brag about job placements of their graduates? Ask! If graduates are getting snagged before they walk the stage, this is a school you want to attend.
My own graduation is a week from today. I can't tell you how many fellow graduates have announced they've been hired. They aren't getting terrible jobs, either. They're getting hired places that are top-rated in residency programs in critical care. They're getting placements in their preferred specialties. They're landing the jobs they went into nursing to get, and they're doing it before they graduate.
This is a sign of excellence. This is a sign of a top quality program. These jobs are announced on a bulletin board in the hallway of the building nursing is in. It is so awesome to see new cards get posted on it each day!
This is an important one for your own satisfaction - will you have access to experiences that you feel have really taught you a lot? The thing is, you can get through school just fine with clinical experiences that aren't fantastic. But if good clinical experiences are important to you, you may need to consider traveling. This is especially true in more rural areas. In larger cities, there is more access to facilities that handle higher acuity cases and more complex medical care is possible. In rural areas, your access to facilities in general will be limited, and you may not experience very much at all.
Point in case, where I live, anything complicated gets shipped off to hospitals 2 hours away. We didn't see much. If intense and complex clinical experiences are important to you, you need to determine what is available in your potential programs before you apply. Send an email to department heads or advisors asking where clinicals are for each specialty. Find out of you feel like you will get what you hope to gain from your experiences.
If you want your foot in a door before you graduate, this is the time to stick it in there. Be amazing. Impress the nurses, the charge nurses, the unit managers, your professors. Take challenges head on. Volunteer for any experience you can get. Seek opportunities for learning. Go above and beyond. NETWORK. This is your opportunity to impress people you could work with in the future. You miss this opportunity, you become a name on a list just like every other person sending in a resume.
Nursing school is hard. Don't let yourself get surprised by the lack of job opportunities after graduation. You are about to invest a lot of time and money into something that you want. Imagine all of the big things in life that you would never take on without research first - buying a car, moving to a new city, buying a house... You are choosing a career, and you need to set yourself up for success. I'm not saying the above considerations will guarantee success, but you will at least be improving your chances of it. There is so much more to this than deciding that you might apply to that community college down the road.
Consider your options, consider the consequences. Decide what consequences you are willing to accept, and which ones you are not. If you don't do this soul searching ahead of time, you may find yourself very frustrated in a few years.
With that, I say, best wishes, and good luck! I hope that you find success in all you do!
The nursing program I went to is a for-profit, BUT they worked hard and have earned regional accreditation. Also, they planned ahead for those of us who graduated before they reached that goal and made matriculation agreements with two local, well respected private colleges so those of us who wanted to get our BSN could. Now they have the same accreditation as every state and private college in my state, that hard to get regional accreditation. Now ADN graduates can go to the RN to BSN program of there choice just like the graduates of the community colleges. Also my for-profit alma mater is well respected and does have standards as far as admissions go. Not all for-profits are of the devil, some actually are good schools. And it was a bear to get through. I still have nightmares of my microbiology class, and those darn HESI tests.Yes, many, many, MANY for-profit programs are geared to take your money and give you a worthless degree. The program I went to is not one of them and has, last I checked, a 95% NCLEX pass rate and has now started a RN to BSN program.
WildcatfanRN, proud graduate of Galen College of Nursing one of those evil for-profit schools
Many years ago, though, Galen had a shady reputation. Glad that they've changed!
Yes, #7 happens! There is a school in Indy that is NOT accredited and yet tells prospective students it will be soon. Yeah, no. It's been telling students that for 10 years. And now, with less than a 30% pass rate for the NCLEX, there is no way it will be. Yes, places hire RNs from that school, but rarely and never the primo jobs everyone wants. It also costs more than other schools. I got my BSN from a private university and spent less than those who attend the non-accredited school do for an ADN. They only see the promise of a quick graduation (18 months vs. 4 years) and not the long range outlook.So, one question that MUST be asked, is "Are you accredited now?" Do not accept an answer of "No, but we're working on it. We'll be accredited by the time you graduate."
You have to be careful of asking about accreditation. That particular school told my daughter in laws friend that yes they were accredited. And they are, just not by a regional body or ACEN or CCNE! She thought we were mean when we said run as fast as you can...but now her other friends who went can't pass NCLEX and have student loans they can't possibly pay. Ever. They didn't realize financial aid only covers x amt, some of the paperwork they signed were loans. Unfortunately, they're still on the hook for the loans despite crying "ignorance" of what they were signing. And she was not able to get into a program at any other school either. Low gpa (2.3) and a 30 on teas. She ranted for a while because we dashed her dream and calling of being a nurse. Now another for profit in the area has her going to be a vet tech where she'll easily make more than what an experienced RN makes. I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry.
This is a very important article. Too many times I see people sucked in by the "salespeople" in the admissions dept. of a school. Here is a hint, if the school is running commercial after commercial while Jerry Springer is on, probably not a good school to go to. Please investigate and spend your money wisely. School needs to be looked at as an investment in yourself. Invest in yourself and do it well. Don't end up with over $100,000 in student loans that will take you forever to pay back and cost as much as a house payment. You will basically be working for several years just to pay the interest on these loans. I prefer not to live in debt and it has served me well over the years.
If the commercial states anything about "cute scrubs", run the other direction
My question would Brown Mackie be one of these "schools" I'm highly interested in them because they don't have a wait list to the nursing program.Although I'm not doubting myself but I just want a straight through start to finish program... And thoughts on this please help..
Look at how they are accredited. In IN, the last time I looked, which was a while back admittedly, they did not have CCNE or ACEN. This can limit ability to transfer attempts for BSN. In their small print, it also stated that credits were not likely to transfer. So you would likely not be working in acute care if that's what you want. Do your research. Also look at your states BoN for pass rates and contact them for school standing if you have any doubts. Do NOT ask or listen to one of their salesman for answers! Their job is to get you in the door and paying for classes!
Chrisley
21 Posts
Ixchel, I 💙 you. Ty for this article!