Duke Nursing, how do I pay for it !!!

CamillusRN, BSN · Mar 8, 2015

I'm a Tar Heel grad, so my opinions may be a bit skewed . . . :)

Unless you're looking at working in a super-saturated area, the school you get your bachelor's at appears to make little difference in terms of hireability (readiness for the real world is a different story). Where you get your MSN/PhD/DNP at is what seems to be more important. I'm fortunate enough to be working in an area where my non-nursing bachelor's already put me pretty far ahead of the competition (which just happens to be middle-of-nowhereville USA), but I'm moving to an area where a BSN/MSN is more in demand. Bridging to a BSN will take as little as 1 year while accessing rural healthcare/medically underserved area scholarships, and then I can progress through to an MSN from a very reputable school in my area with my hospital assisting with the costs.

In short, being strategic can take time, but has the potential to save buku money in the long run. I think NC still had about 22 Critical Access Hospitals/Medically Underserved Communities by the time I moved further inland. CAH's are typically where the name of your first nursing school makes no difference. They also offer a host of unique experiences to start out your early career and can have some very experienced nurses who are more than willing to make up in clinical expertise and competence what your school may have lacked in reputation (plenty of other threads on rural/CAH nursing here on AllNurses).

Whichever direction you choose, best of luck to you!

CCuser · Mar 11, 2015

Good lord!! 60,000 a year? Go to a community college like I did. I make great money and have an awesome job!! What a ripoff!

Farawyn · Mar 11, 2015

"Just a bedside nurse..." ???

"I am a GREAT nurse, not bare minimum..." ???

Wow, I feel bad that I didn't go to Duke. Not.

OP: If you can afford it, great. Congrats on getting in, sincerely! Lots of people can't get in to Duke, and it is a great school. If its going to strap you financially for life, however, it is not worth it. IMO.

mrsboots87 · Mar 11, 2015

"Just a bedside nurse..." ???
"I am a GREAT nurse, not bare minimum..." ???
Wow, I feel bad that I didn't go to Duke. Not.
OP: If you can afford it, great. Congrats on getting in, sincerely! Lots of people can't get in to Duke, and it is a great school. If its going to strap you financially for life, however, it is not worth it. IMO.

My thoughts exactly. Way to go (to that poster) who basically disrespected the majority of US nurses. I am sure that Duke and Hopkins and similar prestigious schools have fantastic educators and great clinical experiences. I can even believe that they are in demand and get multiple job offers based on the brand name of their education. I do NOT, however, believe that means that ALL other non designer school nurses are just "bare minimum" or "just bedside nurses." Those comments are just absurd and speak of an ignorant person I am glad not to know personally.

CarpeDiem'15 · Mar 12, 2015

I do NOT, however, believe that means that ALL other non designer school nurses are just "bare minimum" or "just bedside nurses."

Whew, where to start? First, let's begin with re-reading my post. NOWHERE do I state that all nurses who graduate from "non-designer" schools are inferior. Or that they are all bedside. Or all "bare minimum." That would be an incredibly asinine and ignorant thing to say, and like you I would not want to personally befriend anyone who would hold that view.

What I do state is that graduating from a top nursing program (and doing well in it!) puts nurses in a prime position to grab hold of the most opportunities in their nursing career, whether it's a prestigious grad school, management positions, or beating out the rest of the pack to land that new-grad RN job which is proving very elusive in today's saturated market. Case in point, if you have two new-grad RNs competing for a job where everything is equal except one graduated from a "designer" program like Duke and another from a "non-designer" program, I'm sorry but most likely the RN with ties to Duke will get that job. It is what it is and that is the reality of how every industry in this society operates (nursing, IT, finance, service, education, etc), whether you like it or not.

Second, you need to stop reading too much into the phrase: "just a bedside nurse". There's nothing wrong with being JUST a bedside nurse, if that is where your passion, talents and abilities lie. I apologize if the use of the term "just" somehow made that statement seem derogatory to you, but that was not the intent and if you read that statement in the entire context of my post, I believe it's pretty evident.

As for "bare minimum", that was from a different poster but again, you need to rub that chip off your shoulder and read that different post with an open mind. Never was it stated that ALL other nurses who graduated from "non-designer" schools are bare minimum; instead, the poster is saying, in not-so-many words, that the comprehensive nursing education she received from Duke enabled her to go above and beyond for her patients as a compassionate and intelligent nurse. Which doesn't mean that there aren't nursing schools out there that crank out crappy and definitely "bare minimum" RNs. I've read many posts on AN that complain about the quality of some of these new RNs being churned out by sub-bar diploma / ADN / BSN programs.

ALL of that said... next time take the time to read through the entire post(s) with an open mind and don't put false statements / sentiments in the mouths of the OPs.

dcwang · Mar 12, 2015

if not a state school, I would go to a nationally recognized school that's known for producing good nurses. usually local hospitals will hire students from state schools because they probably did their clinicals there and have connections. however, if a hiring manager does not know a person, but reads the resume, he/she will definitely know the prestige of nursing programs such as Hopkins or Duke.

going to certain schools that are not favored locally or nationally could still hurt. i heard that many facilities in CA will put the resumes of graduates from a certain for-profit university (which I will not name here) on the bottom of the pile.

in traditional Asian culture ranking and prestige and ranking mean everything. Now there's a possibility that I may work in an all-Asian neighborhood or encounter a culturally traditional Asian hiring manager. Then they will definitely care where I went to school and the ranking of my school. The first question people of our culture ask our healthcare provider is always, "where did you go to school?"

PinkEagle · Mar 13, 2015

in traditional Asian culture ranking and prestige and ranking mean everything. Now there's a possibility that I may work in an all-Asian neighborhood or encounter a culturally traditional Asian hiring manager. Then they will definitely care where I went to school and the ranking of my school. The first question people of our culture ask our healthcare provider is always, "where did you go to school?"

You had me until you mentioned race. I'm not sure how that is relevant and furthermore any hiring manager should be hiring people based on their experience and their merits not because of what their culture dictates....because that's a slippery slope that leads to discrimination.

I have personally only benefitted from my schools name maybe once ONLY because the hiring manager was an alumna AND I was more than qualified for the job (a non-nursing job)....but this could all be speculation on my part and it could have just been my merits that got me the job.

dcwang · Mar 13, 2015

@PinkEagle, what I mean is in some cultures, prestige and name of school means everything and they could use that as a basis for hiring.

Farawyn · Mar 13, 2015

Whew, where to start? First, let's begin with re-reading my post. NOWHERE do I state that all nurses who graduate from "non-designer" schools are inferior. Or that they are all bedside. Or all "bare minimum." That would be an incredibly asinine and ignorant thing to say, and like you I would not want to personally befriend anyone who would hold that view.
What I do state is that graduating from a top nursing program (and doing well in it!) puts nurses in a prime position to grab hold of the most opportunities in their nursing career, whether it's a prestigious grad school, management positions, or beating out the rest of the pack to land that new-grad RN job which is proving very elusive in today's saturated market. Case in point, if you have two new-grad RNs competing for a job where everything is equal except one graduated from a "designer" program like Duke and another from a "non-designer" program, I'm sorry but most likely the RN with ties to Duke will get that job. It is what it is and that is the reality of how every industry in this society operates (nursing, IT, finance, service, education, etc), whether you like it or not.
Second, you need to stop reading too much into the phrase: "just a bedside nurse". There's nothing wrong with being JUST a bedside nurse, if that is where your passion, talents and abilities lie. I apologize if the use of the term "just" somehow made that statement seem derogatory to you, but that was not the intent and if you read that statement in the entire context of my post, I believe it's pretty evident.
As for "bare minimum", that was from a different poster but again, you need to rub that chip off your shoulder and read that different post with an open mind. Never was it stated that ALL other nurses who graduated from "non-designer" schools are bare minimum; instead, the poster is saying, in not-so-many words, that the comprehensive nursing education she received from Duke enabled her to go above and beyond for her patients as a compassionate and intelligent nurse. Which doesn't mean that there aren't nursing schools out there that crank out crappy and definitely "bare minimum" RNs. I've read many posts on AN that complain about the quality of some of these new RNs being churned out by sub-bar diploma / ADN / BSN programs.
ALL of that said... next time take the time to read through the entire post(s) with an open mind and don't put false statements / sentiments in the mouths of the OPs.

I never said I was quoting the same poster. I was "just" throwing out things I read that rub me the wrong way.

All things being equal, yes, a "better school" may very well give you the edge. I said, Duke is a great school. I am completely honest in saying my grades would NEVER have gotten me in to Duke, and I was sincerely congratulatory to OP.

All things being equal, however. I tend to kill it in interviews. I have a sparkling personality that cannot be overlooked, clearly.

No chip on this shoulder. I have a job I love, I have been through school, and I am currently IN school. I was "just" putting my 2 cents in.

Oh, and my son is about to enter college, and just got in to UNC. Duke's rival!

Jules A, MSN · Mar 13, 2015

I need all the edge I can get to beat out other BSNs and I know that Hopkins will give me that. [/quote']
Are you really sure about that? There are quite a few schools in this area with very good reputations. If you aspire to work at Hopkins for whatever they are paying floor nurses now you would likely get a job there but don't count on being all that impressive at other area institutions simply based on getting your BSN at Hopkins.

PinkEagle · Mar 13, 2015

Whew, where to start? First, let's begin with re-reading my post. NOWHERE do I state that all nurses who graduate from "non-designer" schools are inferior. Or that they are all bedside. Or all "bare minimum." That would be an incredibly asinine and ignorant thing to say, and like you I would not want to personally befriend anyone who would hold that view.
What I do state is that graduating from a top nursing program (and doing well in it!) puts nurses in a prime position to grab hold of the most opportunities in their nursing career, whether it's a prestigious grad school, management positions, or beating out the rest of the pack to land that new-grad RN job which is proving very elusive in today's saturated market. Case in point, if you have two new-grad RNs competing for a job where everything is equal except one graduated from a "designer" program like Duke and another from a "non-designer" program, I'm sorry but most likely the RN with ties to Duke will get that job. It is what it is and that is the reality of how every industry in this society operates (nursing, IT, finance, service, education, etc), whether you like it or not.
Second, you need to stop reading too much into the phrase: "just a bedside nurse". There's nothing wrong with being JUST a bedside nurse, if that is where your passion, talents and abilities lie. I apologize if the use of the term "just" somehow made that statement seem derogatory to you, but that was not the intent and if you read that statement in the entire context of my post, I believe it's pretty evident.
As for "bare minimum", that was from a different poster but again, you need to rub that chip off your shoulder and read that different post with an open mind. Never was it stated that ALL other nurses who graduated from "non-designer" schools are bare minimum; instead, the poster is saying, in not-so-many words, that the comprehensive nursing education she received from Duke enabled her to go above and beyond for her patients as a compassionate and intelligent nurse. Which doesn't mean that there aren't nursing schools out there that crank out crappy and definitely "bare minimum" RNs. I've read many posts on AN that complain about the quality of some of these new RNs being churned out by sub-bar diploma / ADN / BSN programs.
ALL of that said... next time take the time to read through the entire post(s) with an open mind and don't put false statements / sentiments in the mouths of the OPs.

Ok FOR ONCE, I want some factual, statistical evidence that refutes your statement, specifically for nurses! I keep hearing about this on these forums from people who justify spending a fortune on an education but I have worked and volunteered in numerous hospitals in the DC metro area and not one of the nurses in the best positions named dropped a top-ten school (not even University of Maryland which is currently ties with Duke but not as expensive!). Show me the stats and then we can have a coversation.

CarpeDiem'15 · Mar 13, 2015

Are you really sure about that?

Yes, I'm very sure about this. :)

There are quite a few schools in this area with very good reputations.

Of which, IMO, Johns Hopkins is the best, and therefore will give me an edge on the other new grad BSNs when it comes time to apply for positions in large acute care hospitals in the DC Metro area.

If you aspire to work at Hopkins for whatever they are paying floor nurses now you would likely get a job there but don't count on being all that impressive at other area institutions simply based on getting your BSN at Hopkins.

As a matter of fact, I do want to work at Hopkins for 3-5 years after I finish my BSN, and then I want to get into a top DNP program. I'm aiming for #1. Please don't knock me for that, or state I have issues with my ego integrity. I assure you I don't. :)

but don't count on being all that impressive at other area institutions simply based on getting your BSN at Hopkins.

Perhaps you'd be right if I was applying as an experienced nurse. But... The fact of the matter is that I will be applying as a new grad. For new grad positions. And in those positions, hiring managers WILL be looking at which school I graduated from, along with my GPA. Since it sounds like you live in this area, you must surely be aware of how saturated the market is with RNs, and how tough it is for new grads to get a foot in the door of reputable acute care hospitals. I don't have the option of relocating for my job, so I will need to do everything I can to get that foot-hold, and the fastest, most expedient way to do it IN THIS AREA and in this market is to get a BSN from Hopkins with a stellar GPA.