Frontier NPs not well trained?

[acpmoreno]

I went through a lot to decide on which online FNP program to attend. I even made a spread sheet. For many different reasons, I decided on Frontier School of Nursing. I know many nurse practitioners and midwives that have attended this program and have good things to say about it.

So here is my problem...one of the midwives at my place of work is a teacher and clinical instructor for another university. She told me I should absolutely avoid Frontier because the students are not well prepared for clinicals and even went so far as to tell me that they just seem clueless. She also said that her place of work will not accept students from Frontier for clinicals. This worries me...

I am hoping to hear from Frontier students or people who have experience with Frontier students if they think that Frontier prepares students for FNP practice?

Thank you,

Amy

[klone, MSN, RN]

My only experience with their program is with CNMs. One way that Frontier is different from other programs is that they do their clinical rotation at the very end of the program, and it typically lasts 4-6 months. Other programs will have 3-6 week clinical rotations interspersed throughout the program. As a result, when Frontier students go into their clinical, they have a much steeper learning curve AT THE BEGINNING, because they're brand new to hands-on practice. So yeah, in the first few weeks, they may not seem very well-prepared, compared to other programs. But they have 4+ months ahead of them to become proficient.

So, in summary, in my direct observation, Frontier students are less prepared at the beginning of the clinical experience, but the length of the clinical allows them to become more than proficient, and certainly as proficient as any other program's students.

For CNM students, the only other program my facility takes, other than the program affiliated with the hospital, is Frontier.

[Mookiepsychnp]

I have been considering their DNP but have concerns over their national accreditation. They are accredited by ACEN which appears to at risk for loss of recognition.