Galen College of Nursing?

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Hello, all! I just recently got accepted into Galen College of Nursing in St. Pete, FL. I'm concerned, however, about the whole accreditation thing. To be honest, I don't even know what being accredited means. :/ I know the only ones that matter are the CCNE and NLNAC accreditation. I was hoping to go to USF to get my BSN, but I was informed that the credits at Galen will not transfer there. I was really bummed out about that, because Galen informed me that they were accredited, by SACS accreditation, so I could go to any 4 year college for my BSN. The admissions guy at USF warned me not to get too far into the program if it is not accredited, because if I wanna go further with my education (which I do) I'll basically have to start over from scratch! :( I've heard pretty good things about Galen, and I know people who go there that love it. I just don't want to have to start over again...Can anyone help guide me?

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There is regional accredidation and national accredidation. Regional is better and Sacs is regional.

Basically Galen's accredidation right now is National, but they're still in the process to become Sacs. In the information book they gave you it has Sacs phone number and you can call and ask where they stand in their accredidation process. After they obtain the Sacs they'll go onto the NLNAC accredidation application, which doesn't take as long as the Sacs.

Now having to start from scratch isn't entirely true (even with a national accredidation). You are just limited to the number of schools you can go to (mostly private schools), I know University of Tampa will also accept your ADN for their bridge program. I have a friend in another nursing program (Concorde) in Tampa that has a National accredidation. She graduates in July or August and is already enrolled at UT for her RN-BSN Bridge.

I went to the 'Open House' last night at Galen and asked close to 50 questions. I'm going to go take my Pax-RN and hopefully start in the July class. Which class are you going to be starting in?

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Specializes in Urgent Care, Oncology.

I currently attend Galen and actively participate in the SAC. We just had a meeting yesterday and SACS was brought up. The process is still on going but it looks good. I did the research myself and I have confidence that there will be no issue. The Dean said that Galen - St. Pete exclusively is going for their NLNAC! This is great news!

Who did you speak to at USF? I have an email from the CON that says they will accept Galen nursing credits but not the pre-reqs. Do you already have a degree? Feel free to message me and we can chat!

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hi my sister lives in st pete and did galan loved it she had the option to stay and cont he rn but w 3 kids needed to work

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Specializes in Informatics; Telemetry/Med Surg.

How does it work if you get your RN from Galen and then the school is accepted for SACS and NLNAC - would your classes be grandfathered or no?

I'm also on the fence of signing up to Galen because I would also like to get by Bachelor's from USF. I currently have my BS in Business Management but I don't think my GPA is strong enough for their 2nd degree program and obviously I have no work experience in medical - IT I have 6+ years.

I'm just confused so I have an email into USF asking exactly what they'll accept from Galen. I want to sing up for Galen and get started on the program, get a job and start at USF... but I don't want to have to retake everything I did at Galen.

Anyway... this just really sucks, lol!

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Specializes in Urgent Care, Oncology.

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Thank you guys so much for all of your feedback! I'm actually into my 5th quarter at Galen now, so needless to say, I've been busy! Apparently, we are supposed to receive our SACs accreditation in June, which will allow us to transfer credits to four year colleges. They are also in the process of getting their NLNAC, but that'll be a longer process. Those who graduate after we receive the SACs will be grandfathered into the accreditation! :D Thankfully, I have taken my prereqs at HCC, so I'm in the clear for that! ^^;

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Specializes in LTC, SSU, LTACH.

Galen did receive their SACS accreditation in June 2013 which allows you to transfer credits to other universities. It will retro back to anyone who graduated from Galen in January 2013 forward.

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I just got into galens January class..

Any suggestions on how to stay positive will help 0_o very nervous. Also where is the best place to purchase books.

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Specializes in HIV, Psych, GI, Hepatology, Research.

Erica1223 I borrowed almost all of my books from a friend who graduated from Galen but I got the rest from Amazon or I rented non-nursing ones from Barnes and noble. Usually students post their books for sale in the student lounge which is a cheap route to buy them.

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Specializes in HIV, Psych, GI, Hepatology, Research.

And to stay positive just clarify every assignment band due date, read the material and study. Stay on top of everything and use good time management. If you fall behind you will start to feel overwhelmed and get stressed out even more. The HESI review books help condense info and make studying easier. When choosing going out or studying - choose studying :-) it will pay off in the end.

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Thanks.. ya I'm a mom of two and never go out so I would not have a problem with having a nice night out lol but I am just hoping I can contain all this information I'm about to Learn this is my life time goal and I cannot believe it's actually happening :)

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