Go to a UPMC school or not?(for job placement)

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Hi all,

I am currently attending Westmoreland County Community College to take my sciences for nursing. I have already taken these classes with my prior BS degree, but they do not count because they are older than 10 years, so I'm taking them again! :mad:

Anyway - I am in the process of applying to nursing schools and am concerned about the UPMC monopoly on Pittsburgh. If I do NOT go to a UPMC school of nursing (I am most interested in UPMC Mercy), will I have a harder time finding a job at a UPMC facility?

I am deciding between UPMC Mercy, WCCC or Citizens School of Nursing (affiliated with West Penn Allegheny Health System). One is UPMC, the other WPAHS and one affiliated with no hospital system. Given the all out "war" between UPMC and WPAHS in Pgh, will I have trouble finding a job at one hospital system if I've gone to school at the other's nursing program? Or will going to WCCC leave me out of BOTH hospital systems because they hire their own grads or make me a nice neutral choice? For what it's worth...clinicals at UPMC are at Mercy, at Citizens they are at Alle-Kiski, Forbes and AGH, and at WCCC they are at Westmoreland, Forbes and other Greensburg facilities.

Someone help!

PS...before someone suggests it - I would LOVE to be able to do the accelerated BSN programs here in Pittsburgh, but because of the rigorous schedule (8-10 hours a day, 5 days a week, 13 straight months) and my having 4 kids, that just won't work. While I know no nursing school has a 'relaxed' schedule, I can't be gone 10 hours a day during the summer. Wish I could as it is what I would most prefer to do...

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Specializes in Psych.

I went to Butler County Community College, graduated in may. Most of my classmates are, and myself, have been offered positions or already working for hospitals in the UPMC system.

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Well that is great to hear! So I can assume from this that the community college route would leave options open. I wonder if the same is true with going to a UPMC or WPAHS school? I'd hate to limit my options simply because of which hospital the nursing program is affiliated with....

Glad to hear also that at least right now, new grads are finding jobs!

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Specializes in Psych.

I guess I should have said, of my classmates that have found jobs they have either been in LTC or in the UMPC system. There are quite a few that have not found jobs though. Seems to be picking up since July.

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I just finished my semester at UPMC St. Margaret and we do clinical at St. Margaret for the first level, then move to Magee, Western Pshych and Childrens, we do not do clinical at Mercy.

Good luck in your decision!! I wanted the hospital program over the community college for the more enhanced clinical experience, but everybody's wants and needs are different!

Follow your heart and where you want to go and I bet no matter what you pick, will be the right choice!

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Thanks! I take the PSB on this Friday and I am a nervous wreck about it! Mercynmakes you take the PSB and pass it before you are even allowed to apply to their program. Hopefully I will do ok so then I can apply. I have a pretty high GPA with my BS degree so I think I'd be competitive. But I am a nervous wreck about the PSB! The other two schools require entrance exams too, but different ones! This is stressful! I think my first choice is Mercy and second is WCCC. I like St. Margarets too, but you have to go all summer and I dont think I can do that with my kids.

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St. Margaret's required the PSB before admission, too!! I was scared to death about it. I got in the 90's on everything but the science, I got 78th percentile. I was going to apply to Shadyside as well but you have to be in the 80 percentile in everything and I just missed it.

You can also use the PSB exam to apply to any other UPMC program, the results are good for two years. Just an FYI!! I thought about Shadyside because they have the evening/weekend program, but I am glad I am in St. Margaret's and I also work at the hospital at a casual position. St. Margaret hospital does hire a lot of their grads, however a friend of mine that worked on my floor, graduated CCAC in May, was hired as a GN on 6B, so they do hire outside of the UPMC hospital programs!!

I think you will be just fine on the PSB, especially with a BS already! I am 32 and only had an associates from 10 years ago, so I was out of school with minimal education, so you can do it!!!!! I bought the mcgraw-hill nursing school entrance exam study guide to brush up!

good luck!

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I took the PSB today! Wasn't as bad as I thought. I think I did well in the verb, spacial and math and science. I prepared most for those. The spelling....ugh....who knows. Each line I'd have two that looked right and with the words right next to each other they both looked right!!! I'll just hope for the best on that section. And reading comp was complicated. We only had 15 minutes and I only got 20 questions answered in that time. But she kept saying it was ok to not finish...

We don't get results for 2-3 weeks!....ugh....but overall I think I did fine. Definitely over prepared in math....

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