In the emd, does it matter where you get your BSN if its an accredited school?

hamdog · Oct 8, 2013

Just realized I had a typo in my title! Sorry.

loriangel14, RN · Oct 8, 2013

It usually doesn't matter to the employer where you went as long as you have your license.It may make a difference if you were planning on continuing on to get your Masters or something.

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Oct 9, 2013

When it comes to recruitment potential, employers generally have "top picks" in their geographic area - schools that are preferred because of previous good outcomes with new grads from those programs. There may also be schools that are on the "avoid" list due to factors. However, it's highly unlikely that this information would be available to anyone outside the 'hiring loop' but you may be able to uncover some useful data.

Nursing schools are mandated to report various outcome metrics in addition to NCLEX pass rates. This can vary by state. You may want to investigate these to see whether new grad employment rates are available - check with your BON. Schools with higher rates would logically be the 'preferred' programs. Caution -- Do NOT just accept the "PR" from the school, especially if it is a commercial (investor owned) program. This is marketing fluff designed to attract more students (aka tuition revenue).

elkpark · Oct 9, 2013

The trick is, you just never know when you might find yourself in a situation in which it makes a difference, positively or negatively. IMO, people should go to the best schools they can afford (I mean the all-round "best," not the most expensive), not just the quickest or easiest or most convenient choice b/c "it doesn't matter as long as you're licensed" -- that's not always true. Some employers don't care, some do.

llg, PhD, RN · Oct 9, 2013

I strongly agree with HouTx and Elpark on this issue. Many (most?) of the most desirable employers get several applicants for each job opening. They can pick and choose who to hire and won't take just "any warm body with a license." They know from experience which schools produce graduates that make good employees and which schools don't. Their hiring choices will reflect that knowledge.

Of course there are always exceptions. An outstanding individual may have something in their background or personality that is attractive to an employer and get hired even if they come from a school with a lower reputation. Also, the further out from graduation you go, the more the employer will look at your previous employment record and less at the school you attended.

So be careful when choosing a school -- and when interpreting opinions of your local schools. When someone says, "Oh, that's a great school," consider what their position is. Do they work for an institution that you want to work for? Are they in a position to know how graduates are considered by the people who hire new grads at the best employers in your region? Did they graduate from that school and have an emotional need to justify their decision to go there? Do they work for the school in question and they are trying to recruit you? etc. The opinion of someone with no ties to any school in your region, but in a position to know the hiring practices of the best local hospitals is much much more likely to be objective than the opinion of someone who graduated from a particular school and is now working at a facility that is not one of the best in town.

Nonetheless · Oct 18, 2013

Honestly I don't know but when I hear "Devry" or "Kaplan" instead of a reputable state school, I get weary.

I had my psych, peds, and all my rotations in *actual hospitals*. Some schools just throw people into a convalescent home or group home or something for 120 hours and call it a day.

One girl I know preceptored in labor and delivery at her university, and she did not know what a mother baby unit was.

It's stuff like that that sets apart one school from the other.

And IMHO the ADN is void and useless and people should not go for it unless they want to work in a nursing home or something.