Is it worth it?

Editorial Team / Admin · Jul 29, 2018

Moved to Pre-Nursing forum.

I have nothing to offer re: an opinion on the two schools you are considering.

You might consider doing a site search of each school, for comments and peoples' experiences.

Enter key words in the upper right-hand corner and click Search.

That is how I found some information for your second question, that of a job in San Francisco.

Here is a link to one of a few threads I found: https://allnurses.com/california-nursing/questions-for-san-1074165.html

Good luck!

jolil, BSN, RN · Jul 29, 2018

Sorry for posting in the wrong section! And thanks for the info! The link you attached is really helpful!

araew2129, ADN · Jul 29, 2018

Is your first option a BSN program? If so, that would be my choice given the California market.

prenursing123 · Jul 30, 2018

In a competitive market like the Bay Area, I would say BSN. Most new grad programs will have BSN as a requirement to even apply. It is extremely difficult for new grad nurses to get a job in SF. For example: 8,000+ new grad (BSN and MSN) nurses applied to Ucsf for only 70 positions for the most recent application period.

So ABSN at SMU if

1. You want to start working right away with a better chance of landing a higher paying job

2. Better chance of staying in this area

3. More job opportunities

Community if

1. You don't mind possibly relocating for your first year of acute care experience

2. You can graduate almost debt free!

But also remember time is money. You can get a head start in experience and making $$ with the 1 year option versus the 2 year option. Good luck with whatever you decide! You definitely have an advantage in the job market with your background!

kbrn2002, ADN, RN · Jul 30, 2018

Is the accelerated program a BSN? Or does the lower cost city college option have an associated school that offers the RN to BSN option? I ask because from everything I hear anecdotally the Bay ares is notoriously difficult to find a job as a new grad even with a BSN and the cost of living there is sky high. Of course since you already live there you are accustomed to the high COL but not having a BSN in hand as a new grad could definitely limit your job options. Not that there wouldn't be jobs available with an associates degree, but maybe not the jobs you want, depends of course on what type of nursing job your eventual goal is.

SanDiFrangles, RN, NP, CNS · Jul 30, 2018

I may be able to provide some help. I relocated to the Bay Area about five years ago and currently work as both a bedside RN and as nursing school faculty at one of the nursing schools in the area (not mentioned in your comparison). I've "job shopped" as a travel RN quite frequently in the area and have worked at CPMC, John Muir, Eden, & UCSF. I haven't worked at Kaiser.

I'm familiar with SMU and CCSF. If your planning on working at the bedside is echo our colleagues recommendation that RN employment in the Bay Area is competitive and that most employers prefer BSNs. There are always exceptions. In terms of overall cost, and if your not in a hurry completing training at CCSF would likely be the most cost effective. Many students get trained there and go on to pursue a BSN in an RN-BSN program. It might save on money but would take longer. On the other side, completing the ABSN program would be the minimal amount of time but perhaps cost you more $ in the long run. So I might sit down and crunch some numbers. For CCSF factor in the cost of the CCSF program and a RN-BSN program.

California as a whole has a huge deficite in nursing schools which is the reason why many nurses are educated outside the state.

The job market: I came to SF with acute care ICU experience and I found the market to be fairly challenging. It's not impossible if you have experience but for new grads it's a little rough IMO. If your experienced, then the transition is a bit easier. With larger employers, it sometimes easier to come in as a traveler and then get hired on as staff since HR departments are inundated with applications at times.

As for previous experience outside the US, you have to reasonably consider whether that experience is translatable to the US system. I have a friend who moved from another country who had a hard time getting a job in the ICU due to the technological gap between the two systems. But once he completed a graduate program here, he was able to work in an acute care telemetry unit. Truth be told, I think his issue stemmed from his undergraduate degree not being verifiable or accredited in the states - not so much his experience.

As far as the schools by quality. I think they are both good schools; SMU will give you more 1:1 attention but you'll also pay more, plus you get a BSN. Also - since cost is faily low or free for CCSF, I've heard that they are very strict on student progress. They're more willing to drop students from the program who don't meet the academic expectations.

Best of luck, overall you'll succeed I'm sure !

MyAimIsTrue, BSN · Jul 31, 2018

How about a CSU for a BSN in 2.5-3 years? It will be 1/3 the cost of Samuel Merritt. Do you have to stay in San Francisco? There's SFSU, CSUEB, SJSU, Sonoma State...I think state universities are the best deal around!

jolil, BSN, RN · Aug 20, 2018

Thank you all for your advice! (Sorry for such late reply. I was busy in choosing and registering at city colleges /online courses to get all the prerequisites done this fall before I apply.)

The first option (Samuel Merritt University) offers an accelerated Bachelor of Nursing degree while the other one is an associated degree. Based on everyone's recommendation, a Bachelor degree in nursing would be a better choice.

jolil, BSN, RN · Aug 20, 2018

I may be able to provide some help. I relocated to the Bay Area about five years ago and currently work as both a bedside RN and as nursing school faculty at one of the nursing schools in the area (not mentioned in your comparison). I've "job shopped" as a travel RN quite frequently in the area and have worked at CPMC, John Muir, Eden, & UCSF. I haven't worked at Kaiser.
I'm familiar with SMU and CCSF. If your planning on working at the bedside is echo our colleagues recommendation that RN employment in the Bay Area is competitive and that most employers prefer BSNs. There are always exceptions. In terms of overall cost, and if your not in a hurry completing training at CCSF would likely be the most cost effective. Many students get trained there and go on to pursue a BSN in an RN-BSN program. It might save on money but would take longer. On the other side, completing the ABSN program would be the minimal amount of time but perhaps cost you more $ in the long run. So I might sit down and crunch some numbers. For CCSF factor in the cost of the CCSF program and a RN-BSN program.
California as a whole has a huge deficite in nursing schools which is the reason why many nurses are educated outside the state.
The job market: I came to SF with acute care ICU experience and I found the market to be fairly challenging. It's not impossible if you have experience but for new grads it's a little rough IMO. If your experienced, then the transition is a bit easier. With larger employers, it sometimes easier to come in as a traveler and then get hired on as staff since HR departments are inundated with applications at times.
As for previous experience outside the US, you have to reasonably consider whether that experience is translatable to the US system. I have a friend who moved from another country who had a hard time getting a job in the ICU due to the technological gap between the two systems. But once he completed a graduate program here, he was able to work in an acute care telemetry unit. Truth be told, I think his issue stemmed from his undergraduate degree not being verifiable or accredited in the states - not so much his experience.
As far as the schools by quality. I think they are both good schools; SMU will give you more 1:1 attention but you'll also pay more, plus you get a BSN. Also - since cost is faily low or free for CCSF, I've heard that they are very strict on student progress. They're more willing to drop students from the program who don't meet the academic expectations.
Best of luck, overall you'll succeed I'm sure !

@pennccrn

Thank you so much for your insights!!!

For schools, I am mostly looking at CCSF and SMU because of the length of the program and the location but I am open to other program options as long as they are in the Bay Area and the length of the course is appropriate (preferable

As for education, I have a bachelor of health sicence degree and a master degree in endocrinology and diabetes. Both are evaluated as degrees from a regionally accredited institution. And for previous experience, I used to be a clinical dietitian registered in Australia but practiced in Hong Kong for 5 years in different settings. I wondered if these would be helpful in terms of job search in the future or is there anything I can do now to better prepare?

Thanks once again for your advice! It's really insightly.

jolil, BSN, RN · May 17, 2019

Some recent update:

I got into Samuel Merritt University ABSN program and will be starting school soon!!! I have been doing prerequisites since last fall, applied end of last fall semester, and got into the program. Thanks for everyone who contributed to this post ?

quittaRN · Aug 27, 2019

Happy you got accepted to SMU, many of my coworkers went there and they really loved it and valued their education. I wish you the best of luck in school and finding a job.