LPN to RN Online Openings

chevyv, BSN, RN · Aug 30, 2008

I called and requested info. I didn't see that they are accredited though. I'll see if I can look them up. You do need to have worked full time for 6 months or part time for 1 yr (which leaves this newbie out for a few months). As I lean more, I'll post unless someone can share more. Thanks for the heads up. I was online last night searching for online programs and this one never came up.

SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN · Aug 30, 2008

I certainly looks legitimate - tutition rates are lower for county residents, which leads me to assume a government connection. And they're cheap!

PMFB-RN, RN · Aug 31, 2008

I called and requested info. I didn't see that they are accredited though. I'll see if I can look them up. You do need to have worked full time for 6 months or part time for 1 yr (which leaves this newbie out for a few months). As I lean more, I'll post unless someone can share more. Thanks for the heads up. I was online last night searching for online programs and this one never came up.

*** They are NLN accredited. I looked them up. Go here: and scroll down to Pratt.

http://www.nlnac.org/Forms/directorySearch.asp

luv4nursing · Aug 31, 2008

The bridge program I completed was online. Its in Orlando FL and you do have to be present for exams(midterms and finals) and you have clinicals once a week. It would be an option for people in FL or maybe even GA if you were able to come to Orlando once a week for a year. We also had a practicum where you had to do 12 shifts with a precepter at the end, and most people did 3-4 shifts a week to complete them.

the web site is http://www.valenciacc.edu. The program starts each January and finishes in December. I believe the application deadline is Oct 1.

calliesue · Sep 12, 2008

Queen Jean on the Kansas form will probably pm you if you ask her for program details. Its legit. ( Re Prat )

ngrshm · Oct 21, 2008

I clicked on the link, and it says that the page cannot be displayed. Is the program legit? I'm in a dilemma because I won't be able to start school this May 2009. I'll have to wait until May 2010, only because I won't be finished w/ A&P II by Nov. which is when they release applications, they review them and begin acceptance in Jan. but the program doesn't start until May. It's crappy. I'll be finished by May but they begin acceptance to early. Which I don't like, I don't want to wait that long. I would like to get into a program now. Are you required to be present for midterms/final exams and clinicals? I understand that the program is online but I don't understand how they would do the clinical portion.

BBFRN, BSN, PhD · Oct 22, 2008

Thread moved to Distance Learning forum to encourage more responses.

kate930 · Oct 22, 2008

It's been a while since this thread was originally started and I was curious if anyone had looked into their program and what kind of information you received.

I did just look around their website and they still have the "openings" on their website, so I called the nurse recruiters and left a voicemail asking them to call me back.

I'll post what I learn and let ya'll know :)

Oh.... I live in North Carolina. Just thought I'd mention this since I'd be looking at the online program, and just in case anyone else was in a similar boat as me :)

queenjean · Oct 24, 2008

I did my LPN to RN through them. Yes, they are NLN accredited. Yes, they are legit. Basically it is a community college (in Kansas many community colleges offer LPN certifications and ASN degrees) that has decided to offer an on line program. They continue to offer a classroom based program as well. My diploma/degree doesn't say anything about graduating from an on line program--I graduated from Pratt Community College's nursing program. I live about 260 miles from Pratt.

Here is how it works. Once you are accepted, you have to take a two hour transition course--I think it is 3 wks long or so. At the time I was ****** I had to do it, but in retrospect I was glad--it worked out a lot of the computer kinks, got you into the on line mentality, got you into the swing of school again. You did have to go to campus once (I can't remember if it was one day or two days back to back) for this class.

Then there were two semesters. There is no summer break in between the semesters, they just go on through. I started in January, graduated in November.

The way it works is this--each semester you do all the theory on line first. So the first three+ months of the semester, you read your books and viewed the power point presentations, took assigned tests through a secure website, turned in your homework via email, there was a discussion board you could ask questions of your instructors on, and there was also one just for the students in your class. You take your final at a proctored location. If you have a university in your area, that would probably work. I took mine in my hometown at a state university's testing center.

Then you had clinicals. The hospital based clinicals for our class were in Hutchinson, Wichita, and Topeka. I live in NE Kansas, and I was in the Topeka clinical group. Clinicals at the hospital were 4 weeks long, 10 hour days, three days a week. My group's were Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 6:30am to 4:30 pm. The first semester you also have a pediatric clinical that you set up on your own, in your area (32 hours total, I think). The second semester, in addition to the four weeks in the hospital, you have one week of clinicals at Larned State Hospital (a worthwhile experience) that you have to go to, and one week--I thnk 36 hours--of community health, set up in your own area (I did the local health department).

Additionally there were 3-4 weekends total that we had to travel to Pratt for testing, checkoffs, a burn class at a Wichita hospital's burn unit (which was completely worth it) and an NCLEX review class that is built into the curriculum and which I b#*$@ed and moaned about being forced to take (I'm a good student, I don't need to drive down here to do this!), but which I think really did help me. I passed first try with 75 questions.

I don't know how it would work to have someone from out of state do the program. I guess you would have to fly in each week for clinicals, and also for the 3-4 weekends during the year that the program required. Wichita has a large airport, it would be easy to fly in there and rent a car to drive to Pratt (40 or so miles west of Wichita). If you lived within driving distance, you could certainly drive it.

I was lucky, I lived within driving distance of my hospital clinicals. In addition, I have family out near Pratt, so I stayed with them when I had to drive down for weekends. I had classmates from extreme NW Kansas who drove in to Hutchinson and stayed in hotels for their clinicals.

I chose this program because I needed to work during school. I carry our insurance and I work full time, 12 hour night shifts. There is a local bridge program, but it was brand new, and the school has a history of being terribly disorganized, assigning clinical groups at the last minute, etc. With Pratt, I knew in February what time and where my April clinicals were.

queenjean · Oct 24, 2008

It's kind of confusing, so let me give you a breakdown of how *my* classes and clinicals were.

Nursing Transition: Mid November 2006 to beginning December 2006. Everything on-line except for one weekend in Pratt with tests and checkoffs.

First Semester (spring 2007):

January-beginning of April: Theory is on-line.

MidApril-MidMay: Clinicals at Hospital (with an instructor from Pratt) Thursday-Saturday from 6:30am-4:30pm.

One week in May: 32 hours of pediatric clinicals in a hospital or ped office in your area, no instructor from Pratt, just a preceptor from the facility you choose.

I think I travelled to Pratt for one weekend during this semester; I can't remember now!

Next Semester (Summer/Fall 2007):

June-beginning of September: Theory on-line.

2nd week in September: Four 8 hour days of clinicals at Larned State Hospital with an instructor from Pratt.

MidSeptember-MidOctober: Clinicals at hospital with instructor from Pratt, Thursday-Saturday from 6:30am-4:30pm.

One week in October: 36 or so hours of Community health in a clinical in your area. I was in a health department in my county for four 8 hour days and then helped with a Saturday flu clinic; no instructor from the college, just a preceptor from the facility.

One day during this semester we had to drive to Wichita for a class on the burn unit at St. Francis Hospital. It was a really great class; it made me wish I lived near a burn unit, I would totally work there.

Twice at the end of this last semester we had weekends in Pratt, mainly doing Kapplan's NCLEX reveiw, also a presentation from the Board of Nursing was to take place during this time, but it ended up being rescheduled--during the last weekend we had our graduation.

I got my ATT in mid-November, because of work I couldn't schedule it until the beginning of December.

Overall I was very satisfied with the program. If anyone has any more questions, you can pm me or post them here. I will mention that this program was much less heavy on care plans than my LPN program--that was a definite plus in my book!!!

J

ngrshm · Oct 24, 2008

Hey could you give me your info so that I can email you... Thanks for the info..