Non Nationally accredited Nursing Program

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Hello! So I am considering a nursing program that is Regionally accredited (in CA) but it is not Nationally Accredited (but is going through the process to get reaccredited nationally). I keep hearing rumors though that having a non-nationally accredited degree prevents you from working in a govt. position such as the VA. Is this true? Can getting a degree from this school limit my options in the future? Thanks in advanced!

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Just posting to bump my question up. I'm hoping someone can help me with this please?

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Specializes in ER.

Well...

From what I have seen, the VA wants ACEN/NLNAC or CCNE accredited degrees for nursing. CCNE does not accredit certificate or associate degree programs meaning only the BSN, MSN, or phD programs are accredited. I forget if the post masters certificate programs are accredited or not.

http://www.vacareers.va.gov/assets/common/print/nursing_brochure.pdf

Getting a degree that is not accredited through ACEN or CCNE may potentially limit your career or further schooling down the line. How much is unknown. A lot of people have had zero issues getting jobs or furthering their schooling. In my area, the majority of schools accepted my associate degree program before they were nationally accredited through ACEN. So if my school wasn't ACEN accredited, I would have started an RN to BSN program that would have accepted my schooling and earned the CCNE that way. However, some out of state schools do not accept schools that are not ACEN accredited such as University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

The military may not recognize a nursing degree that isn't CCNE accredited although I think they take ACEN accreditation too now.

So you should begin researching it. CA is a lot more competitive although my area has a ton of nursing school students. None of the students had issues getting their license from the state. There were options to continue on to get a bachelors degree. I did hear of one woman who claimed she couldn't get licensed but I am going to place a bet on she was failing NCLEX. No one was ever given on this one woman who couldn't get licensed so I kind of doubt she exists.

Also, all new programs have to start somewhere. They have to use data from graduating classes in the accreditation process.

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Hi applesxoranges! I got so busy with the application process I forgot to respond to you! Thank you so much for your post though, it was very helpful at the time! I did end up getting accepted into the school and I decided to move forward with them per your suggestion to just get my national accreditation through an RN-BSN program considering the VA is something of future interest to me. I did some hwk and found a few great schools that are both regionally and nationally accredited for their RN-BSN programs that are on my radar that would potentially accept me! Once again, thanks for the help!

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Specializes in ICU.

I'm glad you went with the accredited school. It will definitely hinder chances of a job if you go to a non-accredited school.

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