Part-time RPN Program

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Hello Everyone:

I have been researching nursing programs as I'm considering a career change. My ultimate goal is to become an RN and even though I would prefer the direct route it appears that the part-time RPN route followed by eventually bridging to RN is the best route for my current situation. I have 1 year old baby girl and can not afford to stay off work while in school. I have been doing a lot of research and have sent emails to the faculty at Georgian College (school I would have to attend) but it seems that the responses I receive are often vague and incomplete (they must be swamped with inquiries). I was hoping to gather some input based on your experiences.

Here are a few of my questions:

  1. How many hours per week are you in class and in placements? Are there set days/ evenings for classes
  2. Is it possible to fast track through the part-time program (i.e. no semester break)
  3. How long does it take to obtain my RN through the bridging program. Is the bridging program part-time or available on a part-time basis
  4. Any advice for a Mom of 1 who is planning to grow her family even while in school and will have to work as well?
  5. Are you aware of any government funding programs? Somebody mentioned to me that there used to be a funding program for people who want to take nursing. I couldn't find any information other than bursaries/ sholarships through schools.

Thank you for your time. I'm looking forward to your responses.

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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

I graduated from the Georgian part time RPN program 4 years ago.

1.Our classes were Tuesdays and Thursdays 6-10 pm.Sometimes this varied but generally they stuck to this schedule.I was attending the Orangeville Campus. Placements were almost always day shifts. Since it was a part time program placements were usually 1-2 days a week except for our final consolidation which was 4 months of full time placement.

2.The program I went to had no semester break, just a week at Christmas, and it took 3 years and 10 months.

3.The bridging program takes 3 years and is only offered full time.It costs about $20,000 plus the cost of not being able to work.I have searched and searched but could not find any part time bridges any where.

4.I was a single mom and I was lucky enough to have lots of family support.Six girls in my class had babies while I was in school and they manged to juggle. Tough but it is worth the sacrifice. Most of us were also working. It was normal to see people showing up for class still in uniform, or dressed to go to work after class. Lots of people ate supper during the break in class. Line up as much help as you can before you start.Also be prepared to miss out on things going on in your life.Missing classes is frowned on and missing more than a couple out of one subject and you will be in hot water.

5. I haven't heard of any funding programs. I know that sometimes if you are on unemployment they will help.

Vague and incomplete answers? Yeah that sounds like Georgian. Get used to it. lol I will be glad to help if you have any more questions.

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Specializes in Hospital nursing.
I graduated from the Georgian part time RPN program 4 years ago.

1.Our classes were Tuesdays and Thursdays 6-10 pm.Sometimes this varied but generally they stuck to this schedule.I was attending the Orangeville Campus. Placements were almost always day shifts. Since it was a part time program placements were usually 1-2 days a week except for our final consolidation which was 4 months of full time placement.

2.The program I went to had no semester break, just a week at Christmas, and it took 3 years and 10 months.

3.The bridging program takes 3 years and is only offered full time.It costs about $20,000 plus the cost of not being able to work.I have searched and searched but could not find any part time bridges any where.

4.I was a single mom and I was lucky enough to have lots of family support.Six girls in my class had babies while I was in school and they manged to juggle. Tough but it is worth the sacrifice. Most of us were also working. It was normal to see people showing up for class still in uniform, or dressed to go to work after class. Lots of people ate supper during the break in class. Line up as much help as you can before you start.Also be prepared to miss out on things going on in your life.Missing classes is frowned on and missing more than a couple out of one subject and you will be in hot water.

5. I haven't heard of any funding programs. I know that sometimes if you are on unemployment they will help.

Vague and incomplete answers? Yeah that sounds like Georgian. Get used to it. lol I will be glad to help if you have any more questions.

Centennial College has a part-time bridge program. It's the "Flex" program. :)

And to the OP - Sheridan College also has a part-time PN program, as do Mohawk and Conestoga - I think most places do, just look at each college's Continuing Education site. Call the coordinator for the part-time program, as if you call the general admissions line, or the coordinator for the full time programs, they won't know all the details about the part-time programs.

Best of luck, and congrats on your baby!

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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

On a side note, I was happy with the program at georgian and I felt well prepared when I left school. The teachers were great for the most part and the placement opportunities were interesting.

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Thank you for your input, Ladies. Wow, the bridging program takes 3 years full time. Oh my! That would mean I would have to be in school for 7 years instead of 4 if I would go for the straight route to become an RN. Any chance that a BScN would ever be offered part-time??? If only I could find a way to fund the full time program without accumulating an exuberant amount of OSAP debt.

CanadianGirl79: Did you have any previous schooling? I have a 3-year diploma from Georgian and was hoping that I would be exempt from the GenEd and communication courses. Were GenEds and communication courses taught during the classes on the two days you had to go to school.

Were any of the courses offered online?

Thanks again. :) It really is like pulling teeth getting proper answers from the college.

Juli

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Specializes in MPH Student Fall/14, Emergency, Research.

I don't know about other universities but at mine, for sure, you have up to 6 years to complete the degree and you can take a part-time course load. One young mom I know is taking only 3 classes per semester.

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Most universities give seven years to complete a degree. So in theory you should nail down all the academic electives and concentrate on nursing courses when the electives are taken care of.

Nursing courses are not offered year round and you usually have to take them in a specific order, so that has to be factored into trying to complete a BScN on a part time basis. It also helps a lot if you have a buddy student in a clinical placement group.

Oh, and most clinical placements are not flexible about arrival and departure times. So your schedule has to fit the facility's.

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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

Fiona has brought up a good point.Even if the program you are attending has part time classes in the evening the placements will be mostly day shifts. Some facilities day shifts start as early as 6:30 and sometimes instructors want you there way before the shift starts to prepare.Pretyy much all programs have a final consolidation placement that is full time and you will be following the schedule of your nurse preceptor.That means you will work what ever shifts they do, days, evening and nights.

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So what I gather from the previous posts is that it should be possible to complete the BScN part-time even if it isn't offered officially on a part-time basis. I didn't know that this is possible. A mom I have met is going to York for Nursing and when she was trying to take less classes in order to accummulate enough work hours to go on maternity leave the faculty was giving her a hard time telling her that nursing is not a part-time program. I would prefer going straight for the BScN as long as I can do it part-time only. Has anybody done this at York?

Thanks again,

Juli

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What we're trying to tell you is that "officially" it's NOT a part-time programme. By accumulating enough electives in advance it IS possible to wind up with a reduced courseload.

The nursing faculty wants it's students that enroll to graduate as quickly as possible due to the high number of applicants each year.

If I chose to apply for my BScN, all my electives and a few of the nursing credits are already completed. Having said that I would still take nearly four years to graduate because the classes I would require are only offered during specific semesters. I would only have two or three classes a semester and would therefore be considered a part-time student.

Although the university might give you seven years to complete a degree, the faculty can and will "encourage" you to complete it ASAP.

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Specializes in Hospital nursing.
Thank you for your input, Ladies. Wow, the bridging program takes 3 years full time. Oh my! That would mean I would have to be in school for 7 years instead of 4 if I would go for the straight route to become an RN. Any chance that a BScN would ever be offered part-time??? If only I could find a way to fund the full time program without accumulating an exuberant amount of OSAP debt.

CanadianGirl79: Did you have any previous schooling? I have a 3-year diploma from Georgian and was hoping that I would be exempt from the GenEd and communication courses. Were GenEds and communication courses taught during the classes on the two days you had to go to school.

Were any of the courses offered online?

Thanks again. :) It really is like pulling teeth getting proper answers from the college.

Juli

I did have previous schooling - I have a BA in history. I was able to use some of my credits to avoid the gen ed classes. That said, I actually only went part-time while my son was a baby. I took a few classes in the summer, in the evenings, and then went full-time in the fall. Sheridan actually has a fast-track program, so you can go full time with no breaks and finish your PN diploma in 1.5 years instead of 2. So you're out of the workforce less time that way.

The part-time program is fairly flexible in that they offer the courses (at Sheridan) year-round, and at night, but as others have said, while some clinical placements are on weekends and/or evenings, eventually you will need to do a consolidation where you go full time, and do ALL shifts.

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I believe that UOIT also has a bridging program where you can go part-time.

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