Ahrum

Hi, I'm a 3rd semester student at CONAH. I think the program is very very good. The instructors are all full time and they care really deeply about educating good nurses. The academics are solid (our NCLEX pass rate is consistently in the high 80's to low 90s), but the real meat of the program is the clinical experience. Most students do their clinicals at LA General, which is a Trauma 1 center that takes care of a very underserved population with a ton of comorbidities. There are a lot of complex cases, which are great to learn on. You start with 1 patient in first semester, then add another patient per semester until you're taking care of 4 pts by the time you graduate. I don't know any other schools that have this focus on progression, and CONAH has a reputation among LA hospitals for turning out nurses with excellent clinical skills. There are a lot of shady nursing programs out there that are terribly run and are basically profit-motivated scams. Then there are others where all they care about is their NCLEX pass rate while hand waving at the clinical component. CONAH focuses on your clinical judgement and skill first and foremost, and the solid NCLEX rate just kinda comes with the territory. It is hard. You should be prepared to work in this program and it can be stressful. But it's fair. The teachers aren't looking for reasons to fail you; they really are your biggest advocates and cheerleaders. IDK I feel like I really lucked out with this program, especially when I take in to account how cheap it is.

Do you have any idea how many interview groups there were? I'm curious...

I don't work, but many of my classmates do. Every semester is slightly different but you can count on about 10 hrs of lecture per week, give or take depending on the structure.

The limit for new cohorts is 60. You typically lose a few students every semester but also pick up a few who need to repeat. You also pick up a number of LVN-RNs between 2nd and 3rd semester.

I love the program, and I know the feeling is generally widespread among the student body. There's a lot of County Pride. The instructors are generally amazing, and they genuinely care about teaching you and preparing you for success. I had heard and read so many horror stories about terrible nursing programs — places where the students are left unsupported, where the teachers are barely present during clinicals, where the school is basically run to maximize profit and NCLEX pass rates and that's it. I had some expectation CONAH wouldn't be like that, but I can honestly say that the quality of education combined with the price makes me feel like I hacked the system or something. Don't get me wrong, this place is hard and people struggle. Nursing school should be hard imo. But you'll never feel like you're not given every opportunity to succeed. I've never heard of a white coat ceremony for nursing students... isn't that a med school thing? On graduation, there's a pinning ceremony.

Clinicals are T and W every semester until you graduate. The large bulk of students have their clinicals at LA General (formerly known as LAC + USC), though there are also clinical sites at Olive View, Rancho, and Harbor (there won't be a clinical group at Rancho and Harbor every semester; there usually is at Olive View). Clinicals usually start at 7 or 6:30. First semester, they are 6.5 hrs and every semester will add an additional hour in length. First and second semesters will have one to two pts; third semesters add a third and fourth semesters have 4-5. LA Gen is a teaching hospital with an extremely diverse, under-served pt population, typically with many co-morbidities; it's an ideal place to train. CONAH has a reputation for turning out very seasoned and clinically skilled new grads... it's why I chose the school. Lectures will always be M and Th; F are always off.

Hi, I'm a current CONAH student, 3rd semester. I'm happy to answer any questions you might have!

Seriously! At this time last year I was super depressed because I didn’t get into any of the ABSN programs I applied to. I didn’t know about conah then and now that I’m going here I couldn’t be happier to have been rejected from the programs I applied to last year. There’s always a chance you’ll still get a slot, and even if you don’t, the extra year of wanting it will just make you more motivated student when you finally get in somewhere you want to be.

Congratulations everyone who made it! I’ll see you at the preregistration session! For everyone that didn’t, I’m sorry for your luck; I hope you can keep your chin up and get in somewhere next cycle.

I believe the term starts Aug 15, with a few mandatory pre-registration all day obligations.

Thanks for the heads up, and congrats! If you don't mind my asking, where did you decide to go instead?

This seems like there’s a mistake somewhere unless they haven’t finished mailing out invites (maybe they do it in batches?). I would call the office tomorrow to see if they can tell you anything. The deadline to register for the interview is the 24th

I have 90 or 91 points depending on what class they use for my liberal arts req.

Yeah, if you don’t get an invite with 86 points, I’m suddenly nervous for my interview if that was the threshold.

I just got my interview request email! Looks like it will happen April 29. Good luck to everyone waiting, hope all yours arrive soon.