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Hi all- haven't posted since my BSN but remembered how helpful this site was back then... I'm in my 1st year working as an FNP- but only see pediatrics. Love the job so far but like most NPs feel like I need to spend a lot more time studying primary care subjects, and having trouble knowing where to go. I've used Up To Date a fair amount and thats been great. some specific questions: -do you know of a helpful site to get pediatric CEs ? (at a low cost if not free? ) -Not able to attend any of the upcoming major peds conferences but has anyone ever purchased the content and studied it on their own? Is that even an option? -any helpful short videos they've found for common pediatric primary care issues? I work for a FQHC and we do not get much $ for CEs or education. Considering joining NAPNAP (currently a AANP member) but it looks like a lot of their CEs cost money. thank you VERY much for reading the post. Appreciate everyone's help.

The program overall has been good- however I cannot say that I would recommend it. Although most of the teaching staff has been great, if you read my post above you can tell that it has been a long ride & they have lacked in communication. If you are okay with the length of time they expect you to be in school for the amount of credits you have to complete, I think you will like it. Personally I would have done better at a more accelerated program. They expect you to work your life around nursing school, which would be fine if I was going to school fulltime. However, I am only taking 4 credits over 4 months. Waaaayyyy too slow for me and I have to work to keep myself busy! It is expensive, however if I remember correctly I remember it being comparable to other private schools. You can def. expect a price increase in the summer though; they have done it twice already since I have been there. Any other questions?

I wanted to throw in my two sense worths about Chamberlain. I am "finishing up" here so I think I have a valid opinion :) For those of you looking at attending Chamberlain, make sure you do ALL your homework. I am sure the school has changed a lot, but my biggest warning is that this school is not a accelerated program. Just know exactly how many semesters it will take you (if time is an important factor to you). In October I will have only 8 credits left to complete... but am not able to graduate until June 2011. A full school year for only 8 credits- furthermore, I have already taken 2 semesters with only part time credit, as that is what they would allow. Now, I came into the program with a bachelors in an unrelated field. So being that most of my gen eds were completed, they would not let me combine nursing courses. I wish I would have known this starting the program. If you have any questions about Chamberlain (questions you can not find on the website), please let me know.... I'd be happy to help.

http://www.chamberlain.edu/Locations/Addison/AddisonCampusGrandOpening/tabid/789/Default.aspx The website has a lot of information- but do you have any specific questions?

Hi! I live in Pilsen (south of the city just a bit) and am seeing if there is anyone that lives in Chicago that would be interested in carpooling to Chamberlain in Addison. I have a vehicle & start in March... I'll post this with the school as well, but I know that there have been a lot of new people starting at Chamberlain that I've met through this website, so I wanted to see if there was any interest from this forum... Thanks, Hannah

THOUGHT I WOULD POST THE RESPONSE I RECEIVED. THANKS AGAIN, JOLIE, FOR HELPING ME KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR AND ASK. IT WAS GOOD FOR ME TO RESEARCH ALL OF THIS. Chamberlain College of Nursing is on the Division's Listing of Approved Nursing Education Programs. There is always the potential for a nursing education program to lose approval if their pass rate falls below the required level; however, that is not a usual occurrence. If a program is approved when you enter, the Division historically would honor the current programs students in the unlikely event the program is disapproved. I hope my response sets your mind at ease. Good luck in your chosen profession. Kittie D. West Board Liaison, Health Services Section Division of Professional Regulation IL Dept. of Financial and Professional Regulation

accreditation: chamberlain college of nursing is accredited by the higher learning commission and is a member of the north central association, www.ncahlc.org. the bsn program is accredited by the national league for accreditation commission (nlnac) and the commission on collegiate nursing education (ccne). chamberlain is accredited with the nln for sure (i've personally contacted both the school & nln to assure this and they were both very helpful). my only concern lies within the "fully or conditionally approved by the bon" (as discussed with jolie). the illinois center for nursing (under idpr) lists chamberlain on their website, however i have contacted them specifically to ask about the programs partial or complete approval from bon, and am waiting for a response. jolie, just so i am clear--- i know for sure they are accredited, but now i need to understand if they are approved by bon, to make sure i will be able to sit for the nclex upon program completion? thank you so much for your continuous help. also, as a sidenote, chamberlain in addison does not offer an associates degree program, only bsn and rn to bsn--- and their tution is about $19600 for year round ($6552 per semester). that's actually not bad compared to other bsn programs in the area.

Jolie- really? So if the first graduating class does not have a high enough NCLEX pass rate, the school could lose its partial accreditation? I am starting at Chamberlain College of Nursing in Addison in March, and their first class will not graduate for at least two years. Should I be worried?

I wanted to add something small--- McCormick & Schmicks have a great happy hour if you wanted a small snack some afternoon. N9NE Steakhouse is a really neat place, Japonais is pretty expensive but really good. One other suggestion, which isnt steaks/seafood, but American so it will have some of those items- the Signature Room on the 95th floor of the Hancock. I think they are reasonably priced, and you'll have the best view of the city! Even if you don't want to do dinner there, make sure you hit up the bar on the 96th floor- the overpriced drinks are totally worth it. If you're into Piano bars at all, Chicago has some really neat ones- Howl at the Moon or Redhead Piano bar- I'm a concierge right now and I always send guests to these places.

Jackers- Appreciate the information!!! Thanks! I was a little nervous about taking the gen. eds at Devry- but oh well. I have been so releived to hear from everyone how difficult the school is. For myself- I had my doubts just because it was comparitively easy to get into among other local nursing schools- for example, one BSN program wouldn't even look at me because I had received a "B" from a community college! They needed "A's" from community colleges. Other nursing admission offices were pretty rude, so going to Chamberlain was such a difference in how they treated you. Thanks again!

Good luck, amprinc!

Mimi- I'll try to answer some of your questions: the sooner i take the a2 the better right? probably, yes are there any changes to the admissions requirements? not that I know of, however when I applied for this past fall semester they didn't require a whole lot--- and just one semester later, they now require an interview, and the A2 test. So it would probably be good to keep checking back, although I don't expect a whole lot to change (for example though, now they also want a copy of your syllabus for any A&P classes taken). when you made an appointment with them, did the counselor give you hints on your chances of getting in based off your transcripts? He was pretty vague about everything, as he has to be--- however I do know that this school has picked up applicants very fast so the sooner, the better your chances are of getting in. I think my gpa is right around the 2.75 border line. do you think having healthcare experience and an associate degree help me? THe GPA must be a 2.7 minimum. I do not think they take into account the associates degree (I had a BA and it didnt seem to matter) however they do accept credits... and I'm really not sure about healthcare experience, sorry! do you know how they calculate repeated classes? no clue, sorry any suggestions/comments on maybe what i should do to up my chances? take a couple more classes? I think you just need to go in and meet with a conselor. Make sure its obvious how willing you are to work hard and how passionate you are about nursing. You have a stronger chance of getting into Chamberlian if you go now, rather than wait. Hope this helps!

Mimi- They have three start dates at Chamberlain- March (spring), July (summer), and Oct (fall). The deadline for the spring admission to start in March is November 15 (tomorrow). I am referring to the spring 2009 term. I'm not sure what the deadline is for the summer term... but I'm sure you can find it online really easily. You should definetly make an appointment & talk to someone. There is really not an "early admission", I was told that I was accepted earlier than most people because I had already applied once & been accepted previously, and had to apply again when I decided to wait. You have to take your A2 before the deadline for the semester you want to apply, as it is a part of your application process. Hopefully this clears some things up? Let me know if you have any other questions...

GREAT JOB on the Hesi2!!! My gosh thats great...!!!!! Let me know when you find out, I'm sure you'll get in!

I'm not sure who you were asking, but I'll answer :) My overall GPA was 3.6, but the science classes I am taking right now will be sure to lower it a bit :) I did take the A2 and I think I got around an 80% (not the highest, I know, I didnt get the study guide until 4 days before the test). As far as admission, I was called & accepted last week with "early admission", however I think it was because I was already accepted for the fall term & decided to wait for financial reasons. I am sure you'll find out sooner than later--- if you have a good GPA & got an average school on the test, I'm sure you'll be accepted. Right now we have a huge advantage since the school is not widely known yet, my guess is that a year from now it will be a lot more difficult to get into. I'm looking forward to meeting you if you decide to attend!

Thank you so much for your input--- I just got a call receiving early admission to begin in March for their Addison location!! So happy-- and even happier to read that you had a great experience. Thanks again!!

I have looked into both of those, thanks- I feel like I could give a summary of every accelerated program within two hours of Chicago :) I'm not really interested in a Master's level program- I already have a Bachelors as well.... It'll happen eventually :)

thanks so much for your input! I don't have a lot of options for schools either... I was planning on going to the last open house but something came up last minute. Have you looked into Chamberlain (in Addison) at all?

Hi all! I have read & reread the posts on here about West Suburban but I really didn't find out enough--- I really only have a couple of options for schools to apply to & they were on my list. However, it seems like the majority of their students have had a horrible time & they're pretty expensive. Could some current or recent graduates just share a couple sentances on their experience? Even just applying is a lot of work (TEAS test, etc.) and I don't want to even apply if all the posts on here (I know some of them are dated) are anywhere near true... Thanks for your help!!!!!

mouse.. how do you like it? I'm looking into their BS to BSN program. Do you know anything about the accelerated program- which one are you in? Any info would be greatly appreciated!

so please ignore my above statements. I just got the email this afternoon informing me of all the changes that they have made (that test is comparable to the TEAS test) with some other new requirments for March '09 applications.. BOO

I have an interview with an advisor coming up next week, may I ask what they took into consideration and what types of questions the advisor asked? What about overall GPA? Do all of you have a decent one? They also told me I needed to take a A2 entrance test. I have read over alot of the materials on the school and it seems to offer just as much as every other school but is on the expesive side, over $6,500 per semester and there are 9 total! They look at your GPA & what will transfer in, I think your GPA only needs to be 2.7 to be considered. I have no idea what the A2 entrance test is, I had to take a test that was basically just a writing essay- super easy and I did it from home. Unless it is something different, I wouldn't even say that it is an interview, because I was accepted to the school without an "interview" though I did meet with the advisor just to learn about the school- his name was Josh Ryan, he was a great admissions guy. I have a question- people keep saying the school is expensive but I find it comparable to most other nursing schools (with the exception of UIC).. West Suburban is more expensive, Loyola, Rush, etc.... can anyone comment on this?

I wanted to jump in on this conversation as well- I was completely in doubt about this school and still am a little bit- but only because it seems to easy. I've already been accepted & am waiting for financial reasons, but they have been great about keeping in contact with me, answering any questions, etc. They say they have no pre-reqs because they want to address the national shortage of nurses faster. I have a friend already in the program that loves it. I can't see a whole lot wrong with the school, but would appreciate any continued information on the school- any previous or current students!

Has anyone attended Chamerlain's oncampus BSN program at any of their locations? Any advice for me- I recently got accepted to their Addison location but am feeling a little hesitant because they are so new. I'd appreciate any knowledge on this school! Thanks so much!

Has anyone attended Chamerlain's oncampus BSN program at any of their locations? Any advice for me- I recently got accepted to their Addison location but am feeling a little hesitant because they are so new. I'd appreciate any knowledge on this school! Thanks so much!