e6n5j8o8i

The above posters are correct in that you do not necessarily need a BSN to work in the hospital setting...but as far as hiring goes, and especially in this area of the central valley, it's become more and more preferred that applicants have been BSN prepared. Reason being mostly because of the money, with facilities covering costs for ADN nurses to eventually go back to school to "upgrade" their degrees. Also, Stan State has started to make a name for itself, especially considering the very high NCLEX pass rate that you already mentioned, with an overall program pass rate of 96% over the last 3 years, as opposed to MJC's 90% rate over the same period. If you look at MJC vs. Stan State in particular, you've already brought up some good points, including MJC's lottery selection system versus Stan's ranked selection. Also, the numbers of students taken with each batch are drastically different between the program, with Stan State taking groups of 30/40 each round to eventually sit for NCLEX, while MJC takes about 120. As far as clinical hours are concerned, I can't say with certainty how much MJC's program goes through, other than most of the clinical hours are geared towards acute care (adult health med/surg) but I do know that Stan's program includes a minimum of 871 total hours, split mostly evenly between the different areas (adult health med/surg I and II, mental health, pediatrics/OB/newborn, etc). And of course, the BSN year includes a community health rotation/certification (that you apply for after graduation, allowing you to apply for community and home health positions, including school nursing), leadership and management training, along with a minimum of 156 extra clinical hours in your chosen area, as a preceptee. From a purely observation standpoint, and as a nursing student on the verge of graduating, I have found a few things that have been true, no matter what hospital/area I've been in Modesto/Turlock/Merced/Stockton/etc...almost every nurse that originally got hired on as an ADN is going, or is planning on going back to school for their BSN (most often because the Bachelor's level degree opens management/administration opportunities, or to stay competitive in a more difficult job market). ADN students seem to be much more focused on "skills-based" nursing, rather than "critical thinking" nursing (again, purely my opinion, based on what I've seen over the last couple years and my interactions with many other students on the floor, and the opinions of some of the nurses I've worked with). And purely based on the people/friends that have recently graduated from MJC's ADN program and what they've told me, the job market for nurses is getting more and more difficult to get into...while all but a couple of Stan State's last graduating class (Spring 2010) had job offers by the time of graduation. At the end of the day, the nursing school experience is what you make of it, and I'm sure you've already heard the saying the "they don't teach you anything in nursing school, it's all learned on the floor". But all things considered, including the area, the economic situation, and the impression that I've got from my experience in the surrounding hospitals...I'd say you're making a good choice in aiming for the BSN program from the beginning. Sorry for the long post, and I apologize if it is, in fact, a bit biased, but I just wanted to share my experience and insight, hope it helped :)