Quiet_Storm

I have heard good things about both programs. Main difference is cost - Spalding costs more but if you get your BSN with them you get a discount on your graduate school tuition. I myself will be applying to both but am leaning more towards McKendree because of the tuition difference. They are both fully accredited

Yes, I agree with everyone else's posts - you should study. WHy risk what you can help?

Gulp - that is a huge difference - makes you think hey!

Good luck and if you get the job - take it if you dont have any other offers snce RN jobs are kinda hard to come by lately

I agree. However someone told me that they hire from outside sometimes because the person coming from outside is clueless and more malleable....

What a rough experience!

I have a BS in Business Admin and am about to finish my ADN next summer. My previous degree certainly helps when selling myself. I too like the above post am planning on skipping the BSN and going directly into an RN-MSN program. REason being first I have a pasion for education, and second I feel at this point that getting a BSN only will end up with me still being in the same boat possibly given the market for nurses. I am taking a leap so to speak and plan on becoming a nurse practitioner!

What is ACLS and PACLS?

Go to the peer interview and skip the pinning. Your mission is to get employed and by the looks of it, this may be your jackpot. You can arrange to have a special late lunch / dinner with your parents and friends instead of the pinning ceremony. Nail that job! You've worked too hard at school to pass up a seemingly good potential for employment. - Quiet Storm

Money talks but you also have to look at the big picture and factor in other things as well. On its own, money cannot help make a big decision like that for me. For example, I am an LPN and get paid $1 lower than other facilities close by in my area. However, at my job things are in black adn white, the patient to nurse ratio is consistent, I know the system and how it works, I know the politics, and I like my benefits. I once did start a new PRN job at a higher paying facility. However i only lasted a couple fo days because workign in a place where things were not in black and white made me very nervous. Supply were also hard to come by at this other place. So I decided that the grass is nto necessarily greener on the other side - always a reason places might pay more.

I would lay my eggs in different baskets. Apply for RN jobs and at the same time go ahead and apply for BSN program. Have you considered RN-BSN programs? There are now also some RN-MSN programs. Continuing your education in the mean time might be a golden egg investment in the future. A number of hospitals here in my area are moving towards Magnet status and this means they are preferring to hire BSN nurses, even though they still hire ADN for the same pay.

Definitely not here in Kentucky. Anything invasive should be licensed nursing practice.

Have you thought about going back to school and getting a MSN degree? That might be a good option too. I am currently in RN school for ADN scheduled to finish July 2011 and, given how hard new grad jobs are to come by, have decided to go into a ADN-MSN program and become a NP. I love the nursing field and would not go back to my old office job that I hated. Maybe the shortage is my eye opening to a bigger potential in me as a Nurse Practitioner.

You may have to cut back on your trip's length of time if thats a compromise you are willing to make - then work PRN jobs so you can give yourself prolonged vacations throughout your career. That way you also get to save money for your trips in-between - unless of course money is not an object for you.

Explore all your options, including your previous school.

I heard rumor too here in KY about the 2015 deadline for the DNP. Am currently in an ADN program and will apply straight into an RN-MSN program that I can begin when I finish next July. The Pharmacy and Physical Therapy fields did it and I see us nurses being taken too with the Doctorate tide soon enough. Just a matter of when exactly.

Not sure what part of the country you are in but Spalding University in Louisville, KY has a 1yr Rn-BSN and this is regardless of your previous BA. Also try McKendree University - they have campuses in St Louis, MO and Louisville, KY - you can complete their RN-BSN in 1 year. Hope this helps.

Make it your mission to make more friends than enemies on the job. Ask questions - it is better to look stupid for asking questions than to be really stupid in the end. Be observant and choose to learn even from criticism - doesnt mean you are a bad nurse. Above all, determine to enjoy yourself in spite of. Hope this helps.

You do not have to be a CNA to gain understanding of the medical field so my advice is for you to go straight into your nursing license.You will learn what is pertinent for your job and also a lot fo skills are taught you in school and on the job. I was a CNA before doign my nursing license and wish I had jumped straight into nursing.

Thansk for this information on mcKendree's Rn-BSN. I am planning on enrolling next Fall and have been looking at programs that will be 12 months or less. Am here in Louisville, KY. So thanks again! - Quiet Storm

Galen College of Nursing is nationally accredited but not regionallly accredited and that has been the confusion about their accreditation status. They are working on their regional accreditation though. As for whether or not you will get hired if you get your RN or LPN from Galen - yes. I have met a good number of RN Galen graduates at the local hospitals who are employed as full time RNs in all departments. Up to date - Spalding University recently signed an agreement with Galen to directly accept Galen RN graduates into their RN-BSN program and accept all their credits from Galen. Once you have your license the only credits that do not transfer from Galen are usually the non-nursing credits, otherwise everything else transfers. Your option is of course to take teh non-nursing classes at a local community college and check with Galen first tomake sure you are taking classes that will transfer in. I am currently in the Rn program at Galen and will go on to get my BSn immediately after I finish. I have enjoyed my time there so far and feel that teh school keeps up to date with the changing pace of healthcare. Hope this helps in the confusion about Galen.