Mark Hill BSN

Great school. I got a good education and started a great career. class of 2014.

I graduated from Walden FNP program over 6 years ago. I was part of the first class enrolled. I had a great experience at Walden. It is not for everyone. If you are not a self starter and need alot of hands on instruction it will not likely work well for you. I got a great education, set up all my own clinical with NO problems and graduated in 18 months. I have had a great career to date and have not regretted my decision to go to Walden for one second. People here will hate on Walden until their last breath...and it will still make no difference. You do you.

LOL...I have watched you "HATE" on Walden for over 6 years now. You have proclaimed to the world that the educations that is received from Walden must be sub-standard. Your whole premise is bigoted, and reeks of some self perceived superiority based on where you attended school. I would love for you to follow me in a critical access hospital out in the middle of nowhere for a few days treating everything from rashes to amputations and all conditions in between, and see how superior you feel then....WOW!

Impressed or not impressed, I don't think your awe of the CCNE, (or lack there of) will have any influence on the process. As I have said in the past, CCNE is the current bellwether for accreditation. Your "opinion" of it's standards are absolutely, and irrevocably of NO consequence. Unless you have another solvent argument about the quality of education at Walden, why don't you just be wrong silently.

Sadly, the academic bigots on this sight believe in their hearts that the school that one attends will have any real bearing on the overall clinical competency of the nurse practitioner. Well, whatever. I really don't care other from a purely amusement standpoint. An intelligent person, one who really wants to learn....can, and will learn. The conduit by which that happens is irrelevant. as far as I am concerned, you can continue to believe in your empty superiority, and I will just quietly continue to be successful... Well, maybe not so quietly.

LOL, as if what school one attends will make or not make a competent clinician...That is the flawed argument.

Juan, after all these years, are you still hating on Walden for no reason? Really...? Sad...Well I'm a proud Walden graduate, and I have done just fine without a "real" education. And to think people even let me provide their healthcare for them with no real education or training....weird.

Well, I cant speak to that. Never had that experience. Honestly, my experience with Walden was seamless from start to finish. Its not often I have been able to say that about most anything...

They can be, however I didn't have much choice at the time. Many not for profits are expensive as well...

Several years ago I got into some heated arguments with people on this sight about Walden University, and their quality of education or legitimacy. I Don't hear much about that anymore. Well let me just give a little update after almost 4 years after graduating Walden's FNP program. After graduation, licensure, and certification (ten days after graduation without a prep course) I went to work with my last preceptor in a family practice clinic. I worked very hard, and learned a great deal. I did some overtime and made almost $130,000 my first year out of school. My next year, I was given a satellite clinic on my own, and built it up That second year I made $157,000 in salary. After 2 years in family practice, I began to get a little bored, and decide to move into emergency medicine. I took a job in a critical access hospital in Montana, became ATLS and NRP certified and started working ER as a sole provider in this rural community. My first year of that I made $161,000. Mainly though, I got a massive amount of experience and knowledge from this first ER gig. Ultimately, I started doing a little Locums work on the side, and realized that not only did I enjoy locums work, but there was a huge demand for locums ER providers. Within a few months, I went out on my own as a private contractor working locums assignments all over the US. I have numerous state licenses, and have many ongoing contracts with small critical access hospital in many states. Also, I work telemedicine in 5 different states. This year I have made $200,000, with 9 weeks off so far and have 10 days planned off around the holidays. I work when I want to, and I am my own boss. My point in all of this is...; My Walden education experience was a good one. I got what I needed to be successful in my profession. Don't let people tell you what you can and can't do. Decide what you want to do and do it! Don't let peoples opinion dictate your life, they don't get to live your life. Ironically, I heard a lot of skeptics talk about how it would be hard to find a job after graduation from Walden University......NOPE, not one time have I had a single issue in finding a job, or negotiating a contract due to where I went to school. In fact, no one has ever even asked where I went to school. However, when I was sitting in an interview with a CEO a couple of years ago, I happened to look on her wall where there just happened to be a diploma from Walden University hanging. We talked about our common alumnus status for a brief moment, then I signed the contract.So maybe, just maybe, my Walden affiliation HELPED me get employed....who knows?

I made more than that as a staff RN. I would just move on. I will tell you that 2.5 years out of school I make better than $175,000. My base pay is $125,000 per year with incentives for much more. And that does not include benefits. Employers are getting away with low salaries because people are accepting them. When my current employer contacted me, the first thing we talked about was salary. If that is not ironed out first, then there is not much else to talk about as far as I am concerned.

Yes...everything was online. It was a seamless process for me.

I took the AANP 10 days after I graduated, without any pre-exam preparation...I was well prepared, and have done well in my job since then. I have no regrets about attending Walden, and would do it all again tomorrow.

Then it obviously matters even less, if everyone already knows, and no one cares. Your argument is collapsing in on itself...

The "for profit stigma" is something that seems to be important only in your mind Future....No one person has asked me whether my school was non-profit or not, and I have not heard of any of my Walden colleagues who have had problems since graduation. I have now been practicing for 8 months, and I am the highest producing provider in my clinic of 2 MDs and 5 NPs. Walden has trained me very well, and I have absolutely no regrets about attending this school. I have also had numerous job offers since graduation with absolutely no questions about my schools profitability status. Why don't you give it a rest, and actually attend and graduate from NP school before you have so much to say about mine.