Question for Experienced Nurses

I know that where I am it doesn't matter if they are accredited schools. An RN is an RN.

I'm not sure you can get an RN license if your school isn't accredited...

I have checked with my state's licensing board, and I'd be okay to take the licensing exam. the accreditation is actually optional. The close school's LPN program is accredited, and the RN program is in the process of being done now, so I don't think that will be a problem.

So much easier to get a job at the hospital you trained at. If either is a hospital you would like to work at, then I would choose that one.

If the accredidation isn't an issue that makes the decision process a little different. I would physically go to the schools to get a "sense" for the environment. You might discover if nothing else that they are equal whereby making the smaller the winner due to commute and potential networking for your future.Is there a wait list for one and not the other? Is there a chance you wouldn't get accepted? Maybe you should apply at both if this is the case? Just thoughts....good luck!

Scooter5,

Congratulations, on being in a very desirable position for furthering your education and getting a job anywhere, anytime, and anyhow. I agree with pink85, as long as you have that paper license stating valid R.N. an employer is going to care less where you got the education. Just as long as your valid and have no limitations on your license. Some fields do require you to have an ivy league college name attached to your Resume. Not nursing, in a field so depleted and found wanting; you could have come from the worst rated school, and as long as you have passed all your tests, and indeed the school is accredited; you're good to go. Perhaps for a more esteemed job down the road your education may apply, ie: legal nurse, administration, government position, going for higher education, etc. I've seen my boss hire someone over the phone without ever looking at them nor their paperwork, just based on a verbal interview, (granted the nurse then had to supply those documents prior to being hired). So I guess my recommendation for you would be choose the school that works for you. My experience is that most nursing students get a job at the hospital or facility that they do their clinicals at, as the unit managers sometimes pick from the crop and some facilities will even do tuition reimbursement, add to that you will feel more comfortable at a facility you learned your trade than setting off to get a job at another facility. I hope this helps, and remember there's a reason for the nursing shortage... Good luck friend you won't know what you are in store for until your knee deep.....

...besides, that 80 minute, one way, drive could get old, especially on a bad weather or otherwise stressful day!

Hi : I would confirm that the accreditation is really in progress with the State Nursing Board. After this, I would choose the Magnet Hospital because I'd think it'll be a better learning environment based in the organizational structure this Hospital might offer and that the nurses working there might be there for a longer time, so more stable experiencewise, therefore more eagger to teach.

FABy

I think the hospital 80 mins away sounds like it's out: after you've pulled a 12 hour shift of clinicals the last thing you need to be doing is commuting. Also, it helps to be near your school, just incase you need to run in to check on something, hand in some stuff or get into some office hours with a professor.

There are 2 ways to look at the rural vs urban school thing: you could go to a rural school/hospital that will teach you how things will be done if you decide to work in a rural area, but you may be stretched to have patients on some days, possibly even for getting a variety of patients; if you go to an urban school, you may see a lot more "up to date" cases (newer technology used, newer science based processes) and have the chance to see a variety of things. To put this into a scenario: if you are at a rural hospital and have a pt with chest pain, having an MI (heart attack) then you will likely see TPA (it's a clot busting drug) and probably be shipped to an urban/bigger hospital; if you are in an urban setting, and the same patient would go to the "cath lab" (which is angioplasty) done quickly. Both of these instances would be neat to get to experience as a student nurse but you are going to get two very different experiences.

Have you looked into speaking with current nursing students at either of the schools to find out what they think and if they feel they are lacking by going to their school versus the other? If you ask the nursing advisor (or the department head, even a department secretary, or get in touch with a nursing student association/club) at the schools, I am sure they can get you in touch with students who can answer your questions via email or might be willing to meet up with you. I think you definitely need to give this a go: there is a lot that you can find out, and I know that this whole nursing school thing looks really big and scary right now but you can gain a lot of insight from getting in touch with a student or two (plus, you may have some one who will be there when you start school who you can borrow/buy their old books and they can help you feel comfortable/reassure you when you start school and are feelng overwhelmed).

Lastly, you also want to look into how long the waitlist at each of the schools can be: this might make your decision a little easier to make.

Either way, I don't think you can go too wrong with either of the places: you can be miserable through school and unhappy and still do ok if you are willing to keep positive and concentrate on what you need to do to get the job done at the end of the day (which is, pass your boards). After you pass your boards, no one cares where it came from as long as you can get a good recommendation from someone and you have some work history (which I am assuming is the case since you have a previous degree).

Best of luck to you!

-Bri

I would only go to an accredited school.

Consider that the new RN program, well you might be the guinea pig that the new courses and possibly new faculty will trial the curriculum on. There might be some growing pains as they get the kinks out of the program. IMO-Magnet status in an established nursing program is not something I would ignore. Is this hospital a teaching hospital (associated with a medical school? What other types of allied health care careers are trained there?

What are the pass rates for NCLEX/RN at Magnet Hospital and for the PNE at the

LPN now RN school? You are actually only driving 50 minutes more to the big city Magnet which I don't think is that big a deal. You may be able to get to know other students and maybe arrange to stay with them at times for early clinicals. I met a good friend at nurse practitioner that way. She lives 350 miles away so she stayed with me.