Really a two year wait?

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Hi everyone! I have decided to go back to school to become an RN. Just had a few questions that can hopefully be answered. I already have a bachelors degree but unfortunately I took no chemistry in high school and did not do well in biology...

1. UC has a two year waiting list before you can even start clinicals. Can anyone tell me how long they acutally waited? Is it really going to be two years or could it be less?

2. I know Christ and Good Sam both offer programs. Christ will even pay for your school if you sign a contract. Are these full time programs? What time do you acutally go to school?

3. Last question, How exactly do clinicals work? Do you go to a hospital/doctors office a few hours a day or week? What do you do there, just observe?

Thanks for any help you guys can give. I am very excited to get started

:nurse: Futurecincynurse :nurse:

Specializes in ICU.

Futurecincynurse -

I'm in UC's Accelerated BSN program (4th quarter out of 5), and don't know all the specifics on the traditional BSN. That being said, I see UC traditional nursing students on some of the same units where we do our clinicals.

You'll probably have 1-2 days of clinicals per week. For us, the clinical "days" can be 6-12 hours long. We don't do anything at doctor's offices, other than maybe your Community Nursing clinicals (those could be a Public Health offices, Red Cross, schools, retirement homes,.....).

As to "what do you do there?", no you're not just an observer. Starting out, you get to do loads of exciting things like patient assessments, changing bed linen and helping patients clean up. As you progress in your coursework and your clinical nursing skills, you'll do dressing changes, pass oral meds, do IM/Sub-Q/IV meds, tube feedings, along with all the other tasks you learned early on.

Since you already have a Bachelors degree, you might also consider doing UC's Accelerated Pathway program. There are prereqs (A&P, micro, patho, psych, genetics, nutrition,...), but the program goes by VERY quickly. You'll be doing clinicals starting halfway through your first quarter. I believe there are still slots open for the January 2009 cohort. PM me if you're interested. We're having a Graduate Information Session at UC the evening of 5/13 for folks interested in the Accel program.

Good luck!

Hello,

I actually haven't started my program yet but it is a direct entry MN program in the Cincinnati area for people who already hold bachelors degrees. It is College of Mount St Joseph. It is 15 months long, and starts every May and lasts until August the next year. I can't give you too much feedback since the program hasn't started yet, but the class schedule for summer is M-TH classes during the day and it looks like clinical days will be during the last two weeks in the semester. From the other post it looks like the program runs similar to UC's program as it is a cohort program. The people and contacts at the school have been very helpful so far. My bachelors degree came from Ohio State, so I wanted to find a school that was a lot different from the big university atmosphere that I was used to and that played a big part in my decision.

Good luck!

hi futurecincynurse!

i can certainly understand the waiting list dilemma. i too found that uc's wait was long, as was cincinnati state, miami, etc. it was very disheartening. i had finally figured out what i wanted to be when i grew up, lol, and now i was going to have to wait two years just to start? it didn't seem right. i was just recently accepted into christ college of nursing through christ hospital. i applied in december, got my letter in march, and start classes (and clinicals) this august! it's a full time 2 year program, although they recently added an optional 3 year track, which is nice if you need to work a lot of hours. i'm looking at all the class times for this coming fall quarter, and classes run anywhere from 8:30am - 3:50pm. clinicals, at least for this quarter, are from 7am - 1:30pm one day per week. although as you progress through the program, the hours become a full day of clinicals, and then later, multiple days per week. they do have the tuition benefit agreement, where you sign a contract stating you will work for christ for 3 years when you get out of school, and they will pay up to $20,000 (not including books, supplies, uniforms, etc. of course). i think it's a great way to get through school! and once you are working at christ, if you decide you want a bsn, they offer tuition reimbursement for that as well. keep your head up, and don't lose sight of your dream, even if you have to wait for it. if you have any other questions about christ, pm me and i'll try to answer them, or i can give you the contact info for some really helpful people at the school.

good luck,

amanda

Specializes in MICU, ER.

I attend Beckfield College in Florence and there is no wait list. Its another option..also, I spoke with the Dean of the College of Nursing at UC last night and she said that after graduation their program would grant a BSN in less than a year!!!

I know this thread is a few months old, but thought I'd just mention that Christ does not offer the $20,000-reimbursement/3yr-employment-contract anymore. I attended the information session at Christ about a month ago...the change begins with the next group to start the program (applications due in Jan '09 I think).

....also, I spoke with the Dean of the College of Nursing at UC last night and she said that after graduation their program would grant a BSN in less than a year!!!

So for the BSN, all of the Beckfield credits will now transfer to UC and

NKU?

Less than a year for BSN at UC?

kktt,

i am attending christ right now as a part of the 2010 class. i did hear that since they will now have their federal aid number, any incoming students can have all types of federal aid, private loans, and of course the scholarships. so they're not just hanging new students out to dry. i still think they should offer the tuition benefit though. take myself for example: i do not qualify for any type of federal aid (i am 23 so my parent's income is still considered on my fafsa), even though my parent's are not helping me with college, can't do the private loans without a cosigner, and don't qualify for need based scholarships due to the fafsa thing. so the tuition benefit was a huge lifesaver for me. i would not be in school without it. but sadly, i don't make the decisions. if you have any other questions about christ, you can pm me if you'd like. it's a great school, and has a great reputation in the area.

amanda

I know Christ is a great school.

Honestly, that would be my 1st choice as far as nursing education goes.

But if they don't offer the $20,000 reimbursement and generally have the same financial aid options as other schools, then I may as well try to get in somewhere closer to home.

I live in Florence, so Beckfield would be the most convenient for me to attend--- I just want to get enough input from students there (of the RN program) about their experiences to help me decide.

I'm a single mom with 3 small children, so if I can avoid the drive to Ohio yet still get a great RN education, it would be a tad easier for me on a daily basis.........Every little bit helps:)

I'm in the BSN program at UC. I'm in the Clermont cohort and there are no wait times. I have peers that were accepted at main campus, started the same time I did, and no wait times. I have heard the two-year program at Raymond Walters has a waiting list for clinicals.

My fisrt med-surg was 6 hrs long, once/week. Now, I do a 12 hr clinical/week. Winter quarter of my senior year will be a 200+hr clinical with a preceptor.

I attend Beckfield College in Florence

I'm hoping to start the Beckfield RN program this April. I had a meeting/interview with Melissa Joos today. She's having me turn in some kind of essay tomorrow, and then the committee meets this Wednesday (I'm not entirely sure what all this means just yet)

When do you graduate from Beckfield? How do you like the school overall?

I spoke with the Dean of the College of Nursing at UC last night and she said that after graduation their program would grant a BSN in less than a year!!

If anyone knows any more info on continuing on to a BSN after graduating from Beckfield, Please Please let me know. Melissa said NKU will take all the credits, and at Full Time it would only take about a year and a half.

But at UC I could get a BSN in less than a year????

Sounds great! Anyone know about it?

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