is this school really approved by the PA state board of nursing?

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Has anyone heard of Prism Career Institute's PN program? They say they're approved by the PA State Board of Nursing since Novemeber 2006, but when I go to the website nothing comes up about Prism. Anyone know why?...... Also, they say they make no representations or gaurantee's regarding a student's ability to obtain a license or employment. Do all schools say this?? Are they just covering their back's for rare cases that a student can't get their license?

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Specializes in Mother-Baby, Rehab, Hospice, Memory Care.

You will need to contact your state board of nursing to find out whether this is an approved school. Usually there will be a list of approved programs the board of nursing website. Every school says that they cannot guaratee employment or licensure because the school does not grant you your license, they merely make you eligible to apply and then be able to sit for a national licensing exam.

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Specializes in Mother-Baby, Rehab, Hospice, Memory Care.

http://www.dos.state.pa.us/bpoa/lib/bpoa/20/nurs_board/pn_program_school_list_for_web_site_-_revised_sept_2004.pdf

Here you go... I would research to see what kind of NCLEX pass rates they have too.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
Are they just covering their back's for rare cases that a student can't get their license?
This is not a rare case. It occurs daily across the nation.

There have been people who graduated from nursing programs 5 years ago, buy they have no licensure because they cannot seem to pass their state boards after taking the test multiple times. Some people must take their state board exams 5 or 6 times before they finally pass and are granted licenses.

Some people do really well and pass their state boards on the first attempt, but are not issued licenses due to having violent criminal backgrounds. The school would have no way of knowing about the criminal histories of its students, so it cannot guarantee licensure.

Then there are people who graduate from nursing programs with the inability to land jobs due to multiple reasons. Some people are picky and want positions in the cardiovascular intensive care unit when they fail to realize that these are RN-preferred jobs. Other people live in areas that have depressed job markets where there are too many nurses and not enough jobs.

In other words, all schools should disclose that graduates of its program are not guaranteed licenses or jobs. Absolutely nothing is a guarantee in life!

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Specializes in Surgical Telemetry.

Check with the NLN, all schools that are NLN approved are approved by the PA State Board of Nursing no matter what state they are in. Hope that helps. :)

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
Check with the NLN, all schools that are NLN approved are approved by the PA State Board of Nursing no matter what state they are in. Hope that helps. :)
This often does not work with LPN programs, which must have state approval, but often lack that prestigious NLN accreditation. LPN programs with NLN accreditation are swiftly becoming rarities these days.
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Yes that LPN program Prism is actually real I just graduated from the first class I have my temp license and is sitting to take the NCLEX in:nurse: 2 weeks, but check it out

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Specializes in Cardiac, Med-Surg, ICU.

Some people do really well and pass their state boards on the first attempt, but are not issued licenses due to having violent criminal backgrounds. The school would have no way of knowing about the criminal histories of its students, so it cannot guarantee licensure.

Regarding this, it depends on both the school and the state. For example, my school made everyone get fingerprinted before going into clinicals. Their philosophy was that it wouldn't be fair to allow someone to spend time and money to complete a nursing program if they ultimately would be unable to obtain licensure. The state of Ohio requires FBI and BCI&I checks before one is allowed to sit for the NCLEX exam, so we had to be checked twice. I don't know how widespread this practice is though.

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I have no answer to this question but i have a question to ask myself. How much is the tuition for this program. I am an RN and I am looking for an LPN program for my friend in the PA area.

thanks for your answer in advance.

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I have no answer to this question but i have a question to ask myself. How much is the tuition for this program. I am an RN and I am looking for an LPN program for my friend in the PA area.

thanks for your answer in advance.

It's very pricey. $22,000. I also believe it doesn't include other expenses like books, uniform, graduation and things like that.

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I was in the first class at Prism in Philly and yes the school is really APPROVED by the PA state board of nursing.......and your tution cost of $22,000 covers everthing including graduation and taking the NCLEX its not a bad program but just like any program and especially us being the first class there were a lot of ups and downs but we made it through......the only thing that you pay for is lunch and gas money to drive back and forth to school.....it real intense because it's everyday all and the work is intense unlike some other programs you get a 2 part pharmacology course and you get books and dvd from ATI to help you prepare for the NCLEX and also an additional NCLEX DVD which is all included in your tution the instructors are all college instructors so you are getting taught on a college level I know I been in college for years before going to trade school......I know it's state board approved because Im sitting to take my boards in 2 weeks im all authorize with Pearson Vue I just received my ATT and half of my class have their temp prermit............check out the school before you make assumptions.......I know what its like been there and graduated earlier this month

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I was in the first class at Prism in Philly and yes the school is really APPROVED by the PA state board of nursing.......and your tution cost of $22,000 covers everthing including graduation and taking the NCLEX its not a bad program but just like any program and especially us being the first class there were a lot of ups and downs but we made it through......the only thing that you pay for is lunch and gas money to drive back and forth to school.....it real intense because it's everyday all and the work is intense unlike some other programs you get a 2 part pharmacology course and you get books and dvd from ATI to help you prepare for the NCLEX and also an additional NCLEX DVD which is all included in your tution the instructors are all college instructors so you are getting taught on a college level I know I been in college for years before going to trade school......I know it's state board approved because Im sitting to take my boards in 2 weeks im all authorize with Pearson Vue I just received my ATT and half of my class have their temp prermit............check out the school before you make assumptions.......I know what its like been there and graduated earlier this month

I would like to say thanks for letting me know about the program since you were a student there. I just want to let you know I didn;t make any assumptions about Prism, if you see from other threads I posted I was looking for anyone who had a little info about this program. Considering other programs I looked into were almost half the cost of Prism and considering there was only one graduating class from Phila I was a little weary about signing up for something no one could give me any personal feedback on.

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