Stenberg College Psychiatric Nursing - job prospects?

[AliMC]

Hi there,

I am new here to allnurses and am a prospective nursing student from B.C. I'm interested in psychiatric nursing (in a hospital setting, preferably) and have been thinking of applying to Stenberg College's Psychiatric Nursing Diploma program, as it's online and that way I will be able to work while attending school. I also live quite a distance from Douglas College and Kwantlen University (the only other schools in B.C. with psych nursing), which is further incentive for me to take the online program. My question is, with a diploma in psychiatric nursing, will I be able to apply for RPN jobs within the health authorities in the Lower Mainland (Fraser, Vancouver Coastal, etc.)? Like the psych nursing positions in emergency, that kind of thing. All of the job postings I've looked at have simply said that you need to have passed the exam, but I'm not sure if they expect a degree as well. The Stenberg program seems like a good fit for me, but I wouldn't want to spend all that time and money and end up regretting it if I can't get a job afterwards. Which leads me to my next question, I know it's been covered a few times already on here, but is Stenberg really that bad? I've spoken to LPN grads who loved it, but the place doesn't get a lot of love on here...

Thanks! ?

[AliMC]

How did you like the hospital placements, newrpn? What kind of stuff did you get to do there? Ideally I'd like to work in a hospital setting, so that really appeals to me. It's good to hear that you were able to work at the same time, I hope to be able to do that as well.

[newrpn]

How did you like the hospital placements, newrpn? What kind of stuff did you get to do there? Ideally I'd like to work in a hospital setting, so that really appeals to me. It's good to hear that you were able to work at the same time, I hope to be able to do that as well.

By the end of both hospital placements, we were acting as full nurses within our scope with minute supervision. In the acute psyc rotation, by the end I had a patient load of 3 and a patient load of 2 for the med surg. We were doing full med, charting, observations in other departments (etc, imaging, surgery,etc).

[Fiona59]

By the end of both hospital placements, we were acting as full nurses within our scope with minute supervision. In the acute psyc rotation, by the end I had a patient load of 3 and a patient load of 2 for the med surg. We were doing full med, charting, observations in other departments (etc, imaging, surgery,etc).

a "full nurse within scope" has more than two patients in med/surg. So you were still a student who could only take two patients. A full nurse is expected to have 3-5.

[AliMC]

Wow, that's great. Was there a psych element to the med/surg rotation, or was it just general med/surg nursing? Sorry for all the questions, it's just great to be able to talk to somebody in the program. Last one, I promise, haha - do you feel that the Stenberg students are treated as less capable than those at Douglas and Kwantlen? I mean, are Stenberg grads eligible to apply for the same RPN positions as grads of degree programs? My main concern with Stenberg is the job prospects after graduation.

[Fiona59]

What you need to find out is how do the students fare on the national registration exam? How many pass on first writing?

[AliMC]

That's an excellent idea, Fiona59. I hadn't thought about that. Do you think it would be something I could contact Stenberg to find out?

[newrpn]

Contact the crpnbc to see if you can get the pass rate.

[newrpn]

I understand that a full nurse had 3-5 patients. What I meant was that we were doing all the same duties as the other nurses in the floor within our scope.

[newrpn]

We can apply for the same jobs, just not supervisory without a ba. I want worried about that as I have my ba in psyc. I have spoken to several Stenberg grads working in the field who all have been hired by various organizations. I am not concerned about getting a job in November.

[AliMC]

I will definitely look into that. It's great to hear that you can apply for the same jobs. I contacted VCH a little while ago to ask if they would hire those with diplomas from Stenberg for RPN positions and they told me that as long as you passed the exam, you were eligible. Thank you for answering all of my questions, newrpn, and I wish you the best of luck in the future! :)

[Michelle Cassidy]

I agree with other posters. You pay 50 k to teach yourself whether you pass or not seems to be a popularity contest. It's a joke. My friend was an excellent student, straight A'S and she was failed on practicum, everybody surprised. She passed with flying colors on her previous clinicals. The place is a walking lawsuit.