university of rio grand and accredidation question...HELP!

chare · Mar 4, 2013

Yes, the University of Rio Grande is on the “up and up;” the Holzer School of Nursing is accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC). When you complete the program you will be awarded an Associate of Applied Science – Nursing Technology; the same degree that the students attending the two year on campus program receive.

Although it has been several years, I received both my associate’s and bachelor’s degrees from the University of Rio Grande. I was initially licensed in West Virginia. Since graduating, I have relocated to North Carolina and had no problems in obtaining licensure here.

I have also had no problems in furthering my education; I have obtained my master’s program, and am currently working on my DNP.

Good luck with whatever choice you make.

sueture · Mar 4, 2013

thank you much...makes me feel better before taking "the leap"...how do you like NC? i lived in SC near greenville...beautiful country!

lucyloo1 · Mar 5, 2013

Hi sueture! I live in the Dayton area and am currently enrolled in the URG LPN-RN online course. So far it is going very well. I've done online learning in many other courses and love it. I have found Rio Grande to be a great school and they have been very helpful and informative when I call. Online learning is not for everyone, "whiners" need not apply! Meaning, don't get frustrated at the extra initiative you need to have to figure things out, and don't throw in the towel if you get out of routine. It takes a lot of focus and determination to learn independently, but if you figure it out and get your own routine, it's awesome. I was curious about your question, so I checked into it too. I found a website that was very helpful I wanted to share with you. Online Schools for Nursing. Whatever you do, good luck to you...It's never too late, I have been an LPN for 15 years and here I am...a college geek!

sueture · Mar 6, 2013

lol yes, my friend went back to school but a more traditional route and she laughs and says she loves it..how funny, cuz when we were in regular school back in the "day" we hated it w/every fiber of our being...now we r nerds lol...youth is sooo wasted on the young! :yes: thank you for your help, maybe we can keep in touch, as i would love to hear how its going for you!

lucyloo1 · Mar 6, 2013

I agree! If I knew then what I know now, I probably would have lived it up a bit more in my youth! Now I'm too tired :-) I would enjoy to keep in touch and find out what you decide...and If I can help you out with info I will! Have a great week:)

HippyDippyLPN · Mar 8, 2013

Lucyloo I am attending the same program in the fall, would love to ask you a few questions! I am in the Dayton area as well so your perspective would be great to hear.

lucyloo1 · Mar 8, 2013

Hi hippydippy....I would be glad to answer any questions I can for you..fire away. I'll answer what I can, I just finished the first eight weeks of the first semester (before that, the initial 12 week "workshop" that starts in Aug are basically showing that you can work online, and exactly how the instructors want you to answer topic questions, they're very particular). You learn a lot from the mandatory orientation they have you come in for, lots of paperwork handed out. It may seem like an intimidating process, but the staff are quite helpful. But they're often busy, so be persistent with what you need (this can take a couple attempts:) We're in week 8 now and I have an A so far..yeah! Next is nursing theory, which I'm excited and nervous for. When I began this whole process back in March 2012, I had NO clue what to expect and more questions than I knew what to do with! It's still a learning experience but I think I'm on board with the flow now. Hope I can help you, and even continue to connect in the future as we will likely be going through the course at the same time..Talk to you soon!

HippyDippyLPN · Mar 8, 2013

Thanks for getting back to me Lucyloo! Happy to find someone who has been through this process before. One of my main questions is clinicals. Nursing dept did say they would be able to put me in Chillicothe (spelling is off on that one) for clinicals which would be as close as they could get me. Has that been your experience so far or have you had to travel farther? I am fine with traveling far for one day a week just want to get an idea of what I will be looking at here. I really have no idea what to expect either! How has online learning been for you? My LPN program was basically self taught as my program was a bit of a mess at times but I still had teachers as resources...when you have questions are you able to contact a teacher fairly quickly? It would be great to talk in the future and help eachother out on studying! I am nervous but so happy to finally find a fully accredited school...I researched the schools in our area and barely any of the trade schools have the NLN accredidation which I find nuts to pay all that money and not have the option of working in the major hospitals in the area since they wont hire you from a school without it...thank you so much for taking the time to answer!

lucyloo1 · Mar 8, 2013

I just finished the eight week A&P course which is NUR13606...some do not need to take that if they have previous credits that are recent. I graduated from LPN school in 1998, and didn't have any recent credits. I'm glad to have taken it though, most of it you know, just a good refresher. The next eight weeks is NUR14606 which is nursing theory. I haven't heard much about this, but I'm sure it's just what it says is...what we already know and have learned thus far with more thought process! After that I will start clinicals.

From what I understand, the first semester usually starting mid Jan is 16 weeks straight of the courses I mentioned above, then your clinicals start early summer. Yes, they do place you as close to your residence, but they don't go past 60 miles from the University so it's limited. Chilicothe will probably be where I go as well, I'm in Centerville so it's about 50 min South for me (not too hateful!) They have Adena Medical Center and I think a VA as well. Initially I was told clinicals are 6-8hr days once a week, or 12hr days every other week. It's solely the choice of the instructor, you have to ask the first day you can and see what the preference of the clinical group and instructor is. Becky the secretary told me to ask immediately! Basically though, you get what you get. I'm hoping to get the 12h days...long, but easier in the long-run. Once clinicals start, they will continue until graduation. Online learning is great in my opinion. I did all my prereqs online and so far I love the nursing online. I'm ready for clinicals though. The online schedule is not hateful at all in my opinion, the instructors so far have been extremely nice and helpful. They tell you to email anytime for anything and get back to you pretty fast. The instructor we have for NUR 13606 is great, she starts each week with a positive email message and gives positive feedback. I emailed once and she responded on her iphone in like 2 hours. The testing process has been easy as well. For the Dayton area, they have a proctor site just minutes off Indian Ripple rd. at the Learning center. At this point they only schedule the nurse exams on Tues. and Thurs. and it is 25$ a pop. If you're closer to Cincy I'm not sure where you'll go. At orientation, they give you everything you need, it answers many questions. Make sure you get all your health documents and vaccines up to date, and the drug screen. They're picky, they want a 12 panel not 10, and the only place I found to do it that knew what they were doing was Labcorp. Everyone else was like, huh?!:)

They will give you a list of the books you need at orientation, I got all of mine through Amazon pretty cheap. When you go to orientation, you'll go to the bookstore and get your badge and picture taken, I recommend checking out the ugly red polo we have to buy, the sizes are weird!

Sorry, I guess I've been rambling, (I do that:) but I wish I had more info this time last year, so I would be glad to help ya out! It would be nice to have a fellow student in my area to confide in and help each other out. Looking forward to further chats...

HippyDippyLPN · Mar 8, 2013

Thanks for the info, so helpful! I am in Springboro so the Indian ripple test site is pretty darn close and Chilicothe will not be all that bad of a drive really..definitely need to get started on getting my shots up to date! Do you remember which ones they wanted? Also have you found you have been able to work some while your in school? Also how was the HESI? Harder or easier than the NCLEX?

lucyloo1 · Mar 8, 2013

Wow your pretty close to me. We probably have seen each other shopping on Wilmington Pike somewhere:) I went to my doctors office and they did hep B and mmr titres, it showed I was still immune so I didn't have to get any boosters. I called Rio and asked if the lab copies were sufficient to prove that and they said yes.

I had to get my old shot record from my mom to verify my mmr's, and you'll also need to verify your last tetorifice. You'll also need to update your Mantoux.

If you haven't gotten a background check before it's typically at your local sherrifs dept or police dept. Cost runs between 25-35$. Since your close, I went to the Labcorp off of Clyo for the drug screen, she would remember the process. (seriously, it was ridiculous the amount of labs that wouldn't do a 12 panel, none of the hospitals even MVH and MV south. Compunet couldn't either. At orientation ask for a copy of the panel, I had to call ------------ and she gladly faxed one to the lab while I was there).

I work in home health care so praise the Lord I have a lot of ample time to study and work! I have taken care of a little girl since she was 2, she's turning 8 next month! (she had a brain injury(med malpractice:( and is trach/vent dependent.) I used to travel all over with her being my primary client, but the last couple years I solely devote my hours to her.

I'm married with a 10 yo and 6 yo so I have to split my time up somehow!

As far as the HESI...it was pretty in depth. Maybe it's just because I've been out of school for so long, the last time I took the NCLEX was in 1998! I think it was pretty comparable to NCLEX..I scored over the benchmark but it wasn't easy.

I have a couple of HESI prep books I purchased from Amazon that are really good study guides with practice questions.

I advise to study! Some people say just wing it, brush up...I recommend complete review (I reviewed randomly for about 3 months so I wasn't cramming). They hold only a couple HESI testing dates usually end of July first of Aug. and when I went it was packed. I think they said they had 2-300 people test (remember they only take 70 or so). Well, I have to get my son to school...talk to you later!