veteran friendly CSU's

RunBabyRN · Nov 19, 2014

Hey there corpsman!

I know of Long Beach and Sonoma State in addition to East Bay. For both, as long as you qualify, you are in. I attended SSU, so feel free to ask if you have any questions. Double check with the schools, too, as policies change. My info is current as of 2011/2012.

Stocktonluke · Nov 19, 2014

SSU is actually the school I'm really hoping to attend! I've tried contacting both the nursing advisor and the chair of the nursing department but they won't confirm if veterans receive any type of priority. They just refer me to the school website which contains no information about veterans. I guess I'll keep my fingers crossed!

RunBabyRN · Nov 19, 2014

SSU is actually the school I'm really hoping to attend! I've tried contacting both the nursing advisor and the chair of the nursing department but they won't confirm if veterans receive any type of priority. They just refer me to the school website which contains no information about veterans. I guess I'll keep my fingers crossed!

You don't have enough messages on here for me to send you a PM, and I can't give you names on threads, but I can assure you the chair is big on vets having preference. As long as you meet the minimum requirements, you're in. There should be info sessions coming up, so stay tuned and go to one. The chair will be there to answer questions and tell you about the program. The nursing advisor (if it's the one I'm thinking of) is terrible about responding to students, honestly. Send a message to the admin, because then it'll get routed properly, and you'll hear back.

Looking at the website, there's an info session coming up:

[h=2]Pre-Licensure BSN[/h]

Date: Friday, December 5, 2014

Time: 5:00pm to 7:00pm

Location: Darwin Hall Rm.103

Stocktonluke · Nov 21, 2014

You are correct! She emailed me back yesterday saying that veterans get priority as long as they meet the minimum requirements.

On another note, did you enjoy the program at Sonoma? It's only 24 months which is pretty short compared to other state schools. Are you happy with the outcome of your education?

RunBabyRN · Nov 21, 2014

You are correct! She emailed me back yesterday saying that veterans get priority as long as they meet the minimum requirements.
On another note, did you enjoy the program at Sonoma? It's only 24 months which is pretty short compared to other state schools. Are you happy with the outcome of your education?

I'm happy with their program. The instructors are very supportive. No "thinning the herd" mentality. The biggest complaint I have heard consistently from people is the lack of skills lab. However, as a former HM, you will be WAY ahead of the game, and this won't be as big a deal, depending on your duty stations and what you did. I had no chest tube, NG tube, mechanical ventilator experience, but TONS of experience that WAS helpful. It was more the shift from thinking as a corpsman to thinking as a nurse that was a challenge, but not an insurmountable one. Be open to new ways of doing things, new ways of thinking, and keep your eyes and ears open. The instructors are VERY open to the fact that you have prior experience, and will draw on that. They will expect more from you, but in my experience, we vets are generally up for that challenge (we also had an Army medic in our class). You won't be able to do more than the scope allowed at that time, and you will still need your skills checked off before you're allowed to perform them without direct supervision, just like anyone else. I helped teach IVs in skills lab and at the clinical site where I was assigned.

For the lecture content, you'll need good time management, good self-motivation to learn, as, like any program, I imagine, most learning is done on your own time. There's a TON of reading and writing, and some instructors are better than others at helping you get the content down. One of the instructors/heads of the program is retiring this year, a DEVASTATING loss to the program, as she is AWESOME. I don't know who they have stepping into her role/classes.

Definitely go to the info session, as you can get a lot of questions answered there. I feel like the program prepared me well for the NCLEX and for nursing practice. Like any program, it has its good elements and not-as-good elements, but overall, I think it's a good program. It's nice that it's only 2 years, too!

Stocktonluke · Nov 21, 2014

The seemingly lack of clinical time is a little disconcerting for me. I think that's my biggest concern. I want to be well prepared when I graduate! I'm planning on going back into the navy as an officer once I'm through with school and I really don't want to be that nurse that doesn't know what's going on haha. I've dealt with that too many times.

RunBabyRN · Nov 21, 2014

Here's the thing, and I've heard this from several managers, including one I interviewed with today. Skills can be taught anywhere. A monkey can learn to give an injection. However, learning how to think as a nurse, how to think critically, to understand the disease processes and use your resources and practice safely are really what nursing school is about. They can't teach you to be kind or to be willing to learn or to jump in when a coworker needs help cleaning up a patient. Those are all the things managers care about. Also, the NCLEX isn't about skills. It's about delegation, prioritization and safety. People stress so much about skills, but they're such a small part of nursing. You will learn those things on the floor, using the equipment there and according to their protocols. You'll get your fair share in clinicals as well. I don't feel like I got shafted, but I think some people do.

Nienna Celebrindal · Nov 21, 2014

Seems like you got your answer but i will throw this out there for others, a lot of csus are and if you are at a csu and need help the veterans office is outstanding! They have leverage. They won't get you somewhere you don't deserve to be but they are amazing at cutting through red tape and speeding things along.

RunBabyRN · Nov 21, 2014

Night crow, the VA rep at SSU is useless. It's a side job, as there are few vets there.