Walden University vs Chamberlain University FNP??

[snk2503]

Was wondering what's everyone's opinion on what school is better... Walden or Chamberlain for FNP?? I work 3 - 12's a week and the clinical portion would be more doable from Walden. Just curious what others think.

Thanks! :)

[Dranger]

Neither, I would avoid for-profit schools that accept anyone with a check.

[lila29629]

Ok...not too encouraging so far from Dranger ...but I have seen many experienced NP posters here who have said they have seen and worked with outstanding NP grads from for-profits -Walden, etc. Depends on the PERSON as well as their education and background.

Even so, I do totally understand that the traditional, brick-and-mortar programs are very well established and include the required program rigor to turn out excellent NP grads.

However, I honestly believe that THE INDIVIDUAL makes every bit of difference in whether or not he/she will become an excellent NP. A lot of people had a LOT of hardship going through undergrad - for example several single moms on these boards who left an abusive marriage with nothing but their kids in tow and entered a BSN program out of need rather than calling. These women never ceased to amaze me. They got through school with young kids, barely hanging on to their homes, no child support and often no family support. So their undergrad GPA's were often not as stellar as it could have been had they had a perfect world...a 2.9, or a 3.0 instead of a 3.5-8, for example. Let's face it...what would your priority be if you were in their shoes? The kids. NOT your undergrad GPA.

I just think that before we discourage posters here who are asking reasonable questions on this board, we need to think before we just flat-out discourage them. We don't know them and we have not walked in anyone's shoes but our own. There are a lot of stellar, super-smart students from all walks of life out there who had a rough undergrad experience (like the example or for whatever legit reason) and have landed on their feet to become amazing RN's, despite their undergrad GPA's. If they can't get into the "best" NP schools now because of their lower GPA's, why should that stop them from reaching their dreams post BSN?

Glad those schools do exist for people just like the example...some simply cannot get in to the better, established programs, and NOT because they are below average...on the contrary. I can't imagine being shut out for life from achieving your dreams, because of a rough undergrad start, or because you're a few 10th's of a point away from acceptance. I realize a lot of these for-profit schools have issues, but I believe if you go into it with eyes wide open, you can do with it what YOU make of it...

[Dranger]

Ok...not too encouraging so far from Dranger ...but I have seen many experienced NP posters here who have said they have seen and worked with outstanding NP grads from for-profits -Walden, etc. Depends on the PERSON as well as their education and background.

Even so, I do totally understand that the traditional, brick-and-mortar programs are very well established and include the required program rigor to turn out excellent NP grads.

However, I honestly believe that THE INDIVIDUAL makes every bit of difference in whether or not he/she will become an excellent NP. A lot of people had a LOT of hardship going through undergrad - for example several single moms on these boards who left an abusive marriage with nothing but their kids in tow and entered a BSN program out of need rather than calling. These women never ceased to amaze me. They got through school with young kids, barely hanging on to their homes, no child support and often no family support. So their undergrad GPA's were often not as stellar as it could have been had they had a perfect world...a 2.9, or a 3.0 instead of a 3.5-8, for example. Let's face it...what would your priority be if you were in their shoes? The kids. NOT your undergrad GPA.

I just think that before we discourage posters here who are asking reasonable questions on this board, we need to think before we just flat-out discourage them. We don't know them and we have not walked in anyone's shoes but our own. There are a lot of stellar, super-smart students from all walks of life out there who had a rough undergrad experience (like the example or for whatever legit reason) and have landed on their feet to become amazing RN's, despite their undergrad GPA's. If they can't get into the "best" NP schools now because of their lower GPA's, why should that stop them from reaching their dreams post BSN?

Glad those schools do exist for people just like the example...some simply cannot get in to the better, established programs, and NOT because they are below average...on the contrary. I can't imagine being shut out for life from achieving your dreams, because of a rough undergrad start, or because you're a few 10th's of a point away from acceptance. I realize a lot of these for-profit schools have issues, but I believe if you go into it with eyes wide open, you can do with it what YOU make of it...

Everyone has anecdotes and those anecdotes come with excuses. This is an anonymous message board and everyone is entitled to their own opinion as well as being subject to the scrutiny of others. For the OP there are about 100 different threads on Walden/Chamberlain so starting a new one was probably not even needed. The OP asked which school was better and I said neither, a pretty simple answer to be honest.

Kids, divorce, domestic issues? None of those are relevant to the topic at hand. In addition, we know nothing about the OPs situation. Kind of grasping at straws, eh?

Overcoming personal struggles, while commendable, is not an excuse for lax admission standards and the proliferation of for-profit 100% acceptance schools. Being a provider is a luxury and not a right. Not everyone's life situation allows for it and that's okay, but it doesn't mean every Tom, Dick and Harry has a right to a script pad. A big problem within nursing is an overwhelming sense of entitlement.

Last time I checked, medical schools, PA, PT and other healthcare fields are extremely selective with applicants and only take the best of the best. Across the board EVERY med school is difficult to get into with GPA, research and the MCAT being top priority. Why should nursing be any different? Would you want your provider to be the guy/gal who came from a program with 0 standards for admission and minimal campus visit time?

[smileyfacefee]

I don't know anything about chamberlain but I am currently attending Walden University. I am in the beginning stages and so far the focus has been on understanding the studies on for evidence based practices and current nursing issues. I am actually learning so far but I do believe the individual will play a part because u can do a lot of assignments without putting in the effort they ask u too. U can also visit Walden community Web page and speak to students there without being a student. Hope this helps.

[JoJo_Mommy, BSN]

I've never heard of Walden but I always hear about Chamberlain and was actually thinking about attending in Dallas. Then I spoke to a NP who went to a UTA El Paso and told me about her difficulties finding a preceptor because all the brick and mortar schools seemed to have set up agreements with the area hospitals/establishments. She had to drive 3 hours out to get a clinical site which doesn't seem too appealing to me. Keep that in mind when you decide to attend a school that doesn't set up your clinical rotations for you. It's going to take a lot of effort on your part to find a clinical location.

[Ad Pa]

On 1/7/2016 at 1:13 AM, lila29629 said:

OK...not too encouraging so far from Dranger ...but I have seen many experienced NP posters here who have said they have seen and worked with outstanding NP grads from for-profits -Walden, etc. Depends on the PERSON as well as their education and background.

Even so, I do totally understand that the traditional, brick-and-mortar programs are very well established and include the required program rigor to turn out excellent NP grads.

However, I honestly believe that THE INDIVIDUAL makes every bit of difference in whether or not he/she will become an excellent NP. A lot of people had a LOT of hardship going through undergrad - for example several single moms on these boards who left an abusive marriage with nothing but their kids in tow and entered a BSN program out of need rather than calling. These women never ceased to amaze me. They got through school with young kids, barely hanging on to their homes, no child support and often no family support. So their undergrad GPA's were often not as stellar as it could have been had they had a perfect world...a 2.9, or a 3.0 instead of a 3.5-8, for example. Let's face it...what would your priority be if you were in their shoes? The kids. NOT your undergrad GPA.

I just think that before we discourage posters here who are asking reasonable questions on this board, we need to think before we just flat-out discourage them. We don't know them and we have not walked in anyone's shoes but our own. There are a lot of stellar, super-smart students from all walks of life out there who had a rough undergrad experience (like the example or for whatever legit reason) and have landed on their feet to become amazing RN's, despite their undergrad GPA's. If they can't get into the "best" NP schools now because of their lower GPA's, why should that stop them from reaching their dreams post BSN?

Glad those schools do exist for people just like the example...some simply cannot get in to the better, established programs, and NOT because they are below average...on the contrary. I can't imagine being shut out for life from achieving your dreams, because of a rough undergrad start, or because you're a few 10th's of a point away from acceptance. I realize a lot of these for-profit schools have issues, but I believe if you go into it with eyes wide open, you can do with it what YOU make of it...

I thank God for you , you are a wonderful person ❤️

[PMHP61, BSN]

On 1/7/2016 at 1:47 AM, Dranger said:

Everyone has anecdotes and those anecdotes come with excuses. This is an anonymous message board and everyone is entitled to their own opinion as well as being subject to the scrutiny of others. For the OP there are about 100 different threads on Walden/Chamberlain so starting a new one was probably not even needed. The OP asked which school was better and I said neither, a pretty simple answer to be honest.

Kids, divorce, domestic issues? None of those are relevant to the topic at hand. In addition, we know nothing about the OPs situation. Kind of grasping at straws, eh?

Overcoming personal struggles, while commendable, is not an excuse for lax admission standards and the proliferation of for-profit 100% acceptance schools. Being a provider is a luxury and not a right. Not everyone's life situation allows for it and that's okay, but it doesn't mean every Tom, Dick and Harry has a right to a script pad. A big problem within nursing is an overwhelming sense of entitlement.

Last time I checked, medical schools, PA, PT and other healthcare fields are extremely selective with applicants and only take the best of the best. Across the board EVERY med school is difficult to get into with GPA, research and the MCAT being top priority. Why should nursing be any different? Would you want your provider to be the guy/gal who came from a program with 0 standards for admission and minimal campus visit time?

Curious to know how you got your information on these schools or is this just an opinion?

[Mel1210]

Dranger said:

Neither, I would avoid for-profit schools that accept anyone with a check.

I worked with a nurse that was getting her DNP, always seemed to be on top of her academic achievements as a nurse, had all the credentials you can imagine behind her name... AWFUL nurse. Took all the shortcuts because she was so busy doing homework or reading her school stuff. She would neglect her patients because she would spend a great part of the shift doing school work. One of her patients even died because she kept silencing the alarms from the nursing station instead of actually checking on her patient, by the time she got up to check it was almost change of shift and she only got up because she wanted to make her patient look presentable for the next shift. Her patient was blue. We coded the patient for about an hour because she was also young. I will never forget the cries of the family when they arrived to the unit. When I left work that day, I sat in my car for a good 10 minutes and cried.

There is a saying "I don't care how much you know, I care how much you care" (something like that) If you truly care, you will study and do all the work, do your best as a clinician, as a MSN student. Some people simply are bad test takers and got 3.0 GPA in their undergraduate studies. 

Those people that would not allow students from certain schools do clinicals because of how the school approaches them, have the right to do so, but they need to remember where they started and not take anything personal. They could instead interview the students and ask knowledge questions to see if the students are actually motivated to learn, regardless of what school they come from. 

 

[MentalKlarity, BSN, NP]

It's so sad reading this thread. So many nurses defend and make excuses for these diploma mill joke programs and act like they don't make nurses a laughingstock of the medical world. Realize that physicians make fun of us because they know anyone with a pulse and a check can apply to Walden and chamberlain and be accepted. None of your little anecdotes and crying about how much more flexible those programs are will change the fact that they're a joke and no one takes their graduates seriously in the real world.

[sault]

Mel1210 said:

I worked with a nurse that was getting her DNP, always seemed to be on top of her academic achievements as a nurse, had all the credentials you can imagine behind her name... AWFUL nurse. Took all the shortcuts because she was so busy doing homework or reading her school stuff. She would neglect her patients because she would spend a great part of the shift doing school work. One of her patients even died because she kept silencing the alarms from the nursing station instead of actually checking on her patient, by the time she got up to check it was almost change of shift and she only got up because she wanted to make her patient look presentable for the next shift. Her patient was blue. We coded the patient for about an hour because she was also young. I will never forget the cries of the family when they arrived to the unit. When I left work that day, I sat in my car for a good 10 minutes and cried.

There is a saying "I don't care how much you know, I care how much you care" (something like that) If you truly care, you will study and do all the work, do your best as a clinician, as a MSN student. Some people simply are bad test takers and got 3.0 GPA in their undergraduate studies. 

Those people that would not allow students from certain schools do clinicals because of how the school approaches them, have the right to do so, but they need to remember where they started and not take anything personal. They could instead interview the students and ask knowledge questions to see if the students are actually motivated to learn, regardless of what school they come from. 

 

I am just curious what the other "good nurses" on the floor were doing while the patient was essentially dying in the room? Just curious. Because on my unit, if we see a nurse OR a patient circling the drain we step in to help. There is no this is his/her patient. They belong to us all as a collective and we all belong to one another too when we are working side by side. I'm just curious, no heat no smoke. Maybe a bit of judgement though, but I'm sure you can excuse me for that. 

[Mel1210]

sault said:

I am just curious what the other "good nurses" on the floor were doing while the patient was essentially dying in the room? Just curious. Because on my unit, if we see a nurse OR a patient circling the drain we step in to help. There is no this is his/her patient. They belong to us all as a collective and we all belong to one another too when we are working side by side. I'm just curious, no heat no smoke. Maybe a bit of judgement though, but I'm sure you can excuse me for that. 

The other "good nurses" (myself included) kept checking on that patient from time to time. We kept telling this other nurse to check on her patient because O2 says were not reading, we suggested her draw labs, etc. Most places I've worked at, we all help each other out. If there's an admission coming and the nurse receiving that patient is busy, we do as much as we can to help her with the admission, drawing labs, entering vitals, start on pressors, whatever it takes to stabilize the patient until the nurse assigned to that patient can get caught up. So your assumption that we are crappy nurses , I mean "good nurses" is unnecessary, but there, I explained it anyways. This particular night at some point everyone got busy. If you haven't been in that situation where everyone is busy and even management is not available, then I have no idea where you work,  other than this magical place where everyone is a "good nurse" 100% of the time.

When we all got busy she evidently continued to neglect her patient. The most educated nurse in the unit was the worst nurse during that night. That was my point. If you graduated from Walden or Columbia it doesn't matter to me, as long as you show that you know what you're doing and you care for your patients.

No need to reply if you are going to imply something wrong about me or whatever happens during my shift. You weren't there.