Warning about Columbia State.

U.S.A. Tennessee

Published

I wanted to get the word out to potential nursing students about a school to avoid. I am in the program at Columbia State and it has been a miserable experience for me and all my fellow students. Most of us have a bachelor's degree and are not new to academia but have never experienced teachers like what is at this school. Teachers outside the nursing program have been fine but the nursing instructors are the worst. They have nothing but disdain and disgust for all students and are completely unresponsive and dismissive and it seems to be their goal to fail as many as possible. We are all for hard work and are willing to study as much as it takes but the tests relate very little to either the book or lecture. Most people are at Columbia State because it is the cheapest way to get an RN but I think you get what you pay for. I talk to students at Belmont and Aquinas and they don't have the same issues we do at all. I wish someone had warned me about what I was about to face so I thought I would stick my neck out here and maybe help someone avoid the problems we have had to face.

I graduated from Columbia State in 1989 (Franklin campus). It was difficult, but I felt it was a good program. That was when we were always a day behind on lectures, because we did not have "live feeds" and had to wait for the tape to be delivered to our campus. I am sorry to hear the negative comments about it. :uhoh21:

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Thanks for the heads-up. I am looking to move to TN very soon. Do you know of any good/decent areas to move to? My husb and I are looking for an apartment or townhome to start off.....:blushkiss

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Specializes in Critical Care: Diabetic Education.

Graduated from CSCC Columbia campus in 2005. Nursing school was HARD. Instructors were HARD. Seemed like it wasn't fair at the time. Am a better nurse today for it. CSCC nursing is very hard and some of the instructors are difficult but they want to make you the best nurse they can. After I graduated and had worked for about a year I saw some previous instructors and thanked them. They were the hardest instructors I had, feared them at the time I had them. Their tests failed over a third of my class. But they were hard because when you are out there at the hopsital it is hard. You can't get a second chance when it is somebody's life. And it isn't always fair. It isn't fair to get critized by a doctor bacause you didn't do it the way he wanted or when someone critizes you and it honestly wasn't your fault. Some of nursing school is being able to learn how to handle bad situations. My advice read read read and study. Don't get suckered into complaining about instructors. Spend the time you would be complaining studying. IT will pay off. And your instructors will notice and be willing to help you out if you have tried your hardest.

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I live between Columbia and Jackson. I was on Columbia's waiting list (which seemed like forever) and then a friend told me to try Jackson State Community College. I got into Jackson on the first try. They do not have a waiting list it is based on your act and gpa. I had to retake my act, but i though big deal. I now have a friend who is going to columbia and she hates it. I love jackson I am so glad now that I got into thisa program and not columbia. She (my friend) has told me about the teachers and she said it is like they just throw you out there. But at Jackson they are very helpful. I have to drive an extra 15 minutes but that is fine with me. Jackson also has a 99% pass rate when it comes to boards, adn was ranked 13th in the country for nursing programs.

:nurse:

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I graduated from the weekend program at TSU in 1994....I thought the program was hard but our pass rate was high. My aunt was a manager in the ER at Vanderbilt at one time. She said she would rather hire a TSU graduate than a Vanderbilt graduate...TSU grads are better prepared to be a nurse.

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I have found in my experiences that the TSU graduates seem sharp. TSU offers a two + two program and I'm finding that both levels of graduates seem to be on their p's and q's. Yes, I've heard that the staff can be unorganized.

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Specializes in Clinical Risk Management.

Another TSU grad here. BSN in '94. My SIL graduated from the weekend program in '94, too. When I worked at , I wound up working with another grad from your class. TSU certainly made you work for your degree, no matter which program you chose!

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Specializes in OB, M/S, HH, Medical Imaging RN.
Belmont graduates I have worked with had clinical skills inferior to what I would expect after paying what Belmont charges. I have seen LPNs with better clinical skills and that isn't a joke.

No, it certainly isn't a joke. Education is just the beginning of being a good nurse and aquiring good clinical skills. I have worked with many LPN's with excellent clinical skills and it had nothing to do with where they went to school, their grade point average or what they scored on NCLEX. Same goes for RN's. (I am a TN nurse as well)

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I am sorry you apparently have had a bad experience at Columbia State Community College. I graduated from there in 2004 and can honestly say that the majority of teachers had high expectations for us and held us to a high standard. At the time, I thought they were being unnecessarily tough but after passing boards on the 1st attempt, I realize they were preparing me for the NCLEX. I thank them for teaching me what I needed to know to pass NCLEX and in preparing me for my lifelong dream of being an RN.

Sure, I had some poor instructors who had such poor organization, created chaos in class and clinical, could not/did not answer questions, inconsistent with each other.

Other instructors were wonderful. They truly cared that we learned the content. They were patient and demonstrated professionalism in the way they talked to students - showed us respect. They always had a kind word to say as we came into the classroom and were very well prepared for class. Clinicals were awesome also. OB was the greatest at Maury Regional and Med-Surg with was also great. I can't say enough good about those instructors. I learned a lot that semester.

Other instructors were hard but were true to their word as to teaching us simple to complex content. Some instructors were wonderful to us in clinical --- hard? Yes... definitely but we sure learned a lot. I had Psych. instructors who were wonderful in teaching us how to interact and respond to clients experiencing mental health problems.

One semester was a piece of cake, and we didn't do much and didn't really learn a whole lot. These instructors were mostly interested in how much we liked them and if we thought their lecture was done well, and not much else.

If it had not been for the good instructors and courses I mentioned, I may have felt the same as you apparently do but they were my saving grace and I will never be able to thank them enough for their encouragement, help, and support. They taught me and guided me as I cared for patients in clinical and helped me to learn to critically think. I applaud them and hope they are appreciated by Columbia State as being superior teachers.

Columbia State is not a bad school but desperately in need of leadership. Maybe this is part of the reason you are not satisfied and happy with this school of nursing.

Hope things get better for you before you graduate.

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Specializes in psych, med/surg, ICU.

has anyone been accepted in the lpn to bsn program at mtsu?

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Wow, I am so shocked by your post. I'm so sorry for your bad experience. I just graduated from Columbia State tonight!! My experience was vastly different from yours. I have had significant, caring and superior teachers ...at least one of the 4 per semester...that were the glue holding me together. Dr. ***** was amazing, Mrs. **** was tough, but excellent, and Mrs. *****, priceless, just to name a few. I do have friends who had a half of semester with a clinical instructor who was extremely difficult, as well as a couple in Columbia (i attended Franklin) who were testy. All in all I feel extremely blessed to have attended there. I started out with a 4.0 and finished with a 3.8, and had a previous degree also. I really enjoyed my experience and I'm so sorry yours wasn't what you had hoped.

Good Luck.

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Hello fellow TN residents. My G/f actually used to go to Columbia and was on the mile long waiting list. You should REALLY look in to the Motlow Nursing Program. I go there now and I am a pre nursing student. I just attended a seminar a couple weeks ago and this comes from two Motlow grads who hosted the seminar and got jobs right after graduation at , Hospitals are hiring Motlow nursing grads over any other program. Last time I read up on it we have the highest first time NCLEX pass rate in TN at 97%. That was almost 6 months ago so it could have changed by now. We have 5 Diff. campuses to attend which makes it convenient and we admit 70 nurses per year, no waiting list. Our program is small and from what ive heard our nursing profs. are VERY good!!! If you have any questions or if anyone does let me know and I will answer what I can. Im still taking pre-reqs so i cant answer much about the actual program because I am not there yet, but I will do what I can. I hope this is helpful. And good luck.

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