Was your nursing program in a dangerous area?

noahsmama · Dec 5, 2011

You're absolutely right. A lot of big cities do have bad reputations because of their bad areas. I didn't mean to offend anyone by my comment and I apologize if I did. I guess I only know the areas I have been through and applied that experience to the whole city. Oakland is actually has the closest CRNA school to me and I have no idea what to do either.

I wasn't offended, just wanted to present my own point of view about Oakland, as someone who has lived here for 26 years.

I assume the CRNA school you're referring to is Samuel Merritt U, which, as I mentioned in a previous post, is my alma mater (I did the Accelerated BSN program there). It's in a reasonably safe area -- I always felt safe there, and am not aware of any big safety issues on campus. I'll make the same suggestion to you that I made to CNA1991 -- visit there and walk around the campus to get a feel for the area yourself.

As for clinical sites, most are also in reasonably safe areas, although there's a few that are not. I've already mentioned Childrens Hospital Oakland, which is in a marginal area (but not the worst of the worst). Probably the worst clinical site in terms of safety is Highland Hospital -- my class didn't have any clinicals there but I think SMU does sometimes have clinicals there. There's an attached garage -- if you can park there, and if there's security guards who can escort you to your car, I think you'll be fine. I've been to Highland during the day time and I feel safe as long as I can park within a block or so.

As a public health nurse who does home visits I can tell you that yes, there are some really really bad neighborhoods in Oakland, and sometimes I do end up doing a home visit in one of those areas -- so far I haven't had any problems, though I do find it a little scary at times. In nursing school though I never ended up having to visit those areas.

Good luck!

CNA1991, CNA · Dec 8, 2011

OMG CNA1991, as a 25 year resident of the fine city of Oakland and a graduate of one of its nursing schools (Samuel Merritt), I feel compelled to defend the city in which I live.
First of all you should understand that Oakland is very heterogeneous -- yes, there are some very VERY bad neighborhoods, but there are also many neighborhoods where crime is relatively low. Maybe not quite as low as in Livermore, but not a whole lot worse. Samuel Merritt University happens to be located in one of those areas. I felt completely safe walking around campus during the day. I wouldn't walk around at night alone, but I wouldn't do that in Livermore either.
Most of the clinical sites are in reasonably safe neighborhoods too. I did most of my clinicals at Kaiser Oakland, which is located 5 blocks away from my apartment, so I know this neighborhood well. It's considered a relatively desirable neighborhood in Oakland -- one of the ones where a 2 bedroom/1bath "starter home" will set you back $700K (compared to $200-300K in the really bad neighborhoods of Oakland). Again, it's not completely crime free, but I have lived in this neighborhood and have even walked outside alone at night sometimes, and in 25 years I have not yet been mugged. There is some crime but it's not that bad, especially if you're careful (although I've occasionally walked alone at night I don't recommend it and I try not to do it if I can avoid it -- again, you would be wise to do so in Livermore too).
Most of our other clinical sites were in reasonably safe neighborhoods. I would include Kaiser Hayward in this category, despite the tragedy that befell nursing student Michele Le. As LRobinson pointed out, what happened to Le had nothing to do with her being a nursing student or whether or not her clinical site was in a safe area. She was killed by a psychotic ex-friend and former high school classmate who had somehow convinced herself that Le had something to do with her boyfriend breaking up with her. This could just as easily have happened to someone who worked at McDonalds, and could just as easily happened in a "safe" place like Livermore.
You said there had been "several" nursing students kidnapped and murdered in the past 3 years. I'm not aware of any other cases besides Le. What other cases are you referring to?
Our only clinical site that I would consider to be in a slightly marginal neighborhood was Childrens Hospital Oakland. It's not in a bad bad neighborhood, but it's not in a good one. However, I know that they have security guards available 24/7 to escort staff, guests, and yes, nursing students, to their vehicles. Personally, if I'm at CHO at night I take advantage of this service -- during the day time, I don't consider it to be necessary.
The city of Hayward may have a few bad areas but mostly it's pretty safe. I consider Kaiser Hayward to be in a reasonable area. I'm not familiar with the campus of Cal State U. East Bay, but I haven't heard anything negative about crime there. I've also been to the campus of Holy Names U., and it seems completely safe to me. In fact, there's an elementary school for kids with learning disabilities on that campus, and I'm seriously considering sending my son there next year.
So please, you are not taking your life into your hands if you enroll in a nursing program in Oakland! I and my 47 classmates all survived just fine.
Best of luck to you!

Thanks, that's good to know. I was just worried because when I told my parents I was going there, my dad freaked out. I also told a friend about my plans to attend school in Oakland and he shook his head at me like "Are you kidding me?". My fiance is also really worried. I guess in my town everything gets hyped up because it's considered a safe town compared to a lot of other towns. I really don't want to discourage myself from going because I plan on applying to my choice in oakland (in the area you mentioned) first. I am glad to know that the area is safe. I have been there once before (lake merrit) at night and it seemed safe and it's good to hear from someone who knows the area.

~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN · Dec 9, 2011

In the state I work you don't even need a permit to carry concealed, shoot legally you can even carry a concealed weapon into the hospital. The hospital is fighting this and have signs saying they do not allow it.

The only school I would not go to I think is Va Tech. That poor school seems to be a breeding ground for crazy murderers.