Which nursing program in Cincinnati?

[HellaciousD]

I'm presently going to Cincinnati State to finish my prereqs for nursing. If all goes well, I'll apply at the end of this summer semester and start in January 2015. Right now I'm taking a course to become an STNA and a math/chem/bio course. Next semester I plan on taking A & P. Due to the low price of Cincinnati State's program and the high NCLEX pass rate, I think it may be a good program. I am wondering if there are better options however. Is cincinnati state's program too hard? Too easy? Is it very difficult to get into? The way I understand it, Cincinnati State uses a progression to admit students and seats are given based on several factors including past healthcare experience, grades in key classes, proof of having taken key classes, and score on TEAS test. Other programs I've looked at include UC blue ash, galen, hondros, christ, and good sam. Christ, good sam, and UC blue ash seem good but pricey. Galen and Hondros seem to be of questionable quality and I'm not sure those types of programs would enable me to purse nurse anesthetist if I so desire. If it's of any use, I'm an EMTB now and my long term goal is either firefighter or nurse anesthetist depending on how nursing goes. Ideally, I'd like to get into an icu internship after completing my rn and then work on bsn while getting icu experience. If I decide I don't like the idea of nurse anesthetist, I plan to go straight into rn to medic conversion and work towards a municipal firefighting job.

tl;dr

Which cincinnati area nursing program is best if I'm on a budget and have hopes of getting into an icu?

Thanks for your time and any help,

Jay

[Medic2RN, BSN, RN, EMT-P]

Moved to the Ohio Nursing forum for more of a response.

[HellaciousD]

I am having a difficult time deciding whether a superior rn program is worth twice as much when I plan on getting my bsn from a superior program. I'm most concerned with whether rn from a less impressive program will allow me to get into a critical care internship at a cincinnati hospital.

[ShantheRN, BSN, RN]

I'm a Cincy State grad. I got a job at CCHMC....the hospital notorious for never ever ever hiring ADN nurses. I'm doing OU's RN-BSN program, about 16 months total. After all is said and done, I'll have my BSN for less than $20,000. A fancy school name won't necessarily get you ahead of the game. Granted, I was smart about it and started as a PCA....but I started as an RN at the same time as someone who spent $90,000 on her BSN. She said she did it to ensure she got a new grad job. I just smiled.

I can't comment on Cincy State's current program though. I graduated before they went to semesters. I would assume it wouldn't be as intense, because those 10 week terms were kinda brutal.