Accelerated Nursing Program
Nursing is a profession that takes knowledge, skill and dedication. Today’s nurses are faced with complex, high-risk cases in which they are continually required to update their skills. Traditional baccalaureate programs do not always provide the time or flexibility that nurses need to meet these demands.
An accelerated nursing program can offer you the specialized coursework, internship and clinical experience needed to become a nurse faster than a traditional 4 year program while ensuring your success by providing one-on-one instruction from experienced faculty who understand your individual needs.
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Accelerated Nursing Program: Advantage Clinic is a gem of a school. Their nursing program is geared towards the fast track to success. Students can apply to the program part–time while they work towards their degree, however they are limited to only two years in length due to state licensing requirements. They also do not offer any clinical experiences (internships).
Advantage Clinic offers tuition reimbursement as well as payment plans upon acceptance into the program. Tuition and fees total approximately $15,000 per semester over two years of full-time study.
The campus itself is very clean, safe, and well lit at night. I feel very comfortable walking there alone at night. This is an extremely important factor for me because living on campus means never having to worry about getting home late, especially if I have classes during the evening. It also makes it easy to meet people.
The classroom is small, but provides adequate space to study, plus plenty of outlets for students to charge their phones or laptops.
The students in my Nursing BSN program are immediately respectful towards me because I am the nursing professor and have been there longer than they have. We are a small class with only five students per semester, so we get a lot of one-on-one time with our professor and other students. We have a lot of opportunities to get to know one another in classes, labs, and clinical sites.
Students are assigned to one professor for the first semester and rotate through their labs and clinical sites with that professor for the rest of their time in the program. This means that students have one person who is responsible for all of their instruction throughout the program. This also ensures that students do not receive any conflicting or duplicative information from instructors.
The school has a very strong emphasis on student nursing outcomes as well as tailoring programs to meet each student’s individual needs based on coursework taken previously and prior experience in their field. This is done during each student’s application process as well as throughout the course of the program. I feel like students are very well informed of their options and have the opportunity to change academics before being accepted into Advantage Clinic if they so choose. I love my school because it is based on individual needs that are not stereotypical.
During my time in this program, many students have expressed interest in going on to work for companies such as Kaiser Permanente, some stay local with whom I work at now, and others have gone on to take positions within other nurse education programs that offer accelerated programs. I stay up to date on the latest information regarding these programs and pass it on to my students. I want them to be as successful as possible after they graduate and I will always be available for anything they need in the future.
One day, I hope to see some of my nurses in nursing education positions, like myself, or working up the ranks to management. They have all worked very hard thus far and have made me proud by following their hearts and doing what is best for their careers. I consider them all family because we spend so much time together throughout the course of our degrees; classes, labs, clinical sites, conferences...everything.
Since we are a small school, I know that most of my students are going to be local, so I do what I can to help them in any way possible. I will eventually know most of my students' families and be able to provide resources that they need for their families should they ever need it. It is very rewarding knowing that the knowledge I have and the experiences that I have gained throughout the course of my career will be helping to shape these young adults into the future nurses who will take care of each other’s family members as well as taking care of family members of people they do not even know. It is a tremendous feeling knowing that I will be able to help young adults mature into the health care professionals that we all need. This is why I have chosen to teach nursing.
I feel that Advantage Clinic has given me the opportunity to make my dreams a reality. The knowledge of how this program works is invaluable in being able to pass on the information I know to my students so they can make the best choices possible regarding their own futures. I always want my students to know that I am here for them and will do whatever it takes to make sure they are successful during their time here as well as throughout their careers after they graduate. I know that I am only a voice of advice and support, but I know that my students will always come to me with questions or concerns about their job search and career. It is very rewarding being able to be an integral part of their journey into the nursing profession.
I have never worked as hard as I have at Advantage Clinic and am so proud to be working for such a wonderful program. I feel like it has treated me very well. My title has changed over the course of three years, my responsibilities have increased each year, and my paycheck has grown exponentially each year as well. I have traveled to present at conferences in our nation's Capitol, been recognized by administrators for my work, and even been invited to speak to students in other states. All of this is something I never believed was possible with a nursing degree that was based on only 12 months of study. I will always be grateful for the opportunity that this program has given me and hope that more people will discover its existence.
My favorite feature of Advantage Clinic is the amount of respect I am shown by my students as well as my colleagues. I have never worked with a program that respects me and my knowledge as much as Advantage Clinic. The respect is mutual, and I could not be happier with the school and the experience that I am having. I am excited for my upcoming class of students; I know they will have a wonderful time in this program and are going to be very successful as nurses.
My advice for future nursing students is to work hard in classes, ask questions, pay attention to what you hear in lectures...then apply yourself at clinical sites because a lot of times those people you meet will get your foot in the door of large corporations.
Conclusion
Now that we have learned of three new ways to graduate in just 10 months, we can better determine which method is the best choice for us. It is important to note that each one of the schools listed above offer Master's degrees. For those who choose to go with this option will have their tuition reimbursed after they graduate and secure a job as a nurse in a hospital or healthcare facility. It is extremely important to keep this in mind when choosing between bachelors and Master's programs.
With three completely different methods, there are many options for nursing students who wish to save time and money by obtaining their degree before graduation.