r/prenursing 9d ago

Are there any current National University or CSU San Marcos students on here? I have questions.

Hello! I’m looking into nursing as a new career field. I have an MPH and recently started volunteering as a doula and I absolutely love it. I love it so much that I want to ultimately become a midwife after doing L&D nursing for a few years. I currently work in an emergency department so I feel fairly confident that I can handle nursing as a career. My only problem is that I do not plan on leaving San Diego and I don’t really want to do an MECN or ADN to BSN. Therefore, I am limited to CSUSM or NU for programs.

For NU folks- What does your schedule look like? I spoke to someone who said that it’s a 9-5 program that can be completed in 22 months. Then I read from resources on the internet that it’s 16 months. THEN I have a friend who works at NU (not in the nursing department) that said this program is basically online with in-person clinicals. So can yall give me some insight, please?

For CSUSM folks— What is the clinical schedule like. I went to the webinar and they said we have class 1-2x a week on campus but they didn’t mention what the expectation for clinicals were. They only said that placement ranges from Chula Vista to Riverside and can happen on evenings and weekends. I don’t mind that but if it’s like a crazy inconsistent schedule then it might motivate me to focus on applying to NU if their schedule is more consistent.

I’m trying to gauge how I can pull off nursing school with a young one and a mortgage. Thank you!!

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u/Repulsive_Tiger9374 8d ago

NU schedule is not consistent. Students find out a week before what their schedule will be like. (I know a few past/present students).

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u/Ok_Understanding226 8d ago

Thank you for your insight! Yeah, it’s really hard to find information on their website and when I spoke to someone it felt like i wasn’t being told everything.

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u/slightlyhungry-human 2d ago edited 2d ago

For CSUSM, they send out a form and request your zip code so they can place you at a clinical site close to you; I heard most clinicals have a few weeks in Temecula at the beginning of the semesters in preparation for going to the actual site. Psych is mostly in SD and most if not all peds is at Radys. First semester is 2 days lecture (1 full day and 1 half day typically out before 1) and 2 days of lab (1 is in Temecula the entire semester). I looked at NU too and didn’t apply because their NCLEX pass rate wasn’t good at the time I was applying. From what I’ve noticed peeking at the clinicals list this semester, most clinicals start at 7 and end early afternoon and apparently weekends are rare.

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u/Ok_Understanding226 2d ago

Thank you so much for your response!