Master Degree In Nursing Program, Need Advice On Choosing A Nursing School

Q: I have just been accepted to the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. I'm excited about getting in and consider it an honor, but I'm not 100% sure about my decision to enroll. I've heard different things from different people, with some saying that it doesn't matter where I get my nursing degree, and others saying that I'd be crazy to turn down an opportunity at such a great education. I live in Louisiana, so moving up to Baltimore is not a decision that I take lightly. I'm interested in pursuing a Master's degree in community nursing/public health sometime in the future. I'd appreciate it if anyone (nurses, recruiters, administrators, doctors, whoever) could give me some feedback as to the advantages that a degree from such a reputable school could afford me.

A:Being accepted to a prestigious nursing/medicine program usually means exposure not found say in you average local school. What matters foremost is how well your school prepares you to take (and hopefully pass) the board exams, and begin your career in nursing. While "size" may not matter, your career aspirations do, since you are considering going for your Masters, it does help IMHO to get a good solid BSN degree under your belt, and the access a world famous institution can give. John Hopkins School of Nursing is doing some really great things with community nursing and serving the medically "under served" in the communities surrounding the hospital/school at the moment. Participating in under grad activates such as that will give you invaluable insight. Have you been accepted to any local schools? If so how do their programs compare with JH? Moving away to another place for school or work is never an easy decision, but you should always do what you think best for yourself! After reading and posting to the query, just on a lark I did a search on Google/Groups to see if the question was debated before. Behold, it was! Apparently quite a few people feel going to John Hopkins is just a rather expensive way to get your RN. One poster went as far to say in all his years as an RN, Head Nurse, instructor, etc he had never been asked where he got his BSN. The same poster also reported he never asked an applicant being interviewed for a nursing position where they studied. OTHO there were some posts in from others that felt pretty much what I stated, the opportunity of studying at a world famous university/medical school means one will come across cases not normally seen in other institutions. It also means one will have access to all and sundry JHU has in terms of research and academic material . Checked around and FWIW until rather recently JHU has had a reputation for turning out great "thinking" nurses who go on to become leaders in research and academia, but not geared towards bedside nursing. Not that they were bad at the bed side, just it wasn't their "thing". JHU has set about changing their program according to their website to add more emphasis on bedside nursing.

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