February 2018

Estimated Costs Per Pasadena City College School of Nursing:
Listed are the items required for their Nursing Program. Please note however that these prices are estimates and subject to change:
1. Health Screening from Pasadena City College Student Health Services (costs will be higher in other settings):

2. Uniform (2 sets are recommended for clinicals) – $120.00
3. White Shoes – $150.00
4. Badging – $12.00
5. PCC Patch -$5.00
6. Stethoscope & other minor equipment – $100.00
7. Watch with second hand(optional) – $50.00
8. RN ATI or Kaplan Package (Books, practice tests, N& other modules). ATI/Kaplan cost is $575 per semester.
9. Background Check (Criminal) – $42.00
10. Textbooks & Syllabi (total cost for 4 semesters) – $1,200
11. Optional RN Professional Insurance – $22.00
12. Parking (per semester which include campus and possibly clinical sites) – $100/semester
13. Tuition (per unit for only CA resident) ~ $ 3400.00
14. CPR Card – American Heart Association(AHA) only acceptable – $65.00
15. NCLEX Exam fee – $200.00
16. RN Licensing application online registration- $150.00
17. Live Scan Fingerprinting fee (FBI database)-$150.00

The process to retest is bad, it takes another two to three months and you’ll feel like crap going through this again but it is better to get it done sooner than later because of how long it takes to re-register. No fingerprinting is needed again, but the cost and studying are.

The process is pretty simple, just go back online to your BRN and click the drop down for retest, then complete the application again and upload another passport size picture and the payment. Then you’ll log back into your Pearson Vue account and re-enroll in your test but you will NOT get the ATT until the BRN gives them the certification that you are again eligible.

• Costs $200 for Pearson Vue and another $200 to the BRN.
• You’ll have to pay an additional fee to continue your NCLEX study.
• Since the passage rates are so high, you’ll feel like sh*t because most of your classmates already passed and are moving on with nursing gigs.
• The BRN takes months to approve you to retest. If your BRN is anything like mine, I had to call several times to see what was going on. I applied on 09/05/17 and was able to get my second ATT on 11/16/17- OVER TWO MONTHS LATER!The retesting processing times are two to three months behind as you’ll see here: http://www.rn.ca.gov/times.shtml
• You’ll have to keep studying like a maniac until you can reschedule.
• Getting a test scheduled the date you want is difficult but possible and a nuisance nonetheless.

Getting a bachelor’s degree in nursing is supposedly going to be mandatory by 2020 https://www.americannursetoday.com/advancing-toward-an-80-bsn-workforce-by-2020/ . So what does that mean for you? If you have not already enrolled in a program and are working in the hospital, they’ll often offer you a tuition reimbursement of 2k-4k per year (after first year of work) towards your tuition because of the BSN 2020 rule and Magnet status – https://www.uclahealth.org/ucla-designated-a-national-magnet-hospital . If you have your Associates Degree in Nursing, the hardest and most expensive part is over and the Bachelor’s is the icing on the cake.

So if I were you, I would slowwwly take my courses each year so the hospital would front most of, if not all the bill. Nowadays, most BSN programs are online and are work at your own pace kind of thing. These programs are always competing for students and are fairly affordable.

To an outside observer, a nurse’s salary is simply a base however this is almost never the case. Nurses make a ton of money with shift differential – basically added bonus in the form of hourly rate for working non-traditional hours(day shift). Afternoon shift will typically give you a rate of $2-3 more per hour while the dreaded night shift will pay an additional $4-6 more per hour. Check out the union contract to see an example of shift differential, bonuses and overtime/double-time rules.

In addition, there are bonuses for missing meal breaks due to workload, preceptorship of other new nurses, working too many weekend shifts, and working holidays.

I’ll save the best for last, well sort of. Nurses tend to work a lot of hours because of the general nursing ethical principles which mandate staying with your patient(s). So the good news is, often times you’ll work more than 12 hours during a shift and that means double-time for every hour after your shift per law( https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/faq_overtime.htm) and is going to happen more often than you think due to the 12 hour shifts you’ll typically work.

Why is picking a nursing school so important? The school you select will be the place you meet classmates that will be with you through your long days and nights of clinicals. The school also pre-selects what hospitals you rotate to so having alumni at those hospitals helps your chances of landing a position after graduation. However, passing the NCLEX should be a defining factor in the school you select.

The best sign of a great nursing school would be the passage rates because if you can’t pass your NCLEX, then what’s the purpose? Here is a link to the nursing school passage rates straight off the Board of Registered Nursing. http://www.rn.ca.gov/education/passrates.shtml

Secondly, look at the cost of tuition. IF you’re going to a community college, then you’ve got not too much to worry about because the school is pretty cheap – click here to see the costs. The bigger question will be when you get into a school like Mount Saint Mary’s University or West Coast University and have a price tag of over $100k in tuition alone, would you want to wait and see what happens with your other applications or would you want to start school immediately? Personally, I would want to wait because the education is pretty much the same and you wont have to spend your paychecks paying loans for the next 10-30 years of your life.

Lastly, you’ll want to check out the schools you’re interested in, the drive time and where the clinics will be located, classrooms size/setting and professors. Most clinical sites are strict about coming to the hospital on time for shift change/report and because you must register a mandatory amount of hours per the BRN. So just some things you need to consider before enrolling.

The process of getting registered and set up with the Board of Registered Nursing is long and extensive. Your nursing school is probably going to have complete your application to the board and get you LiveScan fingerprinting done well before you graduate because that’s just how long it takes. The processing times are two to three months behind as you’ll see here: http://www.rn.ca.gov/times.shtml

I remember after graduating in mid-June, I had my Authorization To Test(ATT) which allows you to go on PearsonVue.com and schedule online on July, 27 2017. I took my test after completing all of the UWorld questions – approximately 1400 of them then took the test on September 1, 2017 which I failed.

Unions cost you money from your paycheck(about 3-5%) BUT also make you a lot more and protect your rights as a nurse. Chances are you’ll never get fired, be given step increases year after year, work cancellation rights, shift differentials, mandatory breaks, required bonuses(missed meal break, holiday), self- scheduling, severance, layoff rehire requirements and many more benefits. See this real attached Union Contract.

Once a union is established in hospital setting they are pretty much there for good. This is why when there is a signature collection to establish a union, the hospital attempt to immediately stop the actions, remove the collector from the site claiming the collectors are “disruptive during work hours.” The hospital will do whatever they can at all costs to prevent an organization. Union representatives usually show up at orientation to meet the new nurses and introduce themselves and will also get a copy of a new hire report.

Management hates unions for the fact that they make it nearly impossible to fire an employee. The union contract usually have a three strike policy that resets every 18 months and as an employee you have the right to request union representation almost like your personal attorney. In a traditional employment “At Will” setting, an employer can fire you for any reason.

The ugly part of this is that bad employees can be giving care to patients after repeated offenses. One of these employees may be your coworker. Let’s face it some employees are just bad and will run to the union for any issue.

Most hospitals do not like to new registered nurses simply because it is wicked expensive to train an RN. The pre-cepting nurse usually gets a big premium per shift to train and, the new grad needs anywhere from six weeks to three months to learn and the hospital is getting nothing in return for the moment. According the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees(AFSCME)https://www.afscme.org/news/publications/health-care/solving-the-nursing-shortage/the-cost-of-failure , the new grad will cost around $50,000 to teach and retain.

Retention is another issue for hospitals. What is to stop a nurse from receiving training and moving on to another higher paying job? The hospitals sometimes circumvent this by employing minimum length contracts as a stipulation to their employment, but these contracts offer signing bonuses and seniority year bonuses. Also by giving back in other ways such as a spectacular Nurse’s Week, free health insurance, self-scheduling, cheap employee meals, etc.

It’s actually pretty darn hard to get a hospital nursing job right after you pass you boards. The best opportunity you get is typically during your last term when you work independently with a preceptor to showcase your skills. Many of my classmates passed their exam within a month of graduation and were able to reconnect with their clinical instructors for a position. The clinical instructors like to refer their own previous students for jobs because they can send nursing students to train with them during clinical hours.

The point is to take your clinical hours seriously because the nurses are watching and taking notes. Try to keep your cell phone in your locker or pocket the whole session (besides breaks) and pay attention to to your patients’ needs. The hours are long and burdensome but will definitely be worth your while when you’re on your own.