Nursing Program at Franciscan University of Steubenville

[mgmurphy0910]

Hi everyone! I'm wondering if anyone has attended/heard about Franciscan University's nursing program? I really want to go to Franciscan to find a supportive Catholic community, grow in my faith, and become a nurse, but I'm still unsure of whether I should choose Franciscan or not. Is the program really difficult and competitive? Do you still have time to make friends and hang out a bit, or is it constant studying all day every day? I'm just worried about how difficult nursing school will be as well as how expensive it is. I qualify for the Chancellor scholarship, but that still leaves a pretty big chunk of tuition left, so I don't know if I should settle for Benedictine College or somewhere else. Thanks so much for taking the time to read my post, I'd be so grateful if you could share your experiences with Franciscan's nursing program!!

[Luigi]

I have no clue about the nursing program at Franciscan, nor about Franciscan University itself. But I do know that any nursing program will be demanding - those programs are almost all designed according to standards set by a national professional organization, so they're all pretty similar. And of course it depends on your background knowledge (preparedness), and study skills, and motivation, and that kind of thing. 

I also think you'll be able to thrive in your Catholic faith at Benedictine ... but that sort of depends on which Benedictine you're referring to - in Kansas, in northern Illinois, in New Hampshire? I know the Benedictine University in Kansas, and the one in New Hampshire, are strongly faith-based schools. 

You mention cost, and that's a serious consideration. If you complete an RN (or a BSN) you'll be able to work for the rest of your life, and you'll be able to earn a pretty reasonable income. However, you won't be able to start saving until you've paid off your college debts. So the lower your college debt when you graduate, the sooner you can get on with your life. If you know what kind of degree you want, pursue it at the cheapest qualified institution.

Here are the Laboure Society participants for this year, just as examples. https://rescuevocations.org/aspirants/ Each one has to raise $60,000 before s/he can enter religious life. A given aspirant may actually owe (much) more than that, but that's the average college debt for a bachelor's degree. Do anything and everything you can to keep your college loans as low as possible and still get the education you want. 

Edited June 30, 2020 by Luigi

[4LoveofJMJ]

I wouldn't say you are settling for Benedictine in Atchison, Kansas if that's what you choose. As a student, I've found the faith life at BC extremely rewarding with the staff and community like nothing else. While I'm not a nursing student, many of my friends are and I've heard of nothing but positive comments. They have always had a good foundation in their faith and profession. Is there a fair amount of homework and work outside of class? Yes, but to be honest I'd be worried if there wasn't for nursing students.

BC builds an incredible foundation through the required faith and philosophy classes for any student. As a nursing student you will take plenty of ethics classes to know how each situation should be handled in the light of morality and Church teachings. Classes are all day Tuesday and Thursday with clinicals rotating depending on the need. From what I hear, it is competitive to get into the program itself but incredibly worth it.

If you are worried about your faith life, they offer Mass 3 times a day with confession offered twice daily. Students are welcome to come for prayers with the monks throughout the day as well as spiritual direction as needed. There's a chapel in nearly every dorm on campus with adoration in one of the chapels Monday through Friday. There's a perpetual adoration chapel at the parish church connected to one of the dorms that is well visited. (I've even seen President Minnis visit the chapel with his wife at night). The president and the dean of the college even host a weekly rosary with students in one of the chapels. They have been doing so virtually every Wednesday since the college closed due to COVID-19.

Financial wise, I know many people who chose to go to Benedictine because they were offered more money than Franciscan. Franciscan may be thought of as cheaper, but in the end, Benedictine was much cheaper due to more financial aid and chances for scholarship.

I wouldn't say you would be settling for Benedictine. Both Franciscan and Benedictine are amazing Catholic schools that will benefit you whichever way you choose. Please don't think that Benedictine College is a lesser school because it's not as well known as Franciscan University.

[Kateri89]

I can’t speak about the particular schools you mentioned but I’m a nurse and I can tell you that nursing school was pretty tough.  For me, the classroom portion wasn’t what I had a hard time with, although sometimes it was confusing.  For instance, one of the things that you’ll find with multiple choice exams is that there will be more than one correct answer but you have to figure out which answer is the most correct. 
 

It was the clinical portion of the program that stressed me out.  The thing about nursing school is that it’s a process of learning the material and then figuring out how to apply it to patient care, sometimes urgently.  I’ve been a nurse for 10 years and the anxiety of knowing that someone’s life is in my hands has never gone away.  I know that there are other nurses I can ask for help and doctors that are also responsible for the patient but still I always worry that I’ll miss something or make a wrong decision.  (My current job isn’t really clinical though so the stress is a little bit different these days.)

I’m not trying to discourage you because obviously plenty of people become nurses and many of them love it.  It’s a really vital profession and if that’s what you are passionate about, by all means go for it!  These are just things I wish I had known before going into it because I probably would’ve chosen differently.