[Just_Me_2]

I have a bachelor's in social work, although I never worked in the field. About a year before graduating, I realized that my heart is in nursing. I went back right away and did a year long LPN training program, and worked as an LPN for around 12 years. I am now finishing up an ASN program in May and will start the remaining classes for my BSN in the fall.

The reason I waited so long to return to school after getting my LPN license is because I had 4 children very close in age, and I wanted to spend their preschool years with me mainly at home. I worked prn or contingent BY CHOICE for most of those years, averaging around 24 hours per week. I could have easily had a full time position, I just didn't want it.

Most of my classes transferred into my ASN program, and I have just found out that they will also all transfer into the RN-BSN program I am starting. I did have to take a few prereq type classes, like developmental psych, A&P, and micro, but the school I am attending allows us to take them along with some of our nursing classes.

[JWRN]

I have a BS in Psychology, but the semester before graduating I decided that I wanted to go to nursing school, so I started taking classes for nursing school. I went ahead and finished my Pyschology degree and stayed the next semester and took the rest of the prereq for nursing school. I actually only applied to 4 schools the first time and did not get accepted. I worked that Fall semester and applied for the spring semester to almost every nursing school in TX and got accepted to all of them. Settled on UT HSC Houston and really enjoyed it. I learned a lot there. I cam out of school thoroughly prepared for nursing...I went ahead for the BSN because I already had one Bachelor's degree and an AA degree, and did not want another AA degree, it seemed to not make sense to get another AA degree. I eventually continued on and finished my MSN after working 5 years in ICU, and started working on Doctorate in nursing.

Anyhow, I only received 1 job offer due to my Psych degree and it wasn't what I wanted it was with CPS covering 3 counties. I don't regret going for a second BS degree it was well worth the time.

[mccmaeve]

I went from MSW and 20 years experience to RN Diploma program. Worked as Nurse Aide during school-part time and borrowed $$$ to supplement my income. So ta-dahh!!!! I am an ACTUAL second career RN!!
Your post has an arrogance that won't take you very far in Nursing School. Nursing is like NO Other Education. Nursing is art and science, and one had better understand the science if you expect to understand what is going on with your patients.
Get over yourself!!! If your credits are outdated--yes---you have to take the class over again.Things have probably changed since you were 15. And don't you think patients deserve someone with current thinking?
Some hospitals offer "Tuition Forgiveness" or other programs in exchange for 2-3 year employment committment. The classroom and clinical hours are what the states regulate that Nurses must know in order to give safe care. Or did you forget that nursing means providing competent safe care to other human beings?
As for not paying for a second education, because you already paid for one before....Are you serious?
Do more research on the profession before you waste your money and other people's time or harm some patient with your arrogant disregard for the knowledge a nurse must posess.

[queenjean]

Wow, you have some very large assumptions about a field that you know relatively little about.

Unless you've been continually studying your chemistry, a/p, etc, no, you are not current on your knowledge.

I have a BA that had a major concentration and a minor concentration. The minor was in human biology. Yup, still had to take some of those classes over again when I went back to school for my LPN/RN.

You have obviously never been in nursing school, as you think you would be able to quiz out of certain aspects of the classes just because you fancy yourself more intelligent than most. Do you think you are the only one here who graduated with honors from a major university? Do you think you are the only nursing student ever who took AP classes in high school? Who went to school on a full ride? Who has been successful in another field?

[SmilingBluEyes]

I appreciate the varying opinions here, and personally, feel we can all learn a lot from each other's experiences.

In that vein, let's try to make this a thread that is informative and useful without a condescending tone to it, if we can?

Thanks!

[abooker]

I had to take Freshman Comp over again because I'd placed out of it back in '82, and my CC wouldn't transfer those credits onto my new transcript. I thought this was stupid, and I could've perhaps challenged it or tested out, but I took it. There are hoops to jump through in any degree; some seem irrelevant at the time. I was surprised I did learn a lot in the class and enjoyed it.

[WestWingFan]

Originally Posted by buddhak0n

I realize that a majority of people out there probably entered the profession the normal way... ..

But I'd like some suggestions from anyone who has been through the nursing as a second career path........

First off, what did you "do" for a living while you reattended the classes you needed to have an income again?

Secondly, is the day when Facilities actually either instruct and or sponsor people in exchange for service to the facility a thing of the past? Because frankly to me, someone asking somebody who already possesses a degree in whatever field it might be to pay once again for a college education seems a bit absurd to me...

What are the situations and under what circumstances can certain requirements towards obtaining R.N. licensure be "challenged" by examination?

Why on earth would someone at a Community college try to tell someone that basic chem or other courses would be Nontransferrable? ( That part gave me a chuckle.. I'd still do better on any generalized Advanced Chem course than a large majority of people <g>)...

Frankly what I've done is just get myself in the door and hope to be working at an ACTUAL health care facility as a lab tech but the idea of having to go back to being a full time student seems absolutely odd to me and many of the hurdles thrown up seem a bit absurd....

Sorry but I'm a bit frustrated but only from an intellectual perspective... I would think that anything you would truly LEARN would come in actual clinical practice but perhaps I discount the value of certain "class" work.

If you don't want to go to school for nursing--- then ...maybe you should find a different career? I'm really not following you. I understand you already have a degree, but if it's not in nursing--- then you need to go back to school.

To answer your original question--- this is a second degree for me. I have a BA--- History/Secondary Education (obviously not at all related to nursing). I'm 6 credits short of an MA in Contemporary World History, and I have 3 graduate credits in social studies education(my old employer paid for these so I could prepare to teach advanced placement government classes). But, I've been home for 5 years having babies, and now I want a career change so I'm in an evening/weekend ADN program at my local community college. I guess some may think my previous education was a waste of money, but I loved the years I spent teaching, and I loved going to school--- so I don't regret it. I did take anatomy as an elective while going for my BA, but since it's been over 5 years, my CC won't accept it--- which was fine with me since I don't remember anything anyway. I'm just happy to have gotten into this program without much of a wait (since some people have been trying for years to get in-- it's all based on how you performed on the net test). I feel very blessed to have the opportunity to start a new career at 34yo. I certainly don't feel negatively about being in this program (I actually feel grateful for the opportunity) I do feel as though I'm pretty intelligent, I graduated with a 3.8 gpa, and when I decided I wanted a career change it was between law school or nursing school. I was actually more concerned about getting into this ADN program then I was getting into law school (but I was more concerned about paying for law school-- my husband was supportive though and said we'd find a way to pay for it). After spending about 2 years soul searching (with toddler and very young baby-- so I had time to think about it and research), I think my personality is more suited to nursing ---I really need to feel that I'm helping people. Good luck in whatever you decide to do!!!

[wincha]

Originally Posted by MLOS

Per diem nurses and agency nurses are not underemployed - they choose their particular work situations that work for them. They are able to do this partly because of the nursing shortage that exists in many markets.

I agree I worked per diem/prn for years when my children were in grade school because it was so flexible, I had less holiday and weekend requirements. I chose to work per diem and I could have worked full time or part time any of those years.

[MissPiggy]

I started worrying the other day when I got onto the hospital's website that I would ultimately like to work at... almost every RN position states... BSN required or BSN preferred... It makes me so mad with the nursing shortage and the 100+ positions open that this is stated in almost every job posting. An ADN should be the "requirement or the preferred".... IMO



Me too! That is why I just finished up a Master's degree in Clinical Psych, as the nursing profession is so busy discriminating against BAs and ADNs that I decided to do something else.

[carolinapooh]

Originally Posted by buddhak0n

Why on earth would someone at a Community college try to tell someone that basic chem or other courses would be Nontransferrable? ( That part gave me a chuckle.. I'd still do better on any generalized Advanced Chem course than a large majority of people <g>)...

Because generally a class called "Basic Chemistry" or "Basic Chemistry for the Health Professions" or something similarly titled is being offered either as a remedial course or a bare-bones, introductory overview for folks who have either never had a chem course or who haven't had one in eons, and it will NOT transfer to a BSN - whereas a "General Chemistry" course (usually numbered in either the 100s or 200s, depending on both the school and the material taught) WILL usually transfer to a BSN.

(Often a "basic" course has a course number less than 100. Not always, but it's common. Courses targeted for the health professions are usually very superficial. I know you didn't specifically mention such courses, but I see a lot of questions about those sorts of courses on this board.)

That's why they would tell you a "basic chem" course will not transfer. Because it won't.

"Gen Chem" and "Basic Chem" do not mean the same thing in academia, and if you take a "Gen Chem" course, the receiving university/college/school has a pretty good idea of the content you covered - whereas they have no clue in a "basic chem" (or a health-professions driven) course.

To laymen it seems like semantics; to professors and administrators it is a specific designation of content.

With two and a half years of Chem, covering one year of general, a semester of analytical, and a solid year of organic (which I actually really enjoyed) on my transcripts, I have chem coming out of my ears with oodles of hours to spare. I had delusions of pharmacy school - and was fine until I hit Physics, which completely mystified me (coupled with time as a tech, which convinced me that even with the allure of $80K+ a year, I'd go nuts doing it).

Oh, and my year of general was at a community college, while the analytical and the organic were at major universities here in the RTP area. If I hadn't had a "gen chem" course, they would not have permitted me to take the higher level courses.

I'm a second degree ABSN here in RTP, to answer your original question, who left a very successful career in clinical research to pursue a nursing degree. I'm in debt (again) and don't regret one dime of it. I am learning more in clinical and in the classroom than I will ever use, and at the same time, I know I'm not learning nearly enough to be completely self-assured at graduation. It's a balance and a process, one that all student nurses go through. It's not about your level of education or where you're pursuing your degree; it's about wanting to do it and understanding the purpose of what you're doing. Grades and book smarts aren't everything in nursing (just like they're not everything anywhere else in this world) - no one is going to care that you scored an A+ in patho if you can't hang an IV piggyback appropriately; or that you can explain the pharmacology of the most intricately metabolized drug you can imagine while using perfect technical terminology and jargon, but you can't even tell the patient what it does in terms he or she understands.

It's about people and skills, not just grades, not just academia - because not one patient is going to ask you how many times you made the Dean's List. They could care LESS. But they WILL question you if you're obviously giving what can only be described as haphazard, crappy, downright DANGEROUS care, or if it's obvious to Joe Citizen on the street that you have no idea what you're doing and couldn't nurse your way out of a paper bag.

And learning how to do that takes classwork AND clinical work.