[Butterfly23]

I am very interested in becoming a nurse. I want to get my ADN, RN at the local Community College(pre reqs and all) or go through the general hospital for my diploma (after pre reqs are done at the CC) and then be able to sit and write the N-CLEX for the RN. (I am not interested in being an LPN, CNA, or full time volunteer work)The hospital I would get my diploma from would be the same hospital I would be interested in working with after I pass the N-CLEX. The niche I'm interested in is L&D. First, I need to make the decision on which route to take as far as schooling. Which would you do and why?

But before that....I would like to job shadow, volunteer or spend sometime(does not have to be lengthy) in a hospital preferably on an L&D. How do I go about doing this? Do I ask the nursing school director about this? I guess I just want to make sure that I want to do this for my career. I have not spent hardly any time in a nurse's setting at all, nor have I had any children, or major illness. How did you know that you had to be a nurse? What were your first steps in making that decision?

Thank you so much for taking the time to read and answer this post. Any help is greatly appreciated!

[sockmonkey70]

First of all I would say to go for the ADN..That way you ensure you have college credits if you would like to complete your BSN later on..with the Diploma program you may have to start from scratch on a 4 year program.

As for job shadowing, do you have any family or friends that are nurses? If so, ask them if you can tag along at work one day. If not, try calling a nearby hospital and ask if there is any way you would be allowed to shadow one of the nurses..I know high school students are allowed to, so I bet they can set something up for you.

Good luck!

[Faeriewand]

When you are a student nurse you will get to go to L&D then and see what it is like. I have not had any previous experience in healthcare but I just knew I wanted to be a nurse. Clinical rotations are where student nurses work in the hospital or LTC setting and get experience and I liked every rotation so far. I would suggest that you Volunteer at the hospital where you want to work to get some experience in a hospital setting. Then you can decide what route to your RN that you want to take. You might meet a lot of nurses there that can advise you also. Good luck and have fun!

[Butterfly23]

Thank you ladies for you input. I just have one question...What on earth do I volunteer for at a hospital in order to see what the nurses do? Why is this allowed? Shouldn't all persons be licensed, etc.? Please fill me in, thank you!

[Mommy TeleRN]

I would call the hospital's education department. A clinical hospital educator could probably hook you up. IF you know someone personally that would be even better. You could also call the L&D floor and ask to speak to the nurse manager and talk to her.

I would do the ADN route. As a matter of fact I just finished that route and just passed boards. I decided in 2004 I needed to accomplish something in my life. Here I was an intelligent person working a part time "job" and struggling in life. I wanted a career and to not struggle for the day to day in life.
I knew not the first thing about nursing and went into it full force, full steam ahead. Started with A&P, Chem, English and Psych...full blown course load lol..without one single prior college class. I worked my butt off and I've seen my dream fulfilled. I was surprised to truly enjoy nursing. You find out it's all about the patients and it's satisfying to see someone back to good health. Not all are appreciative, not all want your help. But you do it anyway and you feel good about it. Now my family is reaping the rewards too.
We are tackling our debt, and we just enjoyed a nice 3 day get away, ate out at nice restaurants, did a little family entertainment, stayed at a nice hotel. We will do a similar trip next month. With my check next week the kids are finally getting a pool for the summer (nothing super fancy, about $400, but money I could NEVER afford before)
I was also able to take the kids and myself shopping for some much needed new summer clothes. Sure we shopped the clearance rack still..I AM still frugal lol..but it was doable where as before I was straight paycheck to paycheck. We are also putting money into retirement finally.
Why did I choose nursing to begin with? Mostly flexibility. I am a committment phobe. With nursing I had my choice of schedules and career paths. I am in cardiac right now. But 2 years from now I could do an about face and try NICU, or ER, or ICU, surgery.... Honestly in my heart my dream is really to try lactation nursing. But I want to get a broad base of adult care first and I find cardiac very interesting. I'm only in my early 30s so there is much time to try many things. Now I am a nurse (just passed boards!) but I'm not pigeon holed into any certain path. I am wanted and I am needed out there. I never imagined being so heavily recruited 3 months before graduation. I didn't need to look for a job ... they found me!

[Daytonite]

Hi, Butterfly23. . .I took a brief look at some of the posts you've been making. I'm posting some websites that you need to read. They have information about nursing, the different types of nurses, the different education that is available to become a nurse and how to go about getting into nursing school and what it is like. Diploma nursing programs, the few that still exist are RN programs, but not exactly the same as ADN or community college nursing programs. When you go to an RN school at a hospital to get a diploma you are going to a diploma program. Basically, you are talking about two different subjects: (1) getting RN training and (2) getting a diploma or some kind of college degree along with the RN training. You can get RN training and at the same time get either a diploma (hospital based program), associates degree (usually a community college), bachelor's degree (a university) or a Master's degree (a university). You would contact each specific school to get information about their nursing program, requirements to be a student of both the school and their nursing program. This information is, in general, available to the public on their websites. Most all colleges have websites today. A good website to get information about how to apply to college is on http://www.collegeboard.com/?student. On this home page, click on the links for "The Plan for College", "Find a College" or "Apply to College" to help educate yourself on the college process. Volunteering is usually done by applying for this kind of work with the individual healthcare facility. Shadowing is something that is generally done through high school career programs. You could ask a local hospital if it is possible to shadow one of their nurses; you could ask the nursing department of a local nursing program if they allow that kind of activity if you are not an enrolled student. I happen to be someone who went into nursing school having done no volunteer work or shadowing. I just knew I needed to be a nurse. You will find that at least half of the nurses come from this background. Many people who are nurses just knew that they needed to be in this profession because they needed to be helping people. Nursing is a career where you give a great deal of yourself to others and often do not get nearly the same return. However, most have a need to share this selflessness with others. It's just something that is either in you or it isn't. Don't go into this profession solely for the money. Money cannot be your primary motivator. You will never work as hard in any other profession as you will as a nurse. You will often hear veteran hospital nurses laugh about never having time to take lunch breaks, potty breaks or time to sit down. Please read the websites and links I've posted for you. Those of us who are already RNs were once in your position. I can still remember the questions, concerns and worries I had. However, I never regretted my choice to finally enroll in a nursing program. If you still have questions, then ask. Good luck as you start your journey.

• http://www.lsbn.state.la.us/Document...ls/Schools.pdf - official Louisiana state Board of Nursing approved RN programs
• http://www.lsbpne.com/School%20List.pdf - official Louisiana State Board of Practical Nurse Examiners approved LPN programs
• http://www.collegeboard.com/student/csearch/majors_careers/45263.html - "Ten Questions to Ask Yourself" about any career and if it might be right for you
• http://nursing.about.com/od/becomeanurse/bb/beforenurse.htm - "Before You Decide to Become a Nurse". Things to consider about being a nurse. Lots of links to information about what skills you need to become a nurse.
• http://nursing.about.com/od/becomeanurse/a/notforeveryone.htm - "Nursing is Not for Everyone". This is a very down to earth and honest article that broadly discusses what a nurse does and what you can expect on the job as a nurse.
• http://www.discovernursing.com/ - information about nursing and how to become a nurse
• http://www.choosenursing.com/ - Choose Nursing.com from the Coalition for Nursing Careers in California
  
• http://www.gem-nursing.org/ - Gem Nursing. Can view video clips of nurses talking about nursing
  
• http://www.nln.org/careers/resources.htm - NLN (National League for Nursing) resources page for nursing students
  
• http://stats.bls.gov/oco/ocos083.htm - about Registered Nursing from the U.S. Department of Labor
  
• http://www.discovernursing.com/jnj-s...ty_detail.aspx - about Labor and Delivery Nursing

[FinderKeeper]

I have applied to a community College RN program, which is a 2 year program. I am hoping to be accepted! I started thinking f nursing because of money, I must admit, but I always knew that I want to help people. ....when i asked my friends and family, what would be one word to describe me, 99% of them said "Caring".

I didn't really answer your question, just wanted to share a word of encouragement.

[Butterfly23]

Thank you MommyNurse 2B for being so candid and honest with me! I so appreciate the look into you and your family's life and how nursing has changed things for ya'll. I am so pleased to hear things have turned around for you. Your being so open about things really gives me hope that nursing will be, indeed, for me, too! Thank you again for your reply. You really helped me with all that you said!!

[Butterfly23]

Hey Daytonite!

Thank you for your reply. I appreciated most the helpful websites and the part when you said that you started with no vol. work and no shadowing and taht you just did it anyway. Also, the part that you said that all nurses started somewhere, and had all these questions, too. It helped me not to feel alone, but def. encouraged! Thank you for that. I will be looking at those websites soon. Thanks again for all your help.

[Butterfly23]

Finderkeeper, thank you! It look like you and I are around the same stage. I have a question about school. When one applies to college and declare a major, do they automatically enroll you in the "nursing school prgm" within the college or....? Thanks for sharing your story.