getting experience

[lynn_702]

Hi everyone. I am still working on my prerequisites to try and get into nursing school, but is it important for me to have experience BEFORE applying for the program? As of now I have no patient experience. I have volunteered at a hospital, but of course there is no direct patient contact.

[Zyprexa_Ho]

It depends on the admissions criteria of the individual programs. Ask if that is a consideration or admission criteria for programs you're interested in.

[verene, MSN]

As jsfarri said it does depend on the program. Some require it, some prefer it, and some don't care. The program I was accepted to did not require experience, but I felt I wrote stronger essays and preformed better during the interview because I had hands on experience, and this helped me because the program looks for well-rounded candidates who've had some general life experience. If applying to a program that only looks at test scores and grades all the experience in the world might not help you get in.

[SquatsNScrubs, BSN, RN]

It depends on your program's requirements. However, working as a nursing assistant in assisted living and on a med-surg floor while doing my pre-reqs helped me immensely once I started clinicals. I think nursing students who work in healthcare have an advantage over those who don't in terms of developing their basic nursing skills.