Looking for advice on starting my nursing career :)

[ashleej]

Hi everyone! Im really new to this but Im 18 years old and I graduated high school recently c/o 2013, Ive put a year off school and now I don't want to put it off any longer. I've been reading countless threads to educate myself more about the nursing field to help narrow down my academic options. And so far I thought of an education path that I feel is more compatible with me and I was hoping to get some advice on it!

Im planning to go to Northwest College (Vocational College) to pursue my career in LVN and hopefully land a position in a hospital that I currently volunteer at as a CNA/PCA or MA in order to get "my foot in the door" as I continue my nursing career at a community college with their Career Ladder program and earn my AS degree in nursing and soon continue on to my BS and keep going if I can! I'd really appreciate all the advice anyone has for me, I'm really hoping to start school soon, and reach my goal to be a Registered Nurse. Thank you so much for taking the time and reading! :)

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

I have always thought it was a good idea to take a "gap year" after HS before heading off to college. This allows time to really consider what you want to do - rather than jumping in to something that may be a complete waste of time & end up with disastrous impact on your GPA because of lack of motivation.

You do realize that you don't have to go 'stepwise' in the way you have described. At your age, I would encourage you to just go for your BSN rather than spending a lot of time and energy on the interim programs. There are really no hospital jobs for new grad ADN nurses right now. Go ahead and begin your pre-requisite (general education) classes at your local community college. These are very affordable, and you could work while you are doing this.

California nursing programs are extremely competitive at the moment. This may change by the time you are ready to apply, but you will need a stellar GPA and high scores on any required entrance exams in order to maximize your changes of success. You may also want to come up with alternative plans - in case you need to relocate to an area where there is a better chance of admission. For instance, BSN schools in NM are currently much less competitive then CA.

Best of luck to you. Keep us posted on your progress

[Psychcns]

I agree to go straight for your BSN if you can. Science courses are only good for 5 years if I remember correctly but you could start with some of the liberal arts basics. English comp, math, etc.

Nursing has become very competitive so yes, you need really good grades

I think CNA experience is useful. Learn some skills and experience the hospital environment

Hospitals sometimes give tuition reimbursement so that could help too.

[ashleej]

Thank you so much! I decided to go to West Coast University for my BSN but I will go to my local cc to take some general ed because it will make the tuition lower and I have to take the TEAS V test to get in so, taking my general ed classes is the best route for me in order to prepare for the TEAS V :) thanks for your advice! I really appreciate it :)