any nursing or pre-nursng students!!

kitti419 · Jun 15, 2009

Why did you choose the nursing program you are/will be attending? Are there any specific things I should look for when considering nursing programs?

also, what do you believe to be your greatest challenge for completing the program successfully? please be detailed! :)

I chose to apply to an accelerated ASN b/c I already have a Bachelor's & was looking for a quicker path to RN. Initially, the school I was accepted to was contracting w/ a local hospital & giving grads tuition forgiveness in exchange for a 2 year contract. I just found out they weren't doing that for 09-10 but I'm going to try to come up w/ the tuition & get grants anyway.

As far as what you should look for, I went into this pretty blind to other programs. I would weigh all the schools you are interested in and make sure any credits you have will transfer. Also, if I had not already had a Bachelor's I'd be going for my BSN instead of ASN.

I think the greatest challenge for me will be completing the accelerated program w/ as little drama as possible. I'm a mother of 2 w/ a "clingy" husband. Although I have a great support system w/ my own parents, I am concerned that my children will not get the attention they need and suffer emotional damage from my neglect :uhoh21: (j/k) I am really concerned that I will have a hard time dropping all the housework and quality time w/ the family to study. I know I have to, so I will, but I know it's going to be a biznitch.

One other challenge: not working while in the program. I mean, really, where are the living expenses going to come from??

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Jun 16, 2009

everyone's perception (observation) of their school experience is going to be different. an rn program is going to teach you enough nursing information to pass the nclex exam and become licensed. it isn't going to make you a master nurse. that you must do on your own after you finish school. nursing school only teaches you the basics of nursing--the fundamentals. that is all hospital and community college rn programs have time to teach you. bachelor degree programs, because the college or university require more credit hours for you to obtain their bachelor's degree may also have some other focus as well as the basic nursing information and skills that you will need to learn to pass the nclex. so, if you are going into a bsn program then you need to be shopping around to see what those colleges and universities are known for teaching. some of them have graduate programs and are renowned for the research they are contributing to the nursing profession. the university that i got my bsn focused on leadership and communication skills--they were drummed into us, as well as their work in helping the local black community. however, the community college that i originally went to barely had time to get all the rn information into the 2 years that i attended there. if you are wanting to know specifics, like what the instructors are like you need to talk to the students who attend the schools you are wanting to go to. and, keep in mind that instructors can change jobs and assignments at the whim of the deans of their nursing departments.

the greatest challenge you will have is keeping up with the bombardment of new information that you will constantly be learning in nursing school. you will be expected to find some answers to questions you have on your own, or at least to ask. unlike your previous experience in grade school and high school where pretty much everything you learned was based on previous stuff you had before and you were told what to study, everything in nursing is going to be all brand new. that makes it just a tad more difficult because you have no prior experience with these subjects. if you did not have good study skills and habits as a high school student you will get into trouble very quickly as a nursing student because luck isn't going to help you. you need to love learning to be a good nurse because you will be learning something all the time as a nurse. rns need to know why things happen. we are primarily managers of patient care and problem solvers. that requires looking for answers in order to find solutions to problems. we need to know a lot of information and be able to put it together in order to process answers to questions. it is how we make decisions about problems. anyone who thinks that we just give pills, shots, or start ivs has the wrong information about rns.

see http://www.discovernursing.com/ and http://www.nln.org/careers/resources.htm these sites will give you information about what to look for in a nursing program.

amfc · Jun 16, 2009

Ive heard all of the horror stories of nursing school, yet im still considering NURSING as my major!
im a nurse aide and a really want to become an RN.
SO i have some questions :)
Why did you choose the nursing program you are/will be attending? Are there any specific things I should look for when considering nursing programs?
also, what do you believe to be your greatest challenge for completing the program successfully? please be detailed! :)

I chose my nursing school because it's a 17 month program. I live in the north Florida and although my school is out of state, they don't charge out of state tuition, which was another huge factor. Plus, my school accepted 60 students into the program, vs the other schools I was wait-listed on since they only accept 20 or so. Huge thing to look into is whether or not they're accredited. I've heard horror stories of one local school in particular only being approved, not accredited, for the associate's in nursing program and their graduates were not able to transfer their credits to a university.

The greatest challenge for me has been balancing school and other responsibilities, as well as time with friends and family. Social life will be gone! Study, study, study! And study smart! Read before class, do practice questions (I can give you a few recommendations for books to use), and flashcards will be your best allies. Good luck!

astarrh34 · Jun 26, 2009

I just completed my last quarter of my first year of nursing school. One more year to go and I will graduate with my ADN ready to sit for the NCLEX. :yeah:

I chose my school for several reasons. One being their percentage of graduates passing the NCLEX on the first try. Another reason being that after speaking to friends who work as nurses in area hospitals and LTCs, they kept saying over and over that the ADN RNs from our school came into the work force with more hands on/clinical knowledge than the BSN RNs from the local university. A third reason was the competitive entrance qualifications, the accredidation, the instructors, and the comments of graduates from the program. After speaking with instructors here, it was obvious that they are all very passionate about their chosen specialties, and that they truly want every student to succeed and become excellent nurses, they want our ADN to be our stepping stone into further nursing education.

Speak to former students at various schools, meet with the instructors and talk with them about the program, check their accredidation, ask about what classes and clinical experiences are like....and then, go with your instincts. I wish you the best on your journey into nursing!