Could I still be a Nurse?

[serendipity7]

Hi everyone. I've hit a tough spot and looking for some advice and guidance. I'm sorry if this ends up as a long post; I will try to make it as short as possible. When I chose my undergraduate major I decided on Sport and Exercise Science because I thought I wanted to be a physical therapist. After doing quite a bit of shadowing, I realized it actually was not what I wanted to do as a career. A few months later, I met a physician assistant. After speaking with her at length I felt I had found the path I wanted to pursue and planned to apply for PA programs after graduation. Since I graduated last spring, I have been gaining patient care experience (which I have really enjoyed) and finishing the pre-requisite classes I hadn't taken. In May I started the last class I needed, which is Organic Chemistry. Two weeks into the course I got very sick and was absolutely miserable. Between being ill and working full time, I fell behind in the class and decided to withdraw. In August I enrolled in the course again, thinking I would be fine since I knew I would not get sick this time around. Unfortunately, I was wrong. I have been struggling in the course and think I will most likely get a D, at best. I know this looks really, really bad to admissions committees. I'm so upset about this and feel like I have seriously messed up my future.

However, when I was researching the physician assistant profession, I also looked into becoming a nurse, and eventually a nurse practitioner. I had always been drawn to and interested in nursing but felt I had kind of missed my chance since I was already so far into my exercise science degree. I felt pressure to graduate and didn't want to "waste" the money that had already been spent on the classes I had taken. I wish it hadn't, but the fact that I could apply to PA programs with my current degree greatly impacted my decision to steer away from nursing. A few days ago I decided to look into what I would need to do to apply for BSN programs and discovered the existence of the direct entry MSN. I had no idea I could earn a masters in nursing without any prior experience and then become an RN. I would be able to gain experience as an RN before deciding to continue to NP. This option is extremely appealing to me and I have been reading a lot about nursing as a career since I made the discovery. I really wish I had done more research in the past, because I agree much more with the holistic approach of nursing as well as the focus on overall health and disease prevention. I think I would really enjoy being a nurse and I'm wondering if it is still a feasible option for me. I'm worried that the D in organic chemistry will prevent me from being accepted into a BSN or direct entry MSN program. While I have done fairly well in the pre-requisites, all As and a few Bs, I am concerned this D will drop my overall GPA, which is currently only a 3.4. I have gotten mostly As and a couple Bs in all of my courses for the last two years of undergrad but have 2 Cs and an F from my first two years when I was not as focused on school as I wish I had been. I'm aware that it is not easy to gain admission to a nursing program. Again, I apologize for the long post but I did not want to make it seem like nursing is my "back up" or " second choice". This is not the case at all and I wish I had not let my fear of wasting money sway me from pursuing nursing previously. Does anyone think I have any chance of getting into a BSN or MSN program with this recent D grade? What should my next step be? Thank you in advance for any help. It is greatly appreciated!

[Pigeons]

Look at the admission requirements for the schools you want to apply to. All the ones I am looking at says you need at least a "C" in the pre-nursing core classes and the science courses. I would retake the class to get a better grade.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

Moved to prenurses

[NurseGirl525, ASN, RN]

I noticed one thing that really stuck out to me. "I didn't realize I could earn my MSN without any experience." Do you think that is a good idea? Do you think you can become a master of any subject without first practicing it?

Set aside the organic chem right now, which I totally think is a cover here. You are not doing well, realize you are not going to be accepted into PA school and are looking for what you think is an easier route. You think nursing is easier and you can just magically become an NP and make the big money. That's what I see is going on here, but let's leave that behind for a moment.

Lots of people who are graduating from these direct entry programs are having problems finding jobs after graduation. They are not qualified to do an NP job because they have NO EXPERIENCE as a nurse whatsoever. But with a masters, they are what is considered over-qualified for bedside. Hospitals will not want to take the time and money to train you for bedside when you are technically an NP. How on earth can you adequately prescribe medications with no experience? Doctors have lots of experience in residency. You won't have that.

Have you looked at your local job market to see what people are hiring? Have you spoken to your local NPs? That is what I would do. I just have very strong personal feelings on this as NPs are quickly becoming the front line of medicine. Why? Because they are cheaper. It's cheaper to see an NP than an actual doctor. Because they don't have as much education they can't charge as much.

Please consider all aspects of what you will be doing here. You will be responsible for people's lives. You will be responsible for catching the little things that could be potentially big. Say you have not been feeling well for a couple of months. You make an appt with your family doctor. He sends in his new NP. She has no experience but now she's in charge of diagnosing you and letting the doctor know if you need to see him. She decides you have a simple infection and prescribes an antibiotic. She thinks its an URI. You find out after not getting better after 6 months that it is cancer. Now instead of stage I, it's stage III. It's a race against time. Lots of chemo, radiation, and months off of work. Your prognosis is not good. All because you got a fresh out of college NP who entered a direct entry program.

There are wonderful NPs out there. I myself have a couple of great ones. I would rather see them than the doctor often times. But they also have years of experience. I also went to one in April that completely did not know how to treat a fungal infection and it got so bad I ended up choking on my food all summer and I had to have a scope done in August and I was in bad shape. She didn't understand what she was dealing with and refused to allow me to see the doctor at this urgent care clinic because she knew my body better than me.

Weigh your options. I don't know what the requirements are for these programs and if organic chem is required. But I also want you to know nursing is in no way the easier route.

[waiting4ivpush]

I don't think a D is terrible as long as your school allows you to retake it for a better grade. I'm taking Chemistry right now, and I've been slacking really really hard. This semester I've just been dealing with a lot of s**t. Still, I remain optimistic. Hopefully I get a C at this point, maybe I would be able to push it to a B max. I think you are in a decent position, and yes I still think you can be a nurse if you truly want to be.

[serendipity7]

Thank you both for your responses. Heathermaizey, I am afraid you got the wrong impression from my post. I am in no way looking to go directly from no nursing experience to practicing as a NP. As I said, I would definitely work as an RN first to gain a significant amount of experience before making the decision to continue on to NP. To me, the main appeal of the MSN program is that I would be able to become an RN without having to incur the debt required to earn a second bachelor's degree. I do not think that nursing is easier, or that I can "magically" become a NP and "make the big money." In fact, this could not be farther from the truth. While I do appreciate your concern and input, I am fully aware of the responsibility that comes with working in health care, especially nursing.