HELP!! WHY IS NURSING SOo Competitive..?

DAMomma · Sep 12, 2006

Are there any schools where I could do my RN with out having to be biting my nails??? I live in NY, please help!

:lol2: I am sorry, I had to chuckle. I also had no idea it was so competitive. When I first started my pre-requisites, I though I could do my pre-requisites, apply to school, then bam, I am in!! :nono: Man, did I learn quick. I have been really hard on myself to have good, no GREAT grades. Even at this point, I have done all I could do to have a good GPA when aplying, I am still biting my nails and anxious about getting my "happy letter" hopefully in November. This board has been a really great support for me. It helps to know I am not alone going thru this. It seems like friends and family don't understand what we are going thru.

Let the competition begin!!

:smiley_ab Really, we are here to help each other reach our goals.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Sep 12, 2006

In a nutshell, there is a shortage of instructors and a shortage of schools willing to pay good wages to attract more instructors and build up their programs to accommodate all the people who want to go into nursing. So there's a supply and demand thing going on.

Vixen17 · Sep 12, 2006

I dont even know where to start then...Like who can I send my transcript to for them to evaluate to see what else I have to do..is this all over the country?? I am like shocked! When my mother went to nursing school she said it was basically the national test that was the craziest part...Now I can't even get into a dargone program!!! I dont to go through another year doing pre- req stuff...I want to start moving in on my career!!! OH I am soo frustrated i dont know what to do! :madface:

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Sep 12, 2006

Beside the fact that there are not enough nursing instructors, one of the other reasons is because it is very expensive for any college to support a nursing program. It takes up a huge chunk of their educational budget--way more than any of their other educational divisions. A lot of money has to be designated to the nursing department for all the specialized reference materials that need to be kept updated that the nursing students need. Taking on and maintaining a nursing program is a very big financial undertaking for any college or university to make.

HM2VikingRN, RN · Sep 12, 2006

Beside the fact that there are not enough nursing instructors, one of the other reasons is because it is very expensive for any college to support a nursing program. It takes up a huge chunk of their educational budget--way more than any of their other educational divisions. A lot of money has to be designated to the nursing department for all the specialized reference materials that need to be kept updated that the nursing students need. Taking on and maintaining a nursing program is a very big financial undertaking for any college or university to make.

I think that is why Nursing programs tend to be heavily concentrated in the state university and Land Grant university systems. Nursing is a public infrastructure investment just as much as the public roads.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Sep 12, 2006

I am having a very difficult time understanding why getting into a nursing program is sooo competitive if there is a shortage?

Nursing school is so competetive for gaining admission because there are simply not enough masters'-prepared nurses to teach nursing courses at the college and university level. Nursing professors and instructors are not paid much money, because who would settle for a $65,000 teaching job when they can earn $100,000+ as a director of nurses or a nurse manager at a healthcare facility?

SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN · Sep 12, 2006

OH I am soo frustrated i dont know what to do!

You do know what to do, you just may not want to do it. First change your attitude. Getting into nursing school is not the hard part, it is only frustrating at times. Graduating nursing school is the hard part.

Second, contact the schools you are interested in attending. Then find out how an applicant is ranked. How many points do you get for each category (piece of information) submitted with your application? Then create a plan to maximize your points.

Yes, this may mean you will need to retake courses. This may also mean you may need to take additional courses. I have two degrees and I had to take half a dozen courses due to expiration and courses that were not transferable to my new endeavor. However, I did it because that is how bad I want to become a Registered Nurse. :nurse:

I do not know how easy or hard your mom had it or how long ago she went through this process, but evidently times have changed. As the other posters have mentioned, you are not alone in your frustration.

As for there being a shortage, don't confuse that with there being an easy way to becoming a Registered Nurse. The profession will not relax standards and schools will not water down material to crank out more nurses. So nothing you do to improve yourself as an applicant will be a waste of time.

You will gain valuable knowledge you will need later on. Or you can be like some and try to get out of retaking courses or brushing up on needed skills and flunk out of nursing school. Your choice. Good luck. :wink2:

PreNurseKirk · Sep 12, 2006

Lack of Educators Contributes to Nursing Shortage

The growing shortage of nurses today may be contributed to a lack of graduate-level nursing educators. From 2003 to 2004 there was an estimated 125,000 qualified applicants that were rejected by nursing programs. This trend is no doubt precipitated by the shortage of nursing faculty and facilities. As a result, by the year 2020 it is believed there will be a shortage of more than one million nurses. Only by addressing the faculty shortage can we resolve the nursing shortage.

This lack of nursing educators is having a profoundly negative affect on the number of nurses and nursing students. Without sufficient professors there will inevitably be fewer students admitted and causally fewer working nurses. This shortage causes a ripple affect resulting in understaffed hospitals, over-worked medical staff, and increased job dissatisfaction. Most importantly, it compromises patient safety and care.

http://www.house.gov/ed_workforce/press/press109/first/12dec/nurse120205.htm

http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Media/FactSheets/FacultyShortage.htm

CTRNTOBE · Sep 12, 2006

Nursing should be soo competitive because you literly will have peoples lives in your hands when you start working.

As a patient would you prefer someone who squeeked into school with a minimum average or someone who studied their butt off and got in with a 4.0.

The pre-reqs are never ending and nursing classes are even harder. My school has about 600 applicants for 110 spots. There are 11 of us taking our pre-reqs together that have GPA's between 3.97 and 4.0; so there goes 10% of the spots.

A C+ or B- in science classes is not going to cut it. Also you have to have a very tough chin and a tremendous attitude toward making it. If you start doubting yourself, you are not going to make it.

RNsoon! · Sep 12, 2006

Im in the same situation! I applied to Nursing school for the first time this year with a gpa of 3.55 and got rejected! I think I had a fairly high gpa! I went full time.They should really take action to fix this issue.There are so many well prepared and intelligent people like us who really have a passion for Nursing but yet can't get into a darn Nursing program, while a few years ago, people were able to enter nursing school with a 2.7!!! My advice is to hang in there.Why don't you apply to a private school? They usually have more seats available.In the mean time, just take certain courses that you think will benefit you.Good luck!! ANd if Nursing is really your passion, hang in there!!!!!!!!

Tweety, BSN, RN · Sep 12, 2006

Beside the fact that there are not enough nursing instructors, one of the other reasons is because it is very expensive for any college to support a nursing program. It takes up a huge chunk of their educational budget--way more than any of their other educational divisions. A lot of money has to be designated to the nursing department for all the specialized reference materials that need to be kept updated that the nursing students need. Taking on and maintaining a nursing program is a very big financial undertaking for any college or university to make.

Good point. And the fact is nursing enrollment swings with the economy. Back in the 90s when engineering and IT were the rage people could walk into nursing schools without a wait.........in some areas. When the economy in those areas went boom, people turned to nursing again. I imagine schools are hesitant to invest in nursing programs for fear that if they do, fair weather students will find another field in a changing economy.