Nursing student confusion!

CheesePotato, BSN, RN · Jan 3, 2012

Senior? As in Senior in High school?

Well damn, don't I just feel ancient.

To begin with, early congratulations on graduating, youngin'. It's awesome to see that you have direction and goals at this stage of your life. I wish I could have said the same for myself at your age; alas, I was thoroughly convinced I was going to be a pirate and plunder the high seas along with me loyal minions. But that is a tale for another time and place.

::ahem::

Now, as for going through an associates program, at least the programs the area in which I inhabit, one can be expected to spend a total of four years going through the process, give or take. A year and half to two years for pre-reqs/gen-eds and then two years of nursing school, non-negotiable.

As far as nursing school, itself, well.....it....erm...that is to say...it's an asskicker. It has to be. It's designed to change the way you think, view the world and organize information. It's teaching you to save lives as well as change them. It's brutal but totally worth it.

I worked full time and went to school full time. Sleep is overrated.

In the end, it's all about one simple question:

How badly do you want it?

weavers · Jan 3, 2012

I was in the same position as you. I am now 25 and half way threw my ASN RN program. Its a 2 year program, but it takes 3 years of pre reqs and then I had to wait 2.5 years just to get into the program. Also I am looking at getting a BSN after i graduate so i can be competitive in the job market.

My advice, do a CNA program and get a job. Its typically 6 months and you will learn so much. it will make clinical in the RN program that much easier. you will have confidence in taking vitals, pt care, being in a hospital talking to a nurse, origination, cluster care, and so much more. It will also help on a resume. Do a care giving job also and volunteer at hospitals and try to get as much hands on pt care as possible. learn another language if you have the time, pick something common for the area you want to live in, maybe Spanish or mandarin.

Also start taking anatomy and physiology soon. Its very hard, but microbiology is even harder, nursing school is even harder, med surg way harder. if you don't enjoy anatomy and physiology then look for another field.

lastly work as much as you can while you do pre reqs. save money now, so you don't have to work while in nursing school. nursing school requires full dedication, and all of your time.

bunnynuts · Jan 11, 2012

For those of you currently in the program or recent grads - what have you experienced about getting that first RN job? I keep hearing that hospitals don't want to hire RN's with less than a year experience. Is this reality? Is it easier to get a position in the hospitals you've done your clinicals in? Are there cities/states that have greater need? I'm currently weighing if the cost of the Accelerated Programs are going to be worth it if there are no jobs out there. Any advice is appreciated!

♑ Capricorn ♑ · Jan 11, 2012

Nursing school is as hard as you make it out to be. You will be challenged and its not a free ride. Take your education seriously. As far as I know, ASN degrees can take 2+ years depending on if you're fulltime or not.

ms_miyagi · Jan 26, 2012

Ok, as a recent ASN grad (Dec, 2012), I will tell you that it will take you a minimum of 3 years to knock all of your pre-req's prior to applying to Nursing School, from there it really depends upon your grades, in your pre-req's, and how many others are applying to the program, as to whether to whether or not you will get in.

As for the job market currently, here in Texas, the majority of employers are not even looking at you unless you have a BSN and 1 - 5 years of experience (I have applied for over 300 jobs since graduation and have gotten exactly ONE interview). Had I known, when I started this journey, what I know now, I would have just gone for my BSN, since you in effect spend the same amount of time in school, 2 -3 years getting your general ed classes and pre-req's knocked out and 16 months - 2 years in nursing school (depending on whether or not you choose an accelerated program or not).

As for working as a CNA, it can't hurt, but a lot of times it just doesn't help, either. As an example, during my nursing program, myself and 5 of my classmates all took jobs as a Patient Care Tech at one of the largest hospital systems in the area. When it came time to apply for internships with said hospital, not a single one of us even got an interview!

Your best bet is to treat each clinical day at the hospitals like it is a 12 hour interview. Make a good impression on the staff nurses, charge nurses and the nurse managers, these people have the ability to help you secure a job, when the time comes.

KelRN215, BSN, RN · Jan 27, 2012

Hey Everyone,
Im currently a senior and am looking into going to a junior college to get my A.A.S.
I would wondering what advice anyone could give me as well as how hard was it all?
How long did it take you to finish?
Any info would be great!
Im a confused and scared mess at the moment!
If you are still in high school, have you considered looking into traditional 4 year colleges and going the BSN route? Most BSN programs have the pre-reqs built into the program and it could actually end up taking you less time than getting your AAS. That, and, it's a tight market for new grads right now and though I don't know what area of the country you are in, I can say that all the hospitals in my area will only hire BSN-prepared new grads.

brillohead, ADN, RN · Jan 30, 2012

Check into the pre-reqs at your particular college ... my ADN program accepted my high school biology, chemistry, and math courses and grades -- the only classes I had to take as pre-reqs to apply to nursing school were Anatomy and Physiology. Others in my program were not as lucky -- they either hadn't taken the right classes in high school, or they hadn't gotten the minimum grade required because they goofed off in their teens, so they had to take the same classes all over again, only this time they had to pay for the books and tuition.

If you can take a CNA course and work at a hospital while going to nursing school, I highly recommend it. As stated above, it can really help with your comfort level in clinicals. Plus, your hospital might offer tuition-reimbursement towards your RN, and it gives you a foot in the door for a nursing job after graduation.

In my area, having done clinicals in a facility most certainly can result in a job offer. At least one hospital even offers a special job fair every spring that is only open to nursing students who have done at least one clinical rotation there. Keep in mind that it works both ways, too -- if you're lazy / stupid / rude / whatever during clinicals, when the time comes to apply for a job, the folks in human resources will go talk to the RNs on the unit where you did your clinicals, and if the unit nurses didn't like you, you're not going to get hired there.

Another option is getting your ADN, getting a job as an RN, then doing an RN-to-BSN program. If you're working in the healthcare industry at that point, you're likely to get tuition reimbursement, and by the time you have your BSN you'll also have a few years' experience under your belt.

I know a lot of people these days say you "have" to get your BSN in order to get a job, but I know in my region (not true everywhere), that is NOT the case at all. My niece is getting her BSN at the same time I'm getting my ADN. We'll both graduate at the same time, we'll both make the same starting wages, but she'll have paid over $100,000 for her education, and I'll have paid right around $10,000 (and I'll have gotten about half of that back in my tax refund to boot). After I get hired, my employer will pay for me to get the BSN, and she'll still be paying off her student loans ten years from now.

JenniferA428 · Feb 6, 2012

I just graduated from an RN program in NY this past December. My college had chemistry, and A&P as prereqs which i took in 1 semester. I then entered the actual Nursing program and finished in 2 years. Its a 2 year program, but of the people that graduated with me only maybe 6-8 of us finished in 2 years and did not have to repeat a semester. If in your state there are 2-3 YEARS of prereqs to get into the program, then i would say just go for the BSN as it would be shorter. Also when i enrolled in the program 2 years ago all i had to do was take chem and A&P and get decent grades. Now students are telling me there's all sorts of testing, you have to be REAL close to a 4.0 with your current credits, and basically pray to get in. At my former school last semester 500 students applied for the nursing program and less than 100 were accepted. It got 100X more competitive over the coorifice of 2 years. Right now I'm studying for the NCLEX which i take the 15th and am not looking forward to entering the incredibly competitive job market.