Advice for Dear Old Dad

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I was talking to my dad on the phone tonight, and I was telling him that I have decided to change my major (again!) to nursing.

He was all for it, and he told me he is interested in a medical career. He has told me this before, but tonight he told me that he actually contacted one of the local schools.

He is in his early 50's and he is retired military. His current job really stinks, and he is not happy at all. He basically is in charge of people that pack boxes at a department store (Lowes or something) and his pay isn't that great.

Here are some of the problems he is faced with:

He is colorblind.

He needs to work while in school, so a full time program is out of the question. (He is married with a child, and his wife doesn't work.)

He needs a decent salary so medical assistant (or anything with

He does have a bachelors degree. (tv/radio/communications)

Does anyone have any ideas? :idea: He lives in the Indianapolis area in case you are familiar with the schools there. I am not.

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Why can't he go to nursing school?

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Why can't he go to nursing school?

He hasn't expressed interest in nursing. He has talked more about the Technical jobs and I believe most of the programs he has looked into are full time only or you can't be colorblind.

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I had a bachelor's degree in Advertising/Communications from Purdue before I decided to go to Nursing school. And, incidently, I went to nursing school in Indy. I did the accelerated program at IUPUI. It's 18 months long to get your BSN, granted you have a previous bachelor's in something else. Doesn't matter what field.

He should go talk to the admissions counselors at IUPUI School of Nursing to find out what pre-req classes he needs to take. Since my first degree wasn't in science, I had to take a full year of nothing but science classes before I applied. Even then, it was VERY hard to get in. My GPA was a 3.8/4.0 and I barely got in. In my year (I graduated December 2005), they only took 30 students, but I think now they're expanding it to take more students. Actually, I was very disappointed at the treatment I received at IUPUI. They carried the attitude that I should be thrilled that they accepted me - rather than treating me a like customer who spent tens of thousands of dollars for them to provide me an education. I thought many of the professors were probably good nurses in their day, but poor teachers (not all, of course, but a fair amount). Anyway, I digress.

But, IUPUI has an accelerated BSN program, as does Marion. Marion is more expensive since it's private, but I've heard good things about it. Purdue has an excellent nursing program, but don't have an accelerated one that I know of yet. There is also an accelerated BSN program at IU in Bloomington, that I think takes more students.

If he decided to go the accelarated BSN route, it would probably take a total of 2 1/2 yrs to get a BSN - but again, it's VERY hard to get in, and you basically need to secure straight A's - especially in the sciences to make the cut. He could also consider getting an associates degree, which is offered by Ivy Tech and takes 2 yrs. You can become an RN with an associates. But, without your BSN, your options are a little more limited in terms of getting management positions, etc. And, more importantly, some hospitals are only hiring BSN's now - like Clarion hospitals, like Methodist, IU, etc. They'll hire experienced RNs without a Bachelor's, but not new grads. In fact, I think now they're requiring their experienced nurses who are already employed there to get their bachelor's or they'll get terminated in a few years.

He could get his associate's degree (2 yrs) by going to Ivy Tech. I hear their program is decent. Community South, East and North hire associates nurses, as well as LPN's (1 yr schooling). I believe Community offers a good tuition pay-back program, where if he works there as a CNA or student nurse, they'll pay a lot of his schooling.

There are lots of options - basically he needs to go on Web sites, like IUPUI's and IU's nursing sites, Marion's site, Ivy Tech's site, etc, and meet with counselor's there to find out his options and what classes he'll have to take in order to apply to nursing school. And get good grades - that's about all they care about. They don't care how old you are, what other work experinence you have, etc. It's all about the GPA. You can send me a private message if you have other questions. I don't live in Indianapolis anymore, but I'm familiar with the nursing schools and hospitals there.

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EKG tech, phlebotomy, ultrasonography, physical therapy assistant......

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Specializes in NICU, Infection Control.

Respiratory Therapy might be an option, too.

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If your Father has a Degree in Radio/TV Communications he is probably used to being around electronics so what about a career as a Biomedical Equipment Technician? He could go to school part time and probably get a job while he is in school. U.S. average pay of $19/hr or 39K a year.

Peace,

Tripps

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