Advice on What to Do

rleah, BSN, RN · Nov 13, 2016

Personally where I live MAs do not make a lot of money and it wouldn't be worth it. That is if nursing is your end goal. I am a CNA and I went through a program for it. While I have gained a lot of experience. I really wish I had just went for it and went straight for nursing. You could do a LPN and bridge to RN. The pay is much better and you have crfedits that go toward you RN. Or If you are up to it you could go hard on your prereqs and possible be able to apply for WGU in the fall.

Marieh · Nov 13, 2016

Hello and thank you for replying. I have been giving this some serious thought, I am considering getting my CNA certification even if I must pay out of pocket for it. There are so many CNA jobs in my area that I would have no problem plus I could get tuition reimbursement. In the meantime I would start paying on my student loans. I do intend to apply to WGU Indiana's prelicensure program. When I spoke to the counselor she said I would benefit from having a prior degree that is where I am having a hard time. I know MA's make nothing and don't have a chance for advancement as nurses that is why I was discouraged when my nursing advisor recommended medical assisting to me as another option when my GPA didn't meet program requirements. I really don't want to waste any more time with an associate's rather get my BSN instead. I thought WGU would be a good choice since it is competency based not GPA based.I plan to take all my sciences through straighter line A&P 1, A&P 2, Microbiology,and I was told I can do Pharmacology to. I want to do Biochemistry but they don't offer it. Any suggestions on taking these courses or getting my CNA certification is greatly appreciated.

rleah, BSN, RN · Nov 14, 2016

If you are you are going to go to WGU a CNA would not be a bad idea. The do like medical experience. However CNA work is hard on you emotionally and physically. It is not impossible but is hard to do it while in nursing school. WGU makes it a little more manageable for those in the medical field. I went to a career school to become a CNA I wouldn't do it that way again. My state has a challange the test rule. Basically you could take a two week class and take the state boards. If you pass you get your license. I do not know how it works outside of here. If you able to go to a community college for some of your classes that would be best. Those credits will transfer anywhere while straighterlines only transfer to a few select schools. Plus you can deffer any student loans if you are enrolled in CC classes. I would do a little of both to get my prerecs done before the fall enrollment. I wouldn't worry about doing Pharmacology until nursing school, due to the fact you pay for semester not per class with WGU so it would be wasting your money.

Hello and thank you for replying. I have been giving this some serious thought, I am considering getting my CNA certification even if I must pay out of pocket for it. There are so many CNA jobs in my area that I would have no problem plus I could get tuition reimbursement. In the meantime I would start paying on my student loans. I do intend to apply to WGU Indiana's prelicensure program. When I spoke to the counselor she said I would benefit from having a prior degree that is where I am having a hard time. I know MA's make nothing and don't have a chance for advancement as nurses that is why I was discouraged when my nursing advisor recommended medical assisting to me as another option when my GPA didn't meet program requirements. I really don't want to waste any more time with an associate's rather get my BSN instead. I thought WGU would be a good choice since it is competency based not GPA based.I plan to take all my sciences through straighter line A&P 1, A&P 2, Microbiology,and I was told I can do Pharmacology to. I want to do Biochemistry but they don't offer it. Any suggestions on taking these courses or getting my CNA certification is greatly appreciated.

Marieh · Nov 14, 2016

That is very true, CNA is very hard work at least from what I have been told and what I have seen and researched. I will stop at nothing to complete my educational and professional goals. Also I will look into taking my courses at my cc, however I am curious I talked to my WGU counselor about my A&P 2 course transfer from my cc as it is 3 credit course I believe. I know its supposed to be 4 but at my cc it is 3. The WGU counselor said I would have to retake it and I have a B in the class now. Its possible I could get an A in A&P 2 but I wouldn't be able to transfer it. That's where I am figuring out what to do because my cc is highly regarded where I live. I do need to retake A&P 1 since I earned a C. This is not competitive as I know. I recently applied to a local SNF for the CNA class. I will give them 3 or 4 days if I hear nothing I will call to check on my application. Again any feedback is greatly appreciated .

rleah, BSN, RN · Nov 14, 2016

Dang it I made this long comment and it didnt post. Give me a min

rleah, BSN, RN · Nov 14, 2016

Did your A&P class have a lab? I know at my CC the class is 3 credits but the lab is 1 for a toatl of 4 credits. WGU took it. I live in FL, WGU BSN program is not yet as established as the other states. That being said they had a low amount of applicants apply for the program here last term. This ups my chance of getting in here quite a bit. My GPA is right around a 3.0 It is not competitive for any other school around me. If it wasn't for this program I would probably go LPN. LPN is around a year and you come out ready to work. There are so many LPN to RN bridges and it save a lot of money doing it that way. Just something to consider over CNA.

Marieh · Nov 14, 2016

Yeah I have a lecture part and a lab part. What's strange I told the counselor I had a lab with my course because we dissected a fetal pig at the beginning of the semester. That was the most interesting part of A&P I thought. She still said it had to be equivalent to 4 credits I will just have to send my transcripts in and see, if they accept it then that means I will only have to do A&P 1 l, which I already have but as I expressed its a C so I need to raise that to be competive. I still need Microbiology and Biochemistry as far as sciences and US Survey Constitution and Government, Human Growth and Development and I am planning to take Applied Healthcare Statistics before applying. I took a Quantative Reasoning course at my cc last summer got a B. I assume this will be a preparation for the Statistics course.

LoveJRenee, BSN, RN · Nov 14, 2016

I think that you should just go for your RN at WGU (or any other school you decide). I don't think that doing the medical assistant is worth the addional student loan debt if the end goal is nursing. I went to school to be a MA. At the time I didn't know that later I would want to be a nurse. I wish I would have known, I would hv just done RN.

Marieh · Nov 14, 2016

Thanks Jaide06, I think your absolutely right I need to consider getting out of this now before I get to far in. Nursing is definitely my ultimate goal and I have been told by many people that work as nurses that they couldn't be more happier than with the career they chose. Yes nursing is going to be challenging as is any career, but there are so many areas to work in and such a great opportunity for career advancement. I want to thank you and everyone on here for helping me make the right decision as I know I will be very content with a career in nursing.

LoveJRenee, BSN, RN · Nov 15, 2016

I thought WGU would be a good choice since it is competency based not GPA based.I plan to take all my sciences through straighter line .

I believe there is a min GPA of 2.5 to get into the WGA nursing program. I recently spoke with an admissions person and they sent me some information and that's what is listed in there. It is true that they are competency based though. If your GPA is a problem, then you should consider taking those science classes at the Community college to raise your GPA. Straigher line won't provide any GPA information. And also regarding Straigher line, I was considering taking a class there but I was reading the reviews and they have horrible reviews. I decided to just take my class at a community college because I don't time to for the type of problems people were talking about. Just something to think about.

Marieh · Nov 15, 2016

Yeah I will certainly think about that now that you tell me about the negative reviews about straighter line. I think taking the classes at my cc would be wise. I will have to figure out what I need to do as far as the MA program at my cc. I do not want to pursue it and my advisor is the department chair of the MA program. My classes are scheduled for spring but I want to take my pre reqs for WGU. I really want to move further with the process of completing my pre reqs for the prelicensure program. I may have an A in A&P 2 this semester. Right now I have a B but this is without the last 2 exams and lab practical. I will have 177/200 total points in lab. If I can pass with an A in A&P 2 , then my other sciences should be a bit easier to handle especially A&P 1 as I took it already.