Anyone else take the long road to your RN?

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sooo... i haven't even started my first class yet, i am on the 22nd.. but i feel like this is going to take forever! i have 5, maybe 6 classes to take before i even apply for the rn program. i am taking one at a time right now because of work and $$$. this is going to take absolutely forever. i have to take psych (in it the 22nd), chemistry (never took it in hs), before i take a&p 1 and 2, microbiology.. thankfully i have taken my english, humanities, math and english from my previous schooling! i am being cautious because i have been out of school for a while, have always had a hard time focusing and i have to work full time. i'd like, once i get back into the groove of schooling-to take more than one, but for the courses i have left to take that would be nearly impossible unless i want to fail :(

does anyone have an experiences with taking the long road? some words of encouragement, or ideas on how i could make this shorter without overworking myself?

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Specializes in Maternity, quality.

I took a couple years to work on my pre-reqs. It does seem like a long road at first. For me, it helped to think of each semester/class as a step on the journey. For each thing I completed I was one step closer to my goal. Think of how much farther behind you would be if you never started on the journey!

I think it's a good idea to start out taking one class at a time since you are still working so you can see how it fits into your schedule. Use this time to really hone your study skills. I actually started my journey with intro psych, myself. While it wasn't a super-hard class, it helped to lay the foundation for good habits (i.e. reading chapters before the lecture so that I got the most out of the lecture, pacing my studying, etc.). You may find that after a while your confidence and efficiency will increase and you'll feel ready to take more than one class at a time.

Congratulations on taking this first step. Enjoy it as much as you can... the classes that you have to take as pre-reqs can actually be really interesting and fun if you give them the chance. Good luck!

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I did it slowly, and I am sure you can too. It isnt easy with work, kids, school, family, an all else but it can be done. I was really scared at first, but have come to trust myself much more and no longer fear failing out, etc. I had to actually do well a couple semesters before this came about and then again when I began the nursing classes I was right back to fear!

I think I took 1.5 years to do the prereqs, I would have to check my transcript to be sure. I always tried to stay full time for financial aid purposes and the other classes have certainly helped me a lot and some will transfer for my BSN. I just realized the other day that I will graduate with a Associates with 121 credits, almost enough for a BSN so I am hoping many will transfer out.

Take care!

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THanks! It is good to hear others have taken the same road.

As of right now I am enrolled in Psych and Intro to Chem. This summer I plan to take A&P 1, Fall-A&P 2, Spring 09-Micro.. RN program Fall of 09.

I hope my current place of work will be supportive and help me work around my schedule. Today I asked me Boss about tthe 1 day a week I need for my class this semester and she was iffy at first, then realized we just hired 2 new people so it was fine. Her 'iffy-ness' at first has made me worry about future requirements I may have for days off for classes. Especially in the summer.

I am the supervisor there, so I guess they may not be as supportive as they expect me to move up within the company.. but from what I hear no one there stays for too long, a ton of ppl have come and gone... I can only hope she is willing in the next year, if not I may have to go somewhere else and take less pay.

I am slightly worried about my plan because they said today they admit students to the RN program as early as October for the following fall! I won't even be done my last pre-req (micro) until Spring of 2009... as long as everything works out, I will be ready to go!

Congrats on all of your successes and sticking to it, though you took the long road!

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I nearly completed mine in 4 years but my husband asked me to leave shool 2.5 semesters before I graduated. I took 3.5 years to nearly complete my RN AS degree. I want to go back now but My husband says wait til our kids are much older. I am gonna try to convince him to let me finish and I will work at the Christian school as a school nurse as they do not currently have one. We could get free tuition! So I took 1 class at a time til cliniclas and thoeries started back in 2001-2005 and now I hope to go back and finish soon. :) Now that is a long time! What the kicker is... I was a 3.8 GPA! grrr.

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Specializes in emergency.

I too took the long road. I did my LNA at St Joes in Nashua in 2003. My dad passed away on the day I was to graduate.

It took me 3 years to do my gen eds through NHCTC Manchester and Nashua.

I got accepted to NHCTC Nashua's nursing program for the fall of 2006 and I graduate this May.

So yes, sometimes its better to go slow. Plus nursing school is so hard you should get your gen eds out of the way. You would never have enought time to read 200-300 pages of text and do care plans and progects and reports with any other classes.

Good Luck:wink2:

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I agree with Annal.

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I agree with Annal. You should get the gen eds and electives out of the way before doing the nursing so that you have more time and energy to devote to your clinical and care plans and such. plus, remember, you will have exams and theory classes while you are in clinical and you will have so much to do for theory on top of the care plans. you want to be able to write good care plans. I know my profs were strict about that. Oh and the drug cards!! Gosh those were fun! I would not have minded if my first clinical ever was not in the telemetry unit! most other groups got to have physical therapy as there 1st clinical but my group got telemetry and each pt had about 30 meds they were on and i had to know every thing there is to know about each. The next clinical was the geriatric and they also had a ton of meds each. better block out a good chink of time for your drug cards and memorizing the drugs. ;) It is fun if you are able to devote enough time to all this. Just remember, get the dumb stuff like gen eds and electives out of the way and then do your nursing. the gen eds and elect are so stinking easy anyway. It will boost your confidence before the real work starts! I had a 4.0 when I went into my nursing classes. It was great! Left with a 3.8 but I hope to be going back to finish soon!

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Specializes in Geri.

I think it is great that you are back in school!!! I am still taking that long road! I was in finance for almost 20 years before I decided I had enough and wanted to explore nursing. I got my LNA in 2005 and entered an LPN program in Jan 2007. I just graduated in Dec. and I am working as an LPN right now :yeah: I am still taking classes that I need for an RN and I, like you, plan on applying in 2009. I have considered applying for 2008, but I need a little time off before I start school full-time again! I don't know where you are going, but you will probably be ok if you apply to the RN program while you are still in micro, at the very least it is worth a shot! Good luck to you.

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I'm on that long road and it's becoming very long and twisted indeed. Because of circumstances beyond my control I've had to stop and restart more than once. I'm working full time now and supporting my family takes precedence over trying to finish school. Unfortunately life happens along the way. I was successful working and going to school full time up to a point. But there was a straw to the camel's back and now I've been off track for way more than ten years. I'll just plug away until it doesn't make sense to put any more effort or money into it. I suggest that you keep on. If there is any way that you could take more than once class at a time, you should try. Otherwise, just plug away at it. Hopefully, you'll be accepted by a program before your science courses are too old. Good luck.

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I started very slow as well. I started by taking my A&P I, then II (at which point I also take college algebra), and then onto Micro. I'm in my second semester at NHCTC-Stratham, and I really feel like nursing is the right road for me to be on. I remember feeling overwhelmed at the very idea of even applying when I first started. Just keep plodding along, and you WILL get there. Also, you may be able to CLEP out of some of the classes you're assuming you'll need to take. I've been able to CLEP out of Human Growth and Development, and my friend CLEP'd psych. Also, I know people in my program who were accepted w/out A&P and/or Micro. So, things like that DO happen! Good luck to you!

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Tamsue!!

What did you study to clep out of the Human Growth and Development? I am thinking about clepping out because I already took Developmental Psychology and Psychology and I know they might be similar. Thanks!!

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