Becoming A Nurse A Frugal and Quick Route

ToxicShock · Jul 14, 2009

Everyone and their brother is rushing to nursing school. There is no quick and easy route to becoming a nurse. You're looking at 1-3 years worth of prereqs and then 2-3+ for the actual program. If you get an ASN first you can do the bridge program to get your BSN, but this is the route that almost everyone is taking. You're in for a long journey, but if you love what you do, it will be worth it :) Good luck!

kk637 · Jul 14, 2009

well let me tell ya, it took me forever to get my ADN. I just recently graduated nursing school in May and passed boards a couple weeks ago. When I started my journey and taking my prerequisites was back in 2003. I just had my 1st baby too then. but I only started as part time at first, while I had to work full time still as well as take care of my daughter... then i got pregnant again with my 2nd child.. I had to take a semester off, but then went back and then it was in 2007 (4 years later) I finally got done with my prerequisites and was accepted into nursing school. (was i relieved to have gotten accepted bc I sure knew some people that don't even make it that far!). Well then guess what happened was that I got pregnant again last year and luckily was able to carry my baby throughout the whole time while in nursing school and had her during a brief break that we had in school, and was able to reconveine along with everyone else for my last semester of nursing school!! That altogether took me 6 years just for an Associates degree! I currently have plans of getting my BSN through online classes at a nearby university... now if i go part time with that it will probably be another 4 or 5 years to get that. .who knows!.. but hey, sometimes u gotta do what you gotta do when you already have a family and children to support on the way to achieving your goals. It may take a while longer.. but u gotta have faith as well as determination that before you kno it, you'll get there!

graduating nursing school and passing boards have been my greatest accomplishments thus yet!

noni06 · Jul 14, 2009

there are no short cuts to becoming a registered nurse. it is a very lengthy and frustrating experience, nursing school is at times humiliating and one of the hardest things you will ever do in your live.

the nursing profession is also one of the most frustrating, hardest and humbling professions ever. the media keeps telling everyone and their mother to go to nursing school because it is a path to riches. yes, you can make a good living as a nurse, but the amount of crap (literally and fugitively) that you have to put up with is not worth the pay that you will get as a nurse, that's why a lot of nurses quit after a few years or complain about their job all the time.

nursing can also be a very rewarding way to make a living, there is nothing more satisfying to me than seeing a pressure ulcer heal (i have a thing about wound care).

if you have more than a financial motive for wanting to get into nursing, than i definitely encourage you to go for it. it will be a very challenging, humiliating and a long process, but the smiles of your future patients will make it all worth it. good luck.