Beginning a career in nursing

[nurse2bmartine12]

Hi Everyone,

I would like to know how to begin a career in nursing. I have always been intrigued by the nursing profession and how nurses are dedicated to patient care. My grandmother was a nurse and told me many stories about the nursing profession growing up. Well, at this point of my career I want to make a change from social work into nursing. I have a bachelors degree but do not have the required science courses completed. The community college near me does not take government student loans as a way to pay for classes, only private loans, grants, and scholarships. I am not steps to take pre-requisites and pay for it out-of- pocket. I received my bachelors degree nearly 10 years ago and have been out of the school loop. If anyone has any ideas of how I can start my pre-requisites while working and various ways I can pay for the classes, please advise. Thanks

[AceOfHearts<3]

FYI you'll have to change your username as it is against TOS to have nurse in it if you are not one. You can ask the admins to help you with that.

As for how to become a nurse, I would recommend shadowing a nurse first. You also need to research the local job market and determine if an ASN will gain you entry where you desire or if you'll need your BSN or if LPN/LVN is what you want to do.

I have a BS in another field and had been out of school for 3.5 years before deciding I wanted to become a nurse. I completed my nursing school prereqs at local community colleges and a nearby university. I paid for them out-of-pocket and did not take out any loans until I started my nursing program.

There are a handful of ways to become an RN:

1) complete an ASN/ADN program, most likely at a community college. You would be able to complete an RN-BSN program at a later time if you wanted to.

2) complete a tradiotnal BSN program, but potentially take just the nursing courses since you already have a bachelors degree (if the other courses will transfer)

3) complete an ABSN program- an accelerated BSN program designed specifically for people who already have bachelor degrees in other fields. The programs vary in length, typically from 12-18 months. This is the option I picked, but it is not the right one for everyone.

4) complete an entry MSN program designed for people with a bachelor degree in another field. If you do this you will most likely NOT start off in a masters position, but one that a BSN or ASN nurse would start in.

5) complete a hospital based Diploma program, however these programs are becoming more rare.

There is also the option of completing an LPN/LVN program and then later bridging to RN if desired.