Career Change to Nursing

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Good morning everyone!

I am looking to go to school for Nursing and I need some advice from all of you out there. I currently am working for a financial business that I no longer have the drive for. My mother and my oldest sister are in the health care field and have always told me I would enjoy working in a health care environment. I am looking to get my certificate to be a CNA for a part time job while I take my generals to get into Nursing school. What did you guys do to prepare for Nursing besides your generals? Did you work part time within a clinic? Volunteer at the hospital? Any advice would be great, I am anxious to start my classes as weird as that seems, when I think about beginning to educate myself to be a Nurse I can see myself get excited and smile which is a great feeling because where I am now I do not have that. Again any advice is much appreicated!

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Hey Jami, welcome! You will get alot of good info here I am sure. I am in a similar boat. I have been working in public health from a communications/PR perspective for 5 years and have recently decided to follow my gut and go for my BSN. Working in health from a desk, 9-5, computer standpoint has never been rewarding and I want a job where I am fulfilled, work one on one with people and help them directly. I have wanted to do nursing for years but I think I just talked myself out of it, reminding myself that I have a degree in this or that and that I have always been the english, history, theory student eventhough I have taken a number of science courses and loved them all.

My plan is too take my prereqs and volunteer at the local hospital until I apply to school next Fall. I looked into becoming a CNA but the pay is so low and I live in $$ DC, I just dont think I could support myself. Did anyone else find it hard to live on a CNA salary? Jami- have you started being a CNA yet?

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I'm doing the same type of career change. I grew up working in hospitals as I have a family member who is a hospital administrator so anytime I needed a summer job, I had one. Once in college, I continued working in a local hospital, in the PT dept, until I graduated with degrees in Math and Computer Science. Now, after almost 10 years in the IT field, I'm changing careers. I spent the past year or so working on pre-reqs, and while I have one more to go this spring, I am actually currently waiting for acceptance to an accelerated BSN program for next fall.

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Ardneth, good for you! What BSN program are you waiting on? Is it accelerated? How was it taking prereqs? Any advice? I wanted to know if people think that there are some prereqs that are best not taken together. I think I am taking A&P1 and chem together this spring, then A&P2 and nutrition) for Summer and then Micro and Human Development through lifespan for the Fall. Thoughts?

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Specializes in ER, peds, gi, case mgmt..

PLEASE try and work as a CNA. It will give you a taste of the pace required to care for several patients. If you can tolerate a long term care facility, you should be okay. You will only have 2 patients while doing college clinicals....nothing like the real world of acute care, unless you do ICU

(and 1 patient there seems too much sometimes.) Don't do it for the money or

with the assumption that you won't have to take care of patients. We have too many chiefs already!

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Thanks grasshopper. I've applied to the Drexel University ACE program (11 month accelerated BSN). The prereqs were not that bad, I actually had most of them originally and only had to retake the science ones and a couple of others. A&P and micro must be taken within 5 years prior to enrollment in the ACE program.

The ones I had to take were A&P I and II, Nutrition, Chemistry (I had taken bio and botany as my undergrad sciences, stupid me), Microbiology, and Intro to Sociology since they required that specific class and wouldn't take my previous intro to social work class. I am taking Nutrition and Intro to Sociology class this semester and will be taking micro in the spring, at which point I will be done.

I took human cadaver A&P and am very glad I did not take that class with any others as my professor (a doctor of all things) was very picky and his tests and labs were very very hard.

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Specializes in Med-Surg/Peds/O.R./Legal/cardiology.

I worked as a "candystriper" from ages 12 to 14 at the nearest hospital. In high school, got out of school at 2:30 and worked as a unit secretary full time 3-11 (then went home and did homework) and "floated" to all units of the hospital. Finished high school at 17yrs old and put myself through nursing school with the money I had saved. I've been at this profession for 37 yrs now. GOSH! No wonder I'm tired of it! :eek: :smackingf :lol2:

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Specializes in Med-Surg/Peds/O.R./Legal/cardiology.

BTW, I think my only regret is that I didn't join the army as an RN. I'm 57yrs old and still think about it. The war in Viet Nam was wrapping up when I finished school, but I really wanted to serve there. Most of my professors were former Army nurses and nuns. If one could survive THAT bunch, they could do ANYTHING! Was it rough? ABSOLUTELY! Was I prepared when I finished school? ABSOLUTELY!

FWIW, it is a different world now and corporate greed ties our hands. It's hard to make a difference. If the "suits" would just leave us alone and let us do our work and care for people, this big mess would take a much needed turn! Do a lot of research before jumping in. We need good,caring nurses out here who are well educated enough to speak their minds en masse and know what they're talking about. Good luck with your decision. :redbeathe

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You will only have 2 patients while doing college clinicals....nothing like the real world of acute care, unless you do ICU

After the first year I usually had 3-4 patients in college. Not all programs are the same.

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Specializes in LTC.

Okay, two things:

1) I have heard from former ACE students that the program is very hard so you have to mentally prepare yourself for all of the hard times you are going to experience. It will be tough but if its waht you really want to do you CAN do it. I graduated for Jefferson's FACT program, also really very tiring but I can say first hand that I loved the faculty and they were always ready to help.

2) I believe someone else already said that nursing is hard. If you only want to do it for the money, look to another career. Just the legalities(sp) of it makes me want to quit some days but I stick it out because I LOVE my patients. Once again, if this is about a passion for caring for others you CAN do it.

Hope this helps, feel free to ask many many questions.

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Specializes in Endoscopy/MICU/SICU.
I worked as a "candystriper" from ages 12 to 14 at the nearest hospital. In high school, got out of school at 2:30 and worked as a unit secretary full time 3-11 (then went home and did homework) and "floated" to all units of the hospital. Finished high school at 17yrs old and put myself through nursing school with the money I had saved. I've been at this profession for 37 yrs now. GOSH! No wonder I'm tired of it! :eek: :smackingf :lol2:

Wow, ebear. Impressive!!

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Specializes in Med-Surg/Peds/O.R./Legal/cardiology.

Thanks, JenRN. I wasn't trying to impress. It's just how I prepared for a career that has ended up spitting in the face of "seasoned" RNs..... :madface:

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