College Student Wants to Gain Some "Nursing" Expereince?

kbok · Aug 16, 2010

i think there is value in obtaining any kind of degree, whether its liberal arts or sciences or whatever else. however, as with anything, education comes with a cost and then there's also the practicality and usability of it. you can totally finish your liberal arts degree and then do an alternate entry program if you want. but if you know you definitely want to be a nurse, then i would just switch now to save future time and money.

when i was in college, i started off as a computer science freshman and had no clue i would end up becoming a nurse. a classmate during summer school told me she was going into nursing and i figured why not apply too? so i switched my major my sophomore year into pre-nursing. (coincidentally, i graduated from UT austin). but what really helped me gain a better understanding of what nurses do, was volunteering.

so that'd be my suggestion. before you switch majors completely (or switch states, or schools!) it'd be great if you could volunteer at a clinic, hospital, or even a nursing home or assisted living facility to be exposed to the nursing profession. for me, that was the opening door that allowed me to see the roles that nurses play in the hospital and helped me realize nursing was for me. plus, that'd work out the best for you since you are a full time student and can only offer a few hours of your time a week. when i volunteered at the hospital, they made me commit to 4 hours a week, so i would volunteer from 7 am - 11am every tuesday, and then go to my classes in the afternoon. another semester i had classes in the AM, and would volunteer in the afternoon. check out the hospitals close to you or other nursing facilities and inquire about volunteer opportunities.

currently a lot of the CNAs at the hospital where i work are nursing students as well. but if you work, you're looking at a bigger commitment, maybe 20 hrs a week or so.

lastly, i noticed you said you live in pennsylvania? i dunno what the job outlook is like there, or how competitive the nursing schools are, but i'm in massachusetts and its tough for new grads to find new jobs out here. (i heard its also hard for alternate entry/ MSN prepared nurses to get new job as RNs as well because even though you have a previous degree in another field, you are still unexperienced so that's what hospitals look at). honestly i think the job market is better in texas, especially for new grads.

jupiter4 · Aug 16, 2010

Thanks for your reply kbok! All that makes sense. I'm from Austin and my family lives there, but I'm going to school in PA. If I was to get a nursing degree I'd try to do so at a school closer to home, in TX.

I've been looking into it a bit more and I discovered a hospital that's just a few blocks from my college. Without health care experience, can you tell be what kinds of things I might expect to do as a volunteer? At the hospital I had my treatment at I think many volunteers just got shoved into working the gift shop..... not exactly what I'm looking for.

chloecatrn · Aug 17, 2010

i'm a current college student going into my sophomore year. when i applied to school nursing was not even a possibility in my mind. i'm a pediatric cancer survivor and two of my high school years were spent in and out of the hospital i was ready to get out for good! no way i'd want to be a nurse. haha. but reflecting on things more this summer and preparing to declare as a bio major i feel, just deep in my gut, that nursing is really where i belong. i could ramble on about why, but that's not exactly the point. the point is: i've been lurking on these boards and my local community college website and a thousand other places trying to piece it together but it's time to admit that i'm stuck :confused: .

first off, congratulations on being a cancer survivor. that's such an awesome accomplishment, and something to definitely be proud of.

i go to a small liberal arts college in a different state than where my family is living. i would have to transfer schools completely to attend a nursing school. my understanding that transferring into a nursing department as an external candidate is extremely competitive. is there any merit to just putting nursing off to a (more expensive but possibly logistically easier) accelerated masters program? is there any merit at all of possessing a bachelors in a non nursing subject? i think i could get all the prereqs for an accelerated a program at the local cc during a few summer semesters when i'm home. the third, and somewhat drastic option, is to drop school where it is and shoot for lotterying into the community college's adn program which has a convenient bsn bridge at ut austin.

you can absolutely complete a second degree bsn program after finishing your bachelor's in whatever your current degree is. you could also go for a direct entry msn program. i can't find anything on a second degree bsn at ut austin, but the direct entry msn program information is here.

ut health sciences at san antonio has a second degree bsn program. the information on their program is here.

but even if this is something i would maybe want to do, what sorts of things can i do to find out for sure? i'd love to get cna or emt cert. i'm especially interested in emergency medicine. but who would hire me as a full time student? i go home to texas for only 2 -3 months over the summer, and i could only work limited hours during the school year in pennsylvania. with no previous healthcare experience would anyone, hospital or ltc, even consider taking me or should i settle for a volunteering position? one of my friends reccomended coming home in may and searching out a job and just "forgetting" to tell them that i'll be leaving in august. to me that just seems cruel and irresponsible. do any of your hospitals or ltc centers hire temporary workers or students?

i'm not sure what part of pa you're in, but a lot of hospitals will hire students as nursing assistants/pcts and train them internally and allow them to work a casual schedule. you would be able to work a schedule that works for you, go home for the summer, and then return to work, usually. i say usually because with the job market the way it is, this may have changed. ltcs probably don't do that, because they really need consistent staff there every day, because their census doesn't fluctuate so much. at least in a hospital, census changes and is a little more fluid, and it's a little easier to get house float pool staff when there's not staff available.

in the hospitals around here, some volunteers will go from room to room to do nothing but orient patients who have been identified as high risk for in-hospital disorientation and psychosis. some volunteers will visit with patients and read to them, or help them with their meals. some will cuddle the babies in the nicu when their mamas can't be with them. it all depends on what you feel your niche would be and where the hospital can place you. (if it makes you feel better, volunteers never get placed in the gift shop -- they're all run by outside companies.)

good luck to you. this is such a difficult decision to make, and there are so many options. you'll find the right one with just a little bit of digging.

Saysfaa · Aug 17, 2010

my understanding that transferring into a nursing department as an external candidate is extremely competitive.

it makes no difference at my school. sometimes it does; it would be best to ask at schools you are interested in.

is there any merit to just putting nursing off to a (more expensive but possibly logistically easier) accelerated masters program? the kicker is that "possibly" part. i would not do it as a sophomore. if i were only a semester or so from graduating, i probably would do it. hm, actually, i think you meant "accelerated bsn" because i think you would need an rn (maybe not a bsn, but some kind of rn) before applying to a masters of nursing program. usually, masters programs require at minimum of a year or two of experience as an rn.

is there any merit at all of possessing a bachelors in a non nursing subject? sometimes. it depends on what the bachelors is in and what your goals are. criminal justice would be helpful for forensic nursing, a law degree for legal nursing, and so on.

i think i could get all the prereqs for an accelerated a program at the local cc during a few summer semesters when i'm home. i'm not sure what you mean.

the third, and somewhat drastic option, is to drop school where it is and shoot for lotterying into the community college's adn program which has a convenient bsn bridge at ut austin. if you wanted to shoot for the lottery, why would you need to drop school to do it? couldn't you keep taking classes somewhere while you applied - either prereqs for nursing or perhaps classes useful for your next most likely choice (or needed by several prospective majors)?

but even if this is something i would maybe want to do, what sorts of things can i do to find out for sure? work in health care settings and keep your eyes open. i think it would be different to work in them than it was to be the patient. some of the more common ways: cna, med tech, nurse assistant, ems. also keep reading these boards and other material and asking questions. books by echo heron are often recommended. shadow various kinds of nurses. volunteer.

jupiter4 · Aug 17, 2010

Thanks for all the thoughts! I'll definitely contact the near by hospital when I get on campus next week to see if I can get in as a volunteer or part time employee and see what happens from there!