Conflicted...and wanting to go to nursing school!

Sour Lemon · Aug 30, 2017

What work experience counts for may vary greatly from program to program. My nursing school cared about GPA, only. I would suggest you contact the admissions departments of the programs you're interested in and ask how to best increase your chances.

As a side note, you should probably refrain from calling yourself "nursebee" until you're actually a nurse.

NurseKait_11, BSN, RN · Aug 30, 2017

Hi _nursebee! I really don't think it's necessary to become a CNA before you apply to nursing schools. A lot of people in my class, including myself, were not CNAs or really had no "patient" interaction with people before they applied. I think your job now is very interesting and think it may make you stand out as an applicant. I am not going to say that working as a CNA won't help because it might, but I really don't think that every single person who applies to nursing school needs to have CNA experience before they apply. I think your current job shows that you are interested in working with people!

Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN · Aug 30, 2017

As a side note, you should probably refrain from calling yourself "nursebee" until you're actually a nurse.

If you stick a "To" or "2" in between "nurse" and "bee," and you'll be good to go. :up:

_nursebee, MSN · Aug 30, 2017

Thanks, NurseKait_11, for the positivity! I will definitely keep that in mind.

And I apologize if my username offends anyone. Definitely not my intention, but just thought it would be positive encouragement for myself. Don't know how to change it on here, unfortunately.

_nursebee, MSN · Aug 30, 2017

Thanks for the suggestion, @Here.I.Stand! Do you know how I could change it on here? I have actually been looking for awhile now..

_nursebee, MSN · Aug 30, 2017

Nevermind. I figured it out.

imhorsemackerel, LPN · Sep 1, 2017

Great posts above. I just wanted to add that I know some people who, prior to starting and graduating nursing school, only worked in the food service industry or retail. I know in my local CC if you have experience as a CNA, that increases your chances of getting accepted into the LPN program, but LPN experience isn't necessary for the RN program.

acires · Sep 2, 2017

Hi everyone! So I'm facing a bit of a conflict in terms of work experience before applying to nursing schools. I currently work as a behavior interventionist with kids with autism and am in the midst of applying to ABSN and ELMSN programs. As much as I love the kids that I work with, lately I've been having doubts about whether or not this experience shows my genuine interest in becoming a nurse practitioner, especially since I've started to see more people go for CNA positions to strengthen their application and gain more experience with patients.
I see how my current job could be related to nursing, but is that enough? Should I pursue something that is more medical and incorporates more "direct patient contact"?

I suppose you need to hone down on which route to nursing you want to take. Do you want a BSN or an MSN? Once you figure that out, you'll need to ask yourself if there are any programs where your experience with autistic kids would align with experiences necessary for entry into those programs. Direct-entry MSNs such as Family Nurse Practitioner or Pediatric Nurse Practitioner routes come to mind.

Good luck!