considering switching to nursing school

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Hello. I am in the middle of an MA in philosophy and always thought I would move on to PhD. Seeing the poor state of the job market, the constant posturing among my peers and the low odds of actually reshaping the discussion in my field, I began to consider other options. Since my wife is about to enter Medical School and has been volunteering I have begun to think in the direction of nursing. I see that she gets a lot out of volunteer work and I also would like to actually be helpful to people in a non abstract way. I think that being there for patients is incredibly powerful. I will probably volunteer in one of the ERs over the summer.

I wonder what kind of programs I could get into, if my academic background is at all helpful, and what kind of prerecs I would have to take. I did not take very much science in college. I graduated BA with only a 3.5 but in grad school I have kept around a 4.0. What would your advice be in terms of seeing if I like the field? In terms of getting into schools?

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I would think that with your background, you'd either want to apply to an accelerated BSN program (+/- 16 months), or a direct entry Masters program (+/- 36 months). Your undergraduate GPA is fine, but you'd really want to get mostly A's in your prerequesites (especially the sciences) given the current competition. Prerequesites vary slightly, but usually include A&P I and II, Chemistry I and II (usually with an organic semester), Microbiology, Statistics, and some sort of Psych/Human Growth and Development course. Good luck.

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I think I would want to enter with the MSN because I would prefer to end up in some APN type of thing. Thanks for the advice

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To start off, maybe depending where you live you can narrow down the schools you are interested in attending. Then make an appointment with the school(s) to meet with a nursing advisor so you can discuss your options.

Different schools will want different prereqs before you can even apply. Most likely they will require A&P I and II, Micro, Chem I & II, Psych 101, Developmental Psych, Abnormal Psych., and Statistics. Also, if you never took bio before and intro to bio course might be needed.

Good luck.

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Thanks for all your advice. How did you know you were interested though? Like now I have vague notions of helping patients, doing something more real, less abstract, helping other nurses and doctors as satisfying ends. But how do I move from these sort of fuzzy ideas to seeing if I would enjoy the actual career? If it offers the kind of intellectual stimulation I need?

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Specializes in ICU, ER.

Become a CNA and spend some time working along with nurses to see what they do.

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Switching into the nursing path cold, your looking at 2-3 yrs realistically with no prereqs...4-5 until masters prepared if you do a direct entry program. The fastest program in the country is Drexel U at 11 months for a second bachelors in nursing, however most are 15-22 months timeframe. Also, if your in a highly populated state or metro area, anticipate some serious waitlists or lottery system for schools. I am 9 months from getting BSN in an accelerated program, and I wish I had someone tell me just how much work it would take just to get get into a BSN program with no science background. Its doable though - be relentless.

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That seems like a lot of school for someone who has been in school for seven years already! Maybe I should just consider BSN and not MSN. Certainly a lot to think about. Thanks very much.

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Okay, to address your outstanding concerns:

Volunteering in an Emergency Room seems to be an excellent way to get a feel for whether it's something you want to do or not. At least that's what I did. Push the boundaries to interact with the doctors and nurses (be aggressive if you're a voluteer, or you'll be ignored). Working as a CNA was mentioned too. It's not glamorous, but you'd get a better feel for what day-in-the-life as a nurse actually entails.

Enroll in some prerequisites NOW. Community College courses are inexpensive. Start with Bio (if your science background is as limited as you say), then launch into A&P and Microbio. You'll know within a few months whether you can handle the workload. If you can handle the pre-reqs with a reasonably demanding instructor, you can handle nursing school. Ask around for really good A&P and Micro professors.

Others can pipe in, but there's a minimal salary difference (at least in my state) between RN's, BSN's and MSN's. Given that fact, and your concern about a zillion more years of schooling, baby steps might work for you (i.e. an accelerated program). Most any workplace will pay tuition towards APN degree of some flavor. Good luck.

That seems like a lot of school for someone who has been in school for seven years already! Maybe I should just consider BSN and not MSN. Certainly a lot to think about. Thanks very much.
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Seeing the poor state of the job market

Regardless of what you may have heard, nursing isn't recession-proof.

With your background, you may want to look into accelerated BSN programs. Once you're done with the pre-reqs (a year or two, since you have to take some in sequence), it takes about a year to get your BSN.

If you contact a local hospital (I called the nurse educator listed on the website) you can probably shadow a nurse for a few hours or a shift if you want to see what they do.

You say your wife is going to medical school? Nursing school is very time intensive (especially an accelerated program), so don't count on being able to hold down a full time job. Just a thought.

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Thanks for all the advice. What seems most daunting to me is that here in NY you might need to wait even to take prereqs. I wonder also if APN has a major differential from BSN in terms of intellectual stimulation. The difference in salary might matter less long term than that. Thanks for the perceptive and insightful feedback.

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Fellow philosophy grad here, but that was many years ago. When I decided to go into nursing I considered first going directly to BSN and explored that with the University. My degree covered a lot of the prerequisites and the remaining pre-reqs would have taken about a year, then the nursing program, which I think was 12-18 months depending on how fast and intensely I wanted to do it.

I did end up opting to start as a CNA, then become LPN (which is what I am now), and then in the future explore the BSN. I think if things had been different I would have gone directly for my BSN, but I really had to start working as soon as possible. And I'm very happy so far, I love being a nurse and feel that this is what I was always meant to do. If things work out that I don't continue with my education I'll still be very happy and satisfied with what I'm doing now.

The sciences were very hard for me. Very different way of using the brain than philosophy. In terms of that kind of vague and abstract idea of wanting to help others that you mentioned, and how do you do that, I think that nursing is very special in that it offers very specific tools and structures to actually carry out the tasks of compassion, which is very nice.

Hope that is helpful!

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