Dallas, TX High school grad, Seriously considering Nursing, need some advice

ashleecarol90 · Aug 30, 2013

I am not entirely sure about the schools down in Texas, however, I am at the University of Oklahoma just north of you! Not yet, but coming here soon, the school will be offering a BSN to DNP (doctorate nurse practitioner). They aid you with a program built specifically to move forward to becoming a NP. So, if Oklahoma is about to aid this, I imagine some of the Texas schools might already have this program. You just have to actually talk to the schools (give them a call).

Also, according to recent research, a lot of places are debating on whether it is worth it for someone to take a year off to get practice on the field as an RN before starting NP school versus just going straight from you BSN schooling into the NP programs. The reason why they wanted people to go out and get experience before was because experience adds its own learning. HOWEVER, the reason they are debating this now is not every person has the same experience when they are RNs, therefore, a year off as an RN for one person may have been more beneficial than it was for someone else. So, you don't necessarily have to take off. You could directly apply during your senior year of nursing school :)

I really hope this helps answer any questions and feel free to inbox me if I only confused you more or you got others you want to ask! Best of luck to you!

cass1320 · Aug 30, 2013

If you're willing to go as far as Denton, are you considering all DFW schools? If you've already been accepted to or are set on UTD, you might consider UT Arlington's BSN program. They have an excellent reputation and a "fast track" program that could allow you to graduate a bit earlier and I bet that your credits would transfer quite nicely as UTD and UTA are both in the UT system. UTA does require some intro to nursing courses that you can only get in the UT system, so that would be important to look into. I don't know if money is an issue or concern for you, but you will pay considerably more in tuition at Baylor or TCU than you will at a public university. If you are looking at Baylor, make sure that you have all the prereqs covered. As a Baptist university, Baylor requires extra courses in religion that you might not get at UTD. TWU is probably the easiest to transfer into, but they are probably also the most competitive as their applicant pool is HUGE. I would set up an appointment with a nursing adviser at each school your interested in to make sure you know all the steps you need to take. Of the nursing institutions in DFW, the hospitals recruiters I have spoken with tend to agree that UTA, TWU, TCU and Baylor are pretty equally reputable programs. Whatever you do, avoid the private "for profit" school like West Coast University. They recently opened a branch in Dallas, but these programs are usually money toilets and the accreditation issues will seriously complicate any graduate degree aspirations.

Becoming an NP is an admirable goal and something I myself hope to achieve one day, but there are a lot of steps that lead there and you should be sure that you're completely comfortable with all of them before you pursue nursing. The years you work as an RN are not just a prerequisite that you have to check off before getting into an NP program, but rather a crucial part of gaining the wisdom and experience you will need to be a successful NP. Additionally, NPs might practice at a higher level than RNs, but they are still practicing nursing, which means they approach patient care very differently than Doctors or PAs. I advise that you make really sure that nursing is the profession that you want to commit to before you decide on a BSN program. DFW has some great programs for Medicine and Physicians Assistants that might be worth exploring (UT Southwestern and UNT come to mind).

If you decide that nursing really is for you, shadowing a few RNs and NPs in the area could give you some extra insight into the profession and great connections for later on. You're definitely on the right track with getting your CNA certification and working before you start a nursing program. It's great experience and will look good on nursing school applications. Once you start a BSN program, you can also get a job as a Nurse Tech in a hospital to get extra experience during school. Nurse Tech jobs are a great way to get your foot in the door for your first RN job as competition for new grad jobs in DFW fierce.

The previous poster mentioned a DNP program that accept BSN grads straight out of school. I respectfully disagree with her assessment that RN experience is a negligible part of being a successful NP. If your planning on staying in the DFW area, you WILL need experience as the NP programs here are very competitive and don't usually accept applicants with less than a year as an RN. There are several ways to make yourself competitive. A high BSN GPA, working in critical care (ER/ICU), specialization through certification (CCRN, etc.), and continuing education and leadership roles in your workplace are all a good start. You can look into some of the NP programs in DFW to get a better idea of what their looking for. TWU, UTA, TCU and Baylor all have information on their websites.

You sound like someone who is motivated and already on the right track. I wish you the best of luck!

SweetiePie26 · Aug 30, 2013

I live in the Dallas area. My advice is dont waste your time and money taking your prereqs at UTD. Brookhaven, El Centro, and any other community college will transfer and mean the same thing. Make sure you talk to a advisor at any nursing school you plan on transferring to to make sure you know which classes you need and what will transfer. I plan on applying for TWU Dallas and am currently at NCTC. And aim for a 4.0 because all the programs around here are crazy competitive!