Do you have questions about Nursing School? (BSN Program)

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Specializes in Med-Surg/Ortho.

Hey everyone, I'm a senior in nursing school (the BSN program) and Ive gotten quite a few private messages and have had several conversations with pre-nursing and current nursing students about school, classes and what to expect as a nursing student. I just thought it would be nice if any of you have questions that I could answer them here. I'm here to help if you need it..I know I had tons of questions when I was a pre-nursing student.

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You are great! I've plenty of questions. Mostly I'd like to know exactly what sort of prereq grades a typical state U requires of applying BSN students-- do they really expect A's in chem I and II? What if there are some C's in some prereq classes, like humanities?

I'm trying to decide between ADN and BSN, but I keep hearing that if you have some C's you can forget about getting into a BSN program. True? Thanks for any replies!

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So nice of you to offer help thanks

I am curious how it all comes together ...what you learn in lectures and what you do at clinicals??? do you feel overwhelmed during clinicals?

also whatever tips you might have to help us feel we know what we are doing lol :)

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Thank you soooo much!! You are so wonderful for just reaching out to us! I know I am guilty of sending questions through private messages :mad:. Here are the questions:

What is a typical class format like in clinicals? Are there separate tests? Do you do homework? Do you have projects? Group projects?

How do you recommend we study for "critical thinking" type questions? Do you suggest we start reading stuff now? Start looking at questions now? How do you study for analytical thinking? What books do you recommend?

If we're interested in externship, who do we contact? The school or the facility? How do you find a nurse tech job and what hours do they realistically expect you to put in?

In the semester, is it possible to take one GE course while doing your core nursing classes too? At the program I want to apply for, we're required to do 3 upper-division GE courses for the bachelors.

Again, thanks so much. Thats all I can think of at the moment, but I will ask more if need be.

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what steps do you need to do to prepare for the first day... what vaccs do you need? are they certain uniforms you wear?? any and all juicy details please???

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Specializes in Maternity.

You are great! I've plenty of questions. Mostly I'd like to know exactly what sort of prereq grades a typical state U requires of applying BSN students-- do they really expect A's in chem I and II? What if there are some C's in some prereq classes, like humanities?

I'm trying to decide between ADN and BSN, but I keep hearing that if you have some C's you can forget about getting into a BSN program. True? Thanks for any replies!

I can actually answer this one for you :) No, it's not true. Most BSN programs only use your GPA to make admittance decisions and you can have a relatively high GPA with one or two C's. I got a C in public speaking (ugh!) and my GPA hasn't suffered much (3.6). My cousin got into her BSN program with one C (in A&P 1).

Just try to keep your GPA as much above a 3.0 as possible. I have heard GPA cutoffs as low as 3.3

Good Luck!!

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You are great! I've plenty of questions. Mostly I'd like to know exactly what sort of prereq grades a typical state U requires of applying BSN students-- do they really expect A's in chem I and II? What if there are some C's in some prereq classes, like humanities?

I'm trying to decide between ADN and BSN, but I keep hearing that if you have some C's you can forget about getting into a BSN program. True? Thanks for any replies!

I'm not the OP, but I am in a BSN program as well. The answer to your question is unfortunately, it depends. It depends on the school you're applying to and also who else is applying. Most programs have a minimum GPA....but their applicant pool is way above that.

If you can, try and find out the admission statistics from the past couple years from the programs you're interested in....that will give you the best idea of what they might be looking for.

Best of luck!!

Peace,

CuriousMe

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Specializes in Med-Surg/Ortho.

No problem everyone..I guess ill just go down the list and answer each question..to answer your 1st question..in order to get in the BSN program you do not have to have all As. Of course if you do maintain a 4.0 gpa or something close your chances of getting into the program are greatly enhanced. But being an A or B student in general is all that is usually needed. But thats not to say that getting alot of Cs wont hinder you...because it will. A safe bet is to try to get as many As as you can...Bs are fine but try to avoid Cs as much as you can. In my particular program they only admit 140 students after the 1st year of prereqs and they got about 500 applications..needless to say they just took the top 140 students..the average gpa that was a pretty good predictor of getting in the nursing program was between a 3.3-3.6. so dont fret over making straight As..but maintaining atleast a 3.0 is very helpful..especially in REALLY competitive programs at competitve schools.

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Specializes in Med-Surg/Ortho.

next question...um as far as learning in lectures and clinicals you kind of learn simulaneously. Most of the curriculum is set up as to where you have a lecture and do book work and then have clinicals to practice and put to use what you learn in class. Most of my sophomore year was just spent in labs..where you would learn things in class and then have a lab where you practice on dummies in a simulated hospital area. Practicing things like vitals..injections (we used oranges to practice injections lol) and assessments of the patients. The last quarter of my sophomore year is when I started my 1st clinical.we didnt do much...this time was used to just get familar with the hospital and get use to being around patients. We did vitals, helped with baths, cleaned poop lol, helped position patients who needed to be turned and gave injections. Once you get through all your simulated lab work and start your 1st clinical you will start to feel more comfortable. And every school is different..some places dont have their students start clinicals until junior year..my program is just a little accelerated so they start us early. THEN by junior year, you remain in the hospital setting but start doing your "rotations" like Adult Health, OB, Pediatrics & Psych. This is when you really start to feel more comfortable with your skills...you learn alot and do more things like catheters, IV push meds, feeding tubes, wound care..etc. Then you also get to experience the other areas of nursing as I stated above like labor and delivery etc. While all this is going on you will still have classes going on..you'll learn in class and do in clinical. And then senior year you really fine tune your skills and you learn how to insert IVs. You also get to learn about nursing in the community and the ambulatory setting. So alot of your clinical work will be in clinics and public health places, maybe even schools. Usually by this time you have less class work and more clinical work. I only have 2 classes (and those are really easy) and the rest of my time is spent in clinicals. Then during the last semester or quarter of your senior year you will usually do some sort of "role transition" where you work the same shift as a nurse you are paired with and she will be your preceptor..thats when you pretty much do everything that nurse does..you learn from your preceptor, ask questions, and work side by side to really act in the role of a nurse. You suck up as much info as you can because then after that you're a GRAD! And to answer your other question..the more you do, the more you learn..you wont feel comfortable with your skills right away. Im a senior and still feel like I dont know alot..but it takes time..im still learning that.

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Specializes in Med-Surg/Ortho.

To answer the last 2 questions..

every school is different. So the kinds of uniforms you wear depend on where you attend. We wear an all white uniforms (consisting of white scrubs and a white labcoat and white gym shoes) with our school name printed on it. Usually when you 1st have orientation after being accepted into the program they will give you the contact info of the company you need to order your uniforms from. And usually the same company offers stethescopes and other products you may need during clinicals.

As far as vaccines..you will usually need to have proof of all current vaccinations and be able to provide these to the college. Everyone usually is required to have had to get hep B (the 3 series), MMR (2), you have to have proof that you have had chicken pox or the vaccine, a TB test every year is required for all healthcare workers like nurses, so you will need to show proof of that, you should have had your DTP vaccine, and a tetorifice shot within the past 5 or 10 yrs..for my school it was 10 yrs. You also must be ceritified in CPR..your school will usually offer a class if you dont already have a certification..and you must be re-certified every 1-2 yrs for as long as you are in nursing school as well as a nurse.

Anymore more questions feel free to ask!

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Specializes in Med-Surg/Ortho.

I hoped that helps anyone who had questions

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Is it easier to get into a BSN program if you already have an ADN(associates degree in nursing)?

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