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

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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.

ON the hep B do you have to have them completed before entering the program or as long as you have started the series. See back when i was little.. (i'm older) i didn't need it. ( I was just accepted to the program)

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Specializes in Critical Care, Clinical Documentation Specialist.

I'm doing my pre-reqs now, going toward a BSN. I was wondering how much of the pre-reqs do you need to remember for your actually nursing classes? For example, do I need to know all my A&P terms, what about Chem stuff or Microbiology? I just want to make sure I'm targeting the correct long term information.

BTW, thank you for all your information here, I have read every post with interest, I don't know any 'real life' nurses and you've answered some of the questions I have wondered about.

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Thank you for the offer... I am still in the dream stages of becoming the nurse but am now actively seeking information from my nursing friends and people like you. I am a teacher and have been teaching in Japan and now Argentina for the last 4 years. Its been a great experience but I know that I don't love teaching as much as I should. My passion is for health. I have a question about choosing a nursing school. I am also concerned with the amount of time and money that it will take me to get through nursing school. I am from Indiana but received my BA in humanities from a Colorado University. Also regarding the prereqs. I took chemistry, biology, physcology, geology, and physics about a century ago but I think I will have to take them again. I had a B in bio, an A in physc and a C in Chemistry. Do you think I might be able to take these prereqs online? I ask because I know that I will be teaching in Mexico for the next year. It would be nice to have all of the prereqs out of the way before coming back to the states. And then regarding nursing school.... This is going to sound vauge but whats in store? I am really in the dark about time, money, course work, and field work. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. In the meantime good luck to you and congratulations. Thanks again for offering to share your expieriences.

Chao,

mctavishcat

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Specializes in Med-Surg/Ortho.

For the hep B...I believe you have to have all 3 (the series) by the time they ask for your shot records. I know we had to. But I would call to ask and check with them to find out the details. As long as you have had 1 or 2 of the shots they might just be able to wait until you get your last one.

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Specializes in Med-Surg/Ortho.

No problem Sand Dollar.. I'm glad i could be of help to you and everyone else. I know what it feels like to be entering nursing school and have soooo many questions and concerns. So im glad to help you.

Now for your question...A&P is important..the basic structures of the body and how they work are important for nursing. But trust me..the info will sink in. Dont feel like you have to know everything and remember everything. And in most of my nursing classes they would review the A&P pertaining to whatever disease we were studying. But yes A&P is the foundation of everything..but dont let that scare you. I promise you when you are finished with A&P you will know so much and so much of it will stick with you. Now as far as chemistry and microbiology..those classes arent as important in nursing. Every now and then a little chemistry will help you when learning about drugs and medicines and microbiology will help with learning about bacterial infections and viruses but those classes wont make or break you in your nursing classes. I would say A&P would be the one class of your prereqs that will help you most with nursing school. Not saying your chem and micro arent important but im not gonna lie and say we use it alot lol. They make you take all those classes because they want you to be well rounded and have basic information on alot of things but trust me..if you dont memorize the periodic table you wont fail nursing school by any means lol.

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Specializes in Med-Surg/Ortho.

hello mctavishcat,

to answer your question I will first say that nursing school is hard..its challenging and takes a lot of time and dedication but its so worth it in the end. I am living proof that it can be done. Theres been times when ive lost sleep because of studying..couldnt hang out with friends because of the demands of classes and clinicals & wanted to pull my hair out because of hard classes but im almost done and ive made it through thus far with a 3.7 gpa and im still in one piece lol. As long as you work hard and give your all you will be just fine. So many people told me back in high school & in the beginning of college how hard nursing school is and how its one of the toughest, most stressful majors you can have..and they scared the sh*t out of me. But i must say..you have gotta just go into to it with the belief that you can do it. I'm not saying its gonna be easy but if its what you really wanna do..then you can do it..its as simple as that.

Now as far as taking prereqs online..im not sure how that would work really. I would 1st check with the school to see if all the classes you already took will count towards your nursing prereqs. And By you already having a degree you can always check with the school to see if they offer online courses or a way for you to go to school without the demands of a full time nursing schedule. I know a lot of schools offer accelerated programs for nursing students who already hold bachelors degrees in another field. I will say though that usually BSN programs need their students to be full time. If you wanted to 1st become an LPN ..then an RN that might be a little easier if you need to teach full time. Not as far as the cost goes, if you go to a 4 year university to get yours BSN you will of course pay more than if you went to a community college to get your lpn or your associate RN...once you figure out what you wanna do, you can then figure out the cost and work on financial aid. Either way..I wish you good luck.

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I would like to know if you have a BSN, Can you work as an OB/GYN or is that another type of degree?

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Obviously Anatomy & Physiology are important prereq classes...I am aware of that. But, I am wondering how much DETAIL do you need to retain to be successful in nursing school? My school is highly competitive to get a spot (as many schools are) and I am worried I am memorizing too much of the information instead of retaining it. I am so stressed to get that grade! Without the grade, no nursing school for me :( I feel the same way about Microbiology as well....

Am I going to be in nursing school and crapping my pants because I can't remember??

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