Feeling Wronged

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Specializes in Inpatient Rehabilitation.

i have been attending a small community college for the past 4 years going for their adn program. i have been applying for this program for the past 2 years, and i am still waiting to get on the waiting list, which holds a 3 semester wait once i get on.

until 2 days ago i thought the reason i have been having trouble getting onto their waiting list is because of the overwhelming number of applicants. that was only part of the problem.

with the economy the way it has been over the last couple years, a major software company in a city 150 miles away has since laid off quite a few people, most with advanced college degrees in hand. most of these people are now looking for new jobs, and they seem to have found one that is "recession proof" as i have heard them say on more than one occasion. what is this "recession proof" profession you ask.....nursing!!!

now, i have no problem whatsoever with these people going back to school to get their rn, though it does scare me why they are choosing this profession, but that is beside the point.

my problem with this is that these people are getting into the nursing program ahead of other students, like myself, that have been working their butts off with all of our pre-requisite classes. they seen to have a "get-into-the-program-free" card just because they have a degree on their wall. and it's a computer degree to boot! :uhoh3:

tell me, is this good practice?

i have been going to school part-time so i can work full-time at our local hospital as a cna so i can get as much experience under my belt before diving into the program, and i just don't feel that this is fair. please tell me if you think i am wrong. thank you!

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Specializes in PACU.

Wow, if they're being admitted without having to do all of the pre-reqs (A&P, microbiology, etc.) that is really lame.

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Specializes in Inpatient Rehabilitation.
Wow, if they're being admitted without having to do all of the pre-reqs (A&P, microbiology, etc.) that is really lame.

They get to do them while in the program. Lets see how many of them can pull it off...:rolleyes:.

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Specializes in Emergency, critical care.

Now Fair is Fair....if that community college accepts taxpayer dollars in any form, it seems the attorney general and the local and state press might be interested in your point of view. Good luck with your future plans, sounds like you are a hard (taxpaying) worker.

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I can definately see how you would be feeling wronged in all of this, it really does not sound fair to those who have, like yourself, been waiting for extended periods of time to get into the program. People like you work hard and remain patient to get into the program only to basically have other less deserving kinds of people just rush up and push past you and take a place which should have been yours first. Maybe there is something you can do about this? I would certainly be contacting the program to try and get this unfair situation rectified.

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1) some of the pre req must have been accomplished with the prior degree, ie English, math, hx maybe even psych

2) they maybe being funded by government money because they HAVE NO JOB

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Hospice/Palliative Care.

I am sorry you are in a situation where achieving your own goals seems to have been deferred-- I know how frustrating this can be (my first bachelor's degree took me almost 8 years to finish).

That said... For the most part, programs accepting students with previous degrees often give them credit for past experience, both academically and in the workforce. Even in a field like IT or computing, this experience can translate into communication skills, critical thinking skills, problem solving skills, etc, etc. These are just as important to professional nursing as things like med terms, A & P, clinical skills, etc. Plus, they do have to take many- if not all- of the pre-reqs other nursing students have to. Also, they don't get much traditional financial aid if they all ready have a bachelor's degree, so they are often paying out-of-pocket or taking out huge amounts of (private)loans.

My point: they are probably motivated, hard-working people who are making the best of a tough situation-- like you are.

It may not seem fair that they get "preferential" treatment, but instead of focusing on that, just do your best, and have faith that your own hard work will be rewarded in time.

Best of luck!

Stacy

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Well, usually colleges do expect performance as a prerequisite.

If you already have a degree, and have worked years as proof of your knowledge and ability to take on major responsibility without crumbling under pressure. If you've figured out how to survive/get ahead when you have competition, you'll have a leg up naturally. If you ask around, get to know some of these folks you'd be surprised at the shear stamina and will they have. You might find that you could be doing more... after all, these are the skills a nurse needs to survive.

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That does seem really unfair, but maybe they're getting "pushed" in because they're unemployed? I know that in my area, if a factory or other business shuts down and people are out of work, the state will help them go back to school if they want. Maybe the community college is required by the state to allow x percent of these unemployed people in per semester or something. Not saying that makes it ok, but that may be the reason. I'd say that you should speak to the dean, but that might not help and could come back to bite you in the behind if you're perceived as a "problem student" for raising questions.

And people going into to nursing just because it is "recession-proof"? Good grief. They need to come to this website and look at all the posts of the new grads who can't get a job.

I wish you the best of luck- keep your chin up. Use this time to take certificate courses if you can, or maybe explore the option of going to another school.

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That definately is frustrating and disheartening. I am currently waiting as well and see exponentially increasing numbers of applicants going into the programs here, making wait lists longer and longer. I can only tell myself that my time will come and I will get there eventually. Many laid off workers may be hasty in their push to get into nursing programs. Perhaps "recession free" is the prime motivator for them. All I can say is many have not researched what nursing entails and when the markets turn around, and companies start re-hiring, I forsee many of them leaving nursing (if they indeed got that far) and returning to the professions they came from. Times are hard, families need to be fed, houses need to be paid for. Nothing, for anyone (people like us waiting to get into the program, people getting laid off from other professions, etc) seems fair right now, but I just have to believe this is all temporary and things will eventually get back on track and everyone will end up where they are happy and supposed to be. I wish you all the best!

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Specializes in ICU/CCU.

It's not clear from your post what the criteria are for being accepted into your school's nursing program, nor is it clear exactly how you think these unemployed computer company employees are getting ahead of you in the application process. Don't those people have to complete their prereq's too? Are admission decisions based on their previous college grades?

I already had a bachelor's degree when I decided to go back to school for nursing, but I still had to spend two years getting my prerequisites out of the way before I could apply anywhere. Unfortunately for me, the nursing program at the community college where I'd been doing all my prereq's uses a LOTTERY system to decide who gets into their nursing program. Talk about UNFAIR. With a 4.0 I had no better chance of entering the program than someone with barely a 3.0! Believe me, to have less than a 3.5 gpa at that school, you had to be either lazy or stupid. All you needed to enter their nursing school was pretty much to have your name pulled from a hat.

So I applied to schools that considered grades first and foremost. I was happy with the school I chose to attend--pretty much everyone was a high achiever and serious about the program.

If you don't like that school's admission process, apply to another school. Everyone has a right to apply wherever he or she wants; it's useless to resent people just for applying to the school you had your heart set on.

Also, there is nothing wrong with someone wanting a "recession proof" job. They won't be bad nurses just because they care about putting a roof over their kids' heads and food on the table.

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I can definately see how you would be feeling wronged in all of this, it really does not sound fair to those who have, like yourself, been waiting for extended periods of time to get into the program. People like you work hard and remain patient to get into the program only to basically have other less deserving kinds of people just rush up and push past you and take a place which should have been yours first. Maybe there is something you can do about this? I would certainly be contacting the program to try and get this unfair situation rectified.

Do you know any of these people? Who are you, or I, or anyone to determine that they are less-deserving than anyone else???......just because they come from a different field and have decided on a career change?

We never know the next man or woman's situation, so let's not be so quick to judge on who is deserving. I think those who are hard-workers, competitive candidates, excelled in prereqs and proven themselves worthy via their application and interviews and recommendations, are the well-deserving individuals. And this can be found in a previously employed IT individual or someone who has wanted to be a Nurse since the age of 3.

I'm just saying.......

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