finally took the leap! Second degree BSN here I come!

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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Hello all, well, after thinking about it for years, being stuck in health desk jobs that I hate, grappling with going back for prereqs, talking to a million nurses, docs, profs and admissions officers and reading a million threads here, I am doing it. I enrolled in AP1 and Chem for January 11 and I am going with my gut to go back to get a second bachelors BSN!

I am a bit scared but really excited. I start volunteering at GW hospital in a couple weeks and I will give notice at my job in a few as well. I am really happy that I finally went for it. Thanks to many of you on this board for all your great advice and inspiration! :)

Specializes in Critical Care, Postpartum.

Congrats on your decision. I'm a career changer too. My ABSN program begins Jan 3, 2011 (Orientation is Dec. 1st). My life will be consumed by this program for 15 months, but excited about it all. Wish you all the best in your prerequisites and your prospective school.

Ardneth & mzchas - congrats to both of you! How has the journey been so far? How have you enjoyed your prereqs? What lead you to nursing? Any advice?

It's been a long journey so far. I had to take a number of pre-reqs (A&P I and II, chemistry, intro to sociology, microbiology, and nutrition. Some I never had and some I had to retake since i've been out of school for more than 5 years. I've only been taking about 1 pre-req a semester since I'm currently working full time in IT and as such, tend to work well over 40 hours a week.

For me, I grew up working in hospitals. One of my parents is a hospital administrator, so anytime I needed a job during summers or breaks, I had one. I worked as an patient care aide, radiology clerk, physical therapy tech, lab tech, insurance billing, and even as a phlebotomist for about 6 months during college. When I originally went to school, I thought about going into the medical field since I enjoyed working with patients so much, but ultimately decided to turn my hobby (computers) into a career. And while I have a very very good career, it has managed to turn something I used to love into something that I've come to dread. So, I decided it was time for a change.

Ardneth - great story, that is amazing that you have had so much experience in a hospital setting. I worked in health communications for the past 5 years and worked at GW hospital's med school while getting my MPH. That pretty much solidified any thoughts I had about nursing before. I will be quiting my day job to do 2 classes a semester and bartend to pay the bills. There is no way that I could stay at this job and do lecture and lab each week.

What ABSN are you going into?

Specializes in Critical Care, Postpartum.

I guess I'm the lucky one, because it wasn't a long journey for me. I only needed to knock out 6 prerequisites and I did just that in 2 semesters. The other prerequisites made it within the 10 years mark.

I've always wanted to be in the medical field, in fact since high school I wanted to be a PA (Physician Assistant). However, I got to college and changed my mind so many times that I finally settled on a degree. Four years later, I was laid off and took this as a second opportunity to do what I should have done. However, going back to CC to take my prerequisites, I realized many people have returned to school. I ended up having to take classes among 2 different colleges, because I got closed out of one class and refused to wait another semester for that class to be available. Sometimes you have to do what you have to do and I'm glad to be done and moving on. With my ABSN program, I don't need to worry about fighting for classes. Instead of going the PA route, I've decided to go for the FNP.

-BSN Grad 2012

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