Getting into NP school?!

[DescentlyDreadful]

Okay,

So, I have a big problem. I am in my first semester of BSN school, and I have a feeling I'm going to get a C in fundamentals and Bs in both Health Assessment & Therapeutic communication. Here's what happened, I was very sick the first several weeks of school, I was just diagnosed with anemia and Vitamin D deficiency. Sure enough, after I started supplementing, I felt way better, and I got an 85 on my last test. I bombed my HESI with a 71.48. I'm going to find out if I can retake fundamentals, but I was wondering how this might jeopardize my chances of getting into NP school. This is really what I want to do with my life, my total GPA before nursing school with like 111 hrs was a 3.945, and I am wondering how bad a C will look to graduate school.

Also, I have no prior experience with research or leadership, how exactly can I get experience in that arena. I haven't held a job in the medical field or any job for that matter, will that also look terrible on my resume for graduate school?

[caffeinatednurse, BSN, RN]

To be clear, are you wanting to enter NP school directly after finishing your BSN? I've heard that this is more and more common, but I haven't seen it in practice in my area. Most of the nurses I know and work with have at least a couple of years under their belt before they take on NP school.

My understanding is that one "C" is not going to necessarily be detrimental to your chances for NP school. I have a couple of "C" grades from before nursing school (including one that I obtained the summer after I was accepted for a pre-requisite nursing course). As long as your "C" is considered a passing grade for your nursing program (some programs say a C+ or even a B- is required to be considered passing) then you should be okay.

Your overall GPA is important, though. Study hard and make as many As and Bs as you can.

I obtained leadership experience by being a nursing supervisor and charge nurse on my unit for several years. I may be wrong, but I don't think research experience is required for most NP programs.

[FullGlass, BSN, MSN, NP]

I hope you are feeling better now. In general, in order to get into a good NP program, you must have a minimum 3.0 GPA, so one C isn't the end of the world. Just take care of yourself and get the best grades you can from now on.

NP schools also look at your essay, recommendations, and any relevant volunteer or work experience.

If you have no other work experience, it may be a good idea to work as an RN for at least one year before applying to NP school. Most primary care NP programs don't require RN work experience, but acute care NP programs generally require 1-2 years of RN experience.

I went straight through from ABSN to AGPCNP MSN, but I had a previous career as a business executive. All of my NP classmates had some work experience or significant volunteer experience, even if it was not in healthcare.