Going back to school

[nursing_88]

Hello Nurses,

I am thinking about a career change and have decided on nursing. I'm posting this thread because I need some advice, so any tips you can provide would be much appreciated...

I've been out of school for 5 years now, working as a graphic designer. I have a BA in visual communication. Nursing is something I've become recently interested in and thought I'd do a little research to make sure it's something I want to do. My questions, for now, are about school/training. Is it possible to get a BSN by going to night school? I need to be able to work full time in order to support myself. I am positive I will need to take several prerequisites before I can get into a nursing program. Those classes can be taken at night, but what about the ones in nursing school? How long will it take to complete nursing school? What is the starting salary coming out of school? When do you choose a focus? How can I spend the next few months preparing?

I am excited to learn more and look forward to any advice.

Thank you!

[Mommy2NQ]

The best advise I can give is to check out some schools in your area and meet with an advisor. They can let you know what pre-reqs you will need to enter nursing school. I am lucky that my college has a part time evening and weekend BSN program. Some colleges offer that and some don't. Good luck in your search.

[lainith]

Most likely very possible but you need to check out the school(s) you plan to attend. My college system (consisting of three community colleges within a 2 hour radius of here) has one campus that offers a weekend program and a night program for ADN/ASN only. I am not sure about any evening/weekend programs for BSN in my area but I am likely not in your area. Chances are there might be something near you that will work for you, so check out your options!

[lainith]

Oh, and to answer your other questions: starting salaries are all over the board. You need to do some research in areas that you are interested in. For example, a nurse at a private practice will make a different salary than a nurse at a community hospital. Rural nurses will make a different salary than nurses in larger cities. Etc. I don't know a whole lot about the BSN programs because I am in an ADN program and we do not choose a "focus" until we choose our first place of employment, really. Everyone studies the same things and you just choose based on interest and strength in an area I guess. To prepare yourself in the next couple months here are some things you can consider doing:

* Apply for admission to your college.

* Apply for FAFSA, scholarships, and federal loans as needed.

* Check out the courses offered by your college and the dates and times and decide what you would like to take.

* STRONGLY consider meeting with an advisor to go over a short-term and long-term plan for yourself for your schooling.

* Relax and enjoy your time off before you jump head-first into school again because trust me - no matter how few courses you take, your free time is going to seem like it's non-existent once you start classes again.

:) Good luck.

[hbgwan, LPN, LVN]

It just depends on what you want. There are ADNs (associates degree programs - generally 2 years) and BSNs (bachelors degree programs - generally 3 - 4 years). Many nursing programs require that you take prerequesite courses before being admitted to the program. However, I applied to a program in my area where the prereq courses are built in.

I, too, have been out of school for about 3 years. I recently decided to quit kicking around in the sand and get something done. Lord willing I will be admitted for the fall cohort. For the longest time I kept saying how I wanted to go to nursing school but just never got around to actually biting the bullet and applying.

Good luck - you can do it!

[TheFuture09]

Go for your dreams, I believe you can do all things if you put your mind to it.