Have you been waitlisted?

[08berniera]

I have been on the waitlist for nursing school for 2 1/2 years. I have found many ways to be proactive while in nursing school.

1. Taking a CNA course this was probably the best thing I have done. It will teach you the fundamentals of nursing and nursing care. In my area the CNA course is about $800 and takes about 5 months but it is so worth it.

2. Finishing the pre-reqs! Who wants to take pre-reqs when their focus should be on nursing?

3. In Maine we have CRMA's; Certified residential medication aids, this allows me to pass medication at an assisted living home. The CRMA has given me basic knowledge on how medications work and has allows me to see pharmaceutical affects of the medications on the residents.

4. If you state doesn't have CRMAs you could do this by getting your Med tech license (I'm not sure how much this is?) then obtain a PSS certificate (personal support specialist) the PSS teaches the very basics in patient care

5. See if there is any extra courses you could take while waiting that could go towards your degree, for instance my Nursing school doesn't require the Associate degree to take pharmacology but I found out that I can take it at a different school and have it transfer to my BSN!

6. I love to stay active and to look up anything I can about nursing so I started a blog ... (TOS doesn't allow promoting own site in posts so contact me if you are interested in visiting) ... this is where I post anything I find interesting and want to share my thoughts on nursing. Check it out!

7. I also just signed up to join the Student nursing association at my school, which will be a great way to meet other nursing student at different levels in the program.

What have you found to be helpful? How long is your waitlist?

[To the moon]

I love how enthusiastic you are and proactive about nursing while still waiting to get into a nursing program.

I have been waiting for 2 years for a college in AZ and have applied to a college in NY that only accepts applications every semester.

I received my CNA license as well, but have not practiced. I move a lot (per military) so everywhere we go I find a job in/related to the medical field. Mostly administrative work inside a hospital, in a residency program, and even customer service in the healthcare industry, but it has helped to see the way things work (for the future).

I also do a lot of volunteering at hospitals and private doctors offices as a way to keep up my "experience" as well as using it as a networking opportunity as you may need some one to write letters of recommendation or maybe for a future job at one of those facilities.

I have become more of a researcher now, hence my activity on allnurses.com, as it seems to be a great resource.

Good luck to you! I have subscribed to your post as I am interested in what others do as well! Thanks for the post!

[08berniera]

I love to hear about what other people are doing to stay focused on nursing!! I sometimes feel like im the only one who has had to wait so long so thank you its great to hear from other people who are in the same position as me!

[rainyn]

I was on the waitlist for 1 year 3 months. I had to complete my pre-reqs before being put on the waitlist, so while on the list I finished up my AA requirements and the pre-reqs for the RN to BSN at my local university. By the time I was called up for the nursing program I am only short one statistic course otherwise I can apply right away for the university program as soon I as have my RN liscense.