healthcare administration

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I'm enrolling in University of Phoenix for Healthcare Administration, they told me this was how to get started in nursing. Is this true, or do they just want to get me to go to their school?

A friend of mine who has been an EMT for about 15 years, told me she could never be a nurse because she's horrible at paperwork, which makes me think an associates in healthcare administration would be beneficial.

I'm pretty lost in the whole pre-nursing world, and I haven't found anybody reliable to discuss my options. Everyone seems to have an agenda.

what are your thoughts? thanks in advance..

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Specializes in Med/Surg, LTC/Geriatric.

I think they are just trying to get you into the school. I've never heard of having to do healthcare administration as a way of starting in nursing.

I've done medical office work for over 11 years now and 95% of what I've done in that line of work won't do me any good as a nursing student, or nurse.

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well that makes me want to scream. i was so excited at the idea of being able to stay working full time for the first two years (im a single mom to a two year old, i cant stop working, or even go down to part time), now I'm even more lost than I was before.

so thats my situation, right now I need to be working, but I am also anxious to get into the nursing field. where do i start?

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

Contact your local nursing schools and ask them what courses you need to take etc. in order to qualify for their programs. Don't rely on other sources of information for information about their requirements. They are used to having potential students ask that question. They will tell you exactly what you need to do to be accepted into their programs.

Good luck to you.

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I would contact a local college that has a nursing program. Maybe you can take prerequistites for the nursing program slowly over the next 2 yrs if you need to continue working. Then when you are ready to take the core classes and drop some work hours you can apply to the program. Before I applied to my program I had to take 2 semesters chem, 2 semesters A&P, micro, foods and nutrition, psychology, algebra, speech, sociology, and pharmacology (well I took that this last semester with my first semester of nursing classes), I also needed one elective which they just took one of the classes I took ages ago as my elective. Now I only have pure nursing classes left. I am darn glad I took all that before I even applied as we can spend no more than 3 yrs in the program and without the prerequisites out of the way I would be less able to focus on my nursing classes like I am able to.

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Specializes in ED, ICU, MS/MT, PCU, CM, House Sup, Frontline mgr.

I agree with the above posts. The University of Phoenix does not currently have a Nursing Program. The school offers degrees in nursing to people who are already Registered Nurses. The University also offers non-nursing degrees to people who want to work in health care. Therefore, be sure to talk to the local Nursing Programs or an Academic Advisor to get a better sense of the courses you need to take over the next few years.

By the way, there is not a set standard that is consistent among all schools. However, most schools require a set of courses (pre-requisites) along with other requirements before you will be able to apply to a nursing program. Some of the above posters listed quite a few. Note: the competition for entry into most schools is stiff! Thus, be sure to earn A's in your required courses and max out your points in all other areas!

Furthermore, if and when you graduate from a Nursing Program, you will not be a Registered Nurse. You must pass a National Exam (NCLEX) and apply for your state license.

Basically the journey to become a Registered Nurse is long arduous, but I hear it is all worth it in the end! There are many threads on this website that can answer many of your questions and might clear up much of your confusion. Here is one: https://allnurses.com/forums/f8/have-questions-about-adn-bsn-read-180528.html. Good luck and

:groupwelcome:

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Specializes in none but hope to have one soon.

Hi Ladymom,

This school is trying to sucker you into something that is not nessessary or even beneficial. Like everyone else said you should contact your local community college that offers a nursing program and find out what pre-reqs will be required.

Like you I am not in the position to enroll in school full-time, so I am taking my time with all of the pre-reqs, as well as the, co-reqs. Going part-time, taking some night classes and online classes it will take me about 2yrs to complete everything but the nursing classes.

I also have taken out federal student loans out on top of grants to help with school. The grants cover tuition and books and the loans help with living expenses.

Good luck!

Kimberly

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I am a single mother to a 10 year old and spent 4 years working on my pre-req's while working full time. My current job paid for it. This meant I took ONE science course at a time and spent my summers taking 2 other classes that were required. This also gave me time to save up enough money to live off when I decided to go to nursing school full time. Well, that time is here, I have enough saved up to live exactly one year without worrying about loans and such, and I'm taking a non paid leave of absence from my job to complete my BSN. I start 01/17/07.

It is doable. This has been a long working process. You can do it!

However, I wouldnt start at University of Pheonix. I see you are in Missouri. I don't know if you are in KC, but if so, you can start at the Metropolitian Community Colleges, this is where I got my AS and they are really cheap.

Also, you can check into Penn Valley's RN Night/Weekend ADN program. This will allow you to continue to work full time while completing your ADN during the evenings and doing clinicals on the weekends. However, they have a really LONG waiting list and the last I heard, it was up to 2009. You can be doing your pre-req's while you are waiting to be accepted to the program.

Good luck to you!

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Specializes in L&D, QI, Public Health.
Hi Ladymom,

This school is trying to sucker you into something that is not nessessary or even beneficial. Like everyone else said you should contact your local community college that offers a nursing program and find out what pre-reqs will be required.

Like you I am not in the position to enroll in school full-time, so I am taking my time with all of the pre-reqs, as well as the, co-reqs. Going part-time, taking some night classes and online classes it will take me about 2yrs to complete everything but the nursing classes.

I also have taken out federal student loans out on top of grants to help with school. The grants cover tuition and books and the loans help with living expenses.

Good luck!

Kimberly

I agree. When I told community college nursing administrators that I had a Masters in Public Health, they were not impressed. At the end of the day, I had to apply like everyone else, from the high school graduate to the person with a bachelor's degree. At the end of the day, most (if not all) schools are interested in your GPA in your pre-reqs.

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As was mentioned, check out the school you'd like to eventually attend and talk with the advisors. You can probably take the pre-req courses online to get most of them out of the way. Personally, I love online classes and took Nutrition, Sociology, Philosophy and Algebra online with much success. They are time consuming, but once I got into the groove, they were great.

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