Help deciding on a program

[Frombust'em2fix'em]

Hi, here is the deal. I have been a police detective/officer for 20 years and I am about to retire. I have been taking my pre-reqs for the local community college and now I have been told it will be a 3 year wait to get into the program. I have one more class before I can even take the HESI II test and that only lasts for two years. With a 3 year wait, I will have to pay to take the test again...it is just so frustrating! I want to continue helping people in the community and I am very interested in nursing, however, is it really worth the wait? Basically, it will be 5 years before I am able to practice nursing and that is at the top of the demand for nursing (according to national stats).

Please let me know if perhaps there are PRIVATE colleges that are worth the triple cost of the community college programs!

Thanks!

[boy_genius_fnp112]

That is really a long time to wait to enter a nursing program. I was in a similar situation. I graduated from high school when I was 16 years old and could have went to a 4 year university. I had finished a Certified Nursing Assistant program (CNA) bottom of the nursing food chain. I knew nursing was my passion. After CNA I did the LVN CNA to LVN program. But, I found out even with that their was a 2 year waiting list at my local community college. So, this forced me to attend a school that was triple the price in which it had a LVN to RN program. At the time I regretted the price of attended this Junior College/Vocational School. I got my RN but wanted to attend the BSN at a state university. But could not because of once again a wait list. My luck was ever so great because I went to a Christian University that offered a RN to BSN program. Again, I was being triple the price as compared to a state university. But it was the best choice I have ever made attending these expensive school. Eventually, I got my Nurse Practitioner or Masters' in Nursing from a state school. So I would say if you have that passion for nursing why not pay the triple the price. You said that you still wanted to help people out. Why not volunteer at a hospital while your studying. The skies the limit when it comes to problems!

[Bob_N_VA]

So what other programs are in the area and what are their wait lists? I think the total cost for the program I am in is around 20 grand for six semesters over 3 years which is probably about double what the CC programs run, equal to some of the 4 year schools and maybe about half of the for profit schools. On the plus side, I didnt have a wait to get in, though that has changed some over the last year from what I hear.

Besides the wait, the other consideration is what types of grads are they hiring in your area? From what I read here, in places like Philly, they are going for mostly BSN grads, so maybe a associates or diploma isnt so great an idea. In general, if you go with a hospital based program, you should have at least an even chance of getting a job in that system afterward.

In the mean time, you could possibly look to becoming an EMT, maybe on a volunteer squad. That type of experience would be invaluable, especially in a critical care setting. Good luck

[haganwood]

I would look into all options in your area, you could possibly transfer all your credits to a 4 year school and just go straight for your BSN. There is also the option of a private for profit institution. That is what I did, yes it's a bit more expensive, but I didn't have to wait at all. I finished LPN in less than a year and I have already started the ADN completion with no wait in between. I had a one week break between LPN and starting RN.

Just something different things to think about.

Good luck on your journey and keep moving forward.

[roscopeeco]

I am in an accelerated BSN program. The program takes a year to complete and there is no waiting list. You have missed the deadline for this year and would only have to wait a year before starting, but you will finish in a year. Are you willing to relocate?