Help! I want to be a nurse

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Hi! I am new to allnurses and could really use some advice...

I am graduating in the spring from Florida State University with a degree in English but I want to be a nurse. I was a pre-nursing student my freshman year but my grades were horrible. My advisor advised me to change my major and I did because I was so confused about what I wanted to do. I have managed to salvage my GPA and will probably graduate with a 3.2. Now that I have my act together I am certain that I still want to be a nurse and I am willing to do whatever it takes. Next semester I am going to be volunteering at a hospital here in Tallahassee but I am afraid that will not be enough experience in comparison to other students. I am planning on applying to every nursing program in the Miami/ Ft Lauderdale area because I will be moving back home once I graduate. I know that it is very competitive pretty much everywhere and I am freaking out! I really want to get the ball rolling on this process but have a ton of questions:

Can I take all of my prereqs next summer or is that completely impossible? I'm not sure which classes will be transferable since I will already have graduated from college. The only science classes that I took before I changed my major to English were biology and nutrition.

What are my chances of getting into a nursing program - either an accelerated BSN program, a regular BSN program, or a regular RN program? I am not limiting my options and have considered things like Sonography and Midwifery - anything to get my foot in the health care field, though ideally I want to go to nursing school. I am concerned because I have read that applicants often get rejected and must apply again.

I have read that a majority of nursing graduates are having an extremely difficult time finding a job without any experience. It is frightening to think that after all of my hard work I may not even be guaranteed employment. It seems that most employers are very selective because they cannot afford to train nursing graduates. Is this something that I should be concerned about or more importantly, something that should stop me from pursing my dream?

Can I arrange something with a hospital to work for them when I graduate nursing school for a certain length of time?

So basically, what can I do to improve my chances of being accepted to a nursing program and also what can I do to ensure that I will be employed when I graduate?

Thank you for reading my long post! I can't wait to read your responses. :)

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Specializes in Hospice / Psych / RNAC.

The people applying to the nursing programs have many of their pre-reqs done. The way most places determine eligibility is to factor in how many pre-reqs are finished, your GPA, letters of reference, other required test scores.

Call one of the nursing programs you would like to apply to and ask. I will tell you that the BSN programs that I'm familiar with are more concerned about GPA; it's harder to get into an associate program as their amount of applicants is extremely high and therefore very competitive. So what ends up happening is everyone who applies has all there AnP or are pretty close to done etc... You've got the nutrition done but with the sciences there is a difference (well where I went there was).

Find out about the pre-reqs because with my BSN program they required more science and micro then the associate program my girlfriend was in at that time.

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Specializes in CT-ICU.

Yea you would have to check with each school as they are all different. It would be hard to get in all of the pre-reqs in one semester, anatomy/physiology 1 & 2 is 2 semesters, then you've got micro, and chem. Plus some require stats. 1 semester is probably out of the question, 2 is difficult but doable.

A friend of mine is doing his ASN, then accelerated BSN. Some opt to go just for ASN then go back after they are employed, and some go straight for the BSN. Most hospitals will offer incentives to stay a predetermined amount of time, at mine they offer a big relocation bonus + a 10k student loan repayment, but it's paid over 2 years.

While in school, study hard, strive for good grades, make yourself known in clinical, and attend job fairs/apply early prior to graduation. All of that will help get your foot in the door and make you more marketable and likely to get a job.

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Prereqs in one semester would be impossible I think due to A&P. You have to take then in sequence, the first call, then the second. I am thinking will do 2 classes each Spring/Summer/Fall and apply to ABSN progs in the Fall for admission Spring 2012.

Study hard, get good grades, especially in micro and AP. You will get there.

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Thank you for the replies. I am stressed out just thinking about this process. I think I may try to take one of the prereqs next semester since my class load is pretty light. Science has never been my strongest point and that is what worries me. I am smart and fully capable of doing well if I set my mind to it. Is it a bad idea to go through with nursing if I am not a science/ math genius? I really don't think that is a problem but I'd like to know what other people think. I got B's in Bio, Nutrition, and Psychology but those classes are easy in comparison to what I still have to take.

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Specializes in icu/er.

do yourself a favor, evaluate the potential job market in the area you plan to reside in. ask all the hospitals in your area how many new grads they have hired. i would hate for you to be like many new grads that i have encountered...no jobs with large student loans to payback. nevermind asking the nursing schools about the job outlook, their only thought is to get more students in the program cause most nsg programs make serious $$$ for the schools. get ahold of recent nursing grads and ask them how are they finding the market now. please educate yourself before you dump a load of cash and sign off on a ton of loans.

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do yourself a favor, evaluate the potential job market in the area you plan to reside in. ask all the hospitals in your area how many new grads they have hired. i would hate for you to be like many new grads that i have encountered...no jobs with large student loans to payback. nevermind asking the nursing schools about the job outlook, their only thought is to get more students in the program cause most nsg programs make serious $$$ for the schools. get ahold of recent nursing grads and ask them how are they finding the market now. please educate yourself before you dump a load of cash and sign off on a ton of loans.

Thanks for the advice! I will definitely contact all of the hospitals and see what they say.

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