Is volunteer or direct patient contact experience necessary?

[2ndLife]

I work full-time in the legal arena, have a B.S. in Biology (dated), and worked in a hospital as an admission's clerk many many years ago. Also, as an undergrad I did a year as a "medical fellow" i.e. I worked in a cancer research lab. I'm wondering if I need something relevant that's more current in order to be competitive for nursing school. With classes, work and being a single parent, trying to fit in volunteer work would put me in my grave. I'd like to hear your thoughts.

[lightsnoise]

For schools like SDSU; you can get like 5 points extra if you have volunteering--with direct patient contact. Every point counts, but it depends on the schools you are applying to.

[bluechick112, BSN, MSN, RN]

It definitely depends on your particular nursing program. Some award extra points for volunteer experience, some award more for paid hospital work with direct patient contact, others don't care whether you have experience or not. It really depends on that school, so I'd research it.

I'd probably recommend it more for people who have a low GPA in their prerequisites. I have two C's in prerequisite courses so I did all I could to get myself in to a program and that included volunteering and doing paid hospital work.

[SaraFL]

With FSCJ (in FL) it doesn't matter unless you are a LPN or equivalent.