Law school dropout pursuing nursing career

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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Hi Everyone! I'm new here. I am hoping to start a direct entry MSN program in fall 2014. Vanderbilt is my top choice, but I'm not sure how much of a chance I have of getting accepted. I did not decide I wanted to go into nursing until very recently, and I am still trying to figure out how this all works. I attended law school for a year and decided it was not for me, and now I am very interested in nursing, especially pediatrics. I have just started taking my pre-requisite courses at a local community college and will not have them completed until May. I know that schools say this is ok, but I wonder how much of a difference it makes if they don't have all of my grades to look at. I am a little worried about this. I also have no nursing experience unless you count taking care of a very sick grandfather before he passed away. It seems like everyone applying to these programs has years of experience volunteering in hospitals. Is this a requirement even though the degree is for students who have degrees in fields other than nursing? I plan on volunteering at a hospital where I live and hopefully at a children's hospital as well. However, this only leaves me a few months to gain experience before I submit my applications. I was wondering if anyone has any advice on how to raise my chances of getting accepted to a MSN program. How much should I try to volunteer before I submit my application? It seems like schools should not expect non-nursing applicants to have a ton of health care experience. What else are these schools looking for in applicants? I would really appreciate any advice or suggestions. Thanks!

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I thought you had to be a rn to go into a msn program? No?

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Specializes in Pediatric/Adolescent, Med-Surg.
I thought you had to be a rn to go into a msn program? No?

Not a direct entry program, which is what the OP states she is applying too. You must have a bachelor's in any field to be considered

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You may not want to hear this, but I would encourage you to wait a year to apply. Nursing school is not a race -- you do not get any rewards for completing it faster than your cousin or neighbor.

You started one graduate program and it was not right for you. Now you seem to want to rush into another graduate program with little hands-on experience and few of the prerequisite classes done. Added to this, you also want to attend an excellent program. You also want to focus on pediatrics and have no peds/children experience. I feel that you would be a more compelling candidate for Vanderbilt (and any other top programs) if you had more experience in healthcare and also had completed more of the prerequisite classes.

Slow down. Make sure that you are 100% sure of nursing (and peds) before you take out massive amounts of student loans.

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Christine n am I missing the benefit of her going right into a direct entry msn program?

I too (along with many others here) have bachelors degrees in unrelated fields and are starting back at the adn level or absn level. I'm thinking the direct entry msn is not cheap so why wouldn't she want to go the cheapest route possible (ESP with having no nursing experience) and have an employer pay for the msn a few years down the road?

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Thanks, everyone. Those are definitely some things to think about. I definitely want to make sure that this type of program is something I am 100% sure I want to do before I start. The possibility of waiting a year and gaining some experience is definitely an option. However, that really means waiting an extra 2 years, and I would really like to start in fall 2014. Loans are also a little scary to me since I have already taken out a lot of money just for a year of law school. But the cost of attending one of these programs is still much cheaper than what I would pay for the remaining 2 years of law school. I am going to look into some accelerated BSN programs as well since that may be a good way to save money. Thank you for suggesting that. I guess I just wanted to see if I would even be a competitive applicant to a direct entry BSN/MSN program. Would they really not accept me without a substantial amount of experience? I feel like most people I know who go into nursing as undergraduates have absolutely no experience. It just seems like a program that is meant for people without nursing experience would not expect students to have that. Is there anything else I can do to make myself more competitive between now and the time I submit my application?

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Specializes in Legal, Ortho, Rehab.

OP, you're right about direct-entry programs...no experience needed. If this is really what you want, then volunteer at a children's hospital. The people who are on admission committees just want to know if you realize what you are getting yourself into. Now, I can't speak for the job market of new grad BSN vs new grad MSN...

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Thanks nyteshade! I will definitely do some more research to find out what the best path for me is. I guess I was just trying to figure out what I can do to better my chances of getting in to a nursing program without having any real nursing experience. I'm about 99% certain I want to go into nursing. I just wish I would have figured that out while I was an undergrad! But I guess better late than never. I'm looking forward to this career change.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Please take the time to investigate the job market for ELM (entry level masters) grads in your area. ELM grads are generalists - just like BSN grads. There will be no difference in salary or job role. Some programs are calling the degree "Clinical Nurse Leader", but it has no value because it is not associated with clinical experience or expertise. Hiring managers in my organization, and many others in my area, are not hiring them due to problems that they have experienced in the past. They prefer generic BSN grads. It would be a real shame to invest so much $ and time without a real payoff.

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Thanks! I think I am definitely going to think about doing an accelerated BSN instead of an entry level MSN, especially if it doesn't make much of a difference to have the MSN. I would rather save the money, especially since I would have the option to go back and get the MSN later.

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I would definitely caution you about doing a direct entry MSN with no bedside nursing experience. You may get the degree, but it will be difficult to get a job with so much less experience than other MSNs. Frankly, I wouldn't want to be supervised by an MSN who hadn't gone up through the ranks.

The accelerated BSN programs are a great option as long as you didn't use federal financial aid to get your first BSN. Most programs take 12-16 months, once you've completed your prereqs.

Once you have the BSN a good way to make the next salary bump in nursing is to become a Nurse Practioner.

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I am entering Vanderbilt's pre-specialty program for non-nurses this fall after a spot on the waiting list opened up for me. When I applied I had only a few of the pre-requisites finished. However, I also had several biology and chemistry classes listed on my transcript with good grades so I think that worked in my favor. I had six months of volunteering experience with direct patient care at a major hospital. (It was only 4-5 hours per week). I also had two years (200+ hours) of volunteering at a hospital (no direct patient care) from four years ago. I did okay on the GRE, nothing spectacular. My undergrad grades completely made up for my average GRE scores. I'm also going straight from undergrad into the Vanderbilt program, so I have no outside work experience except from my part-time job currently. After having interviews at two different schools, I think the biggest factor that made me a good candidate were my positive letters of recommendation and that I did well in my hard sciences even though A&P and microbiology were not completed by the application deadline.

I know someone earlier mentioned that ELM grads are generalists. This is not the case at Vanderbilt. You choose an advanced practice specialty when you apply and are admitted to that specialty. I am doing the FNP program. If you are interested in a generalist Master's, DePaul and Rush located in Chicago offer those options. But, I did not want to go the Clinical Nurse Leader route myself so these two schools were backup for me.

You will find a lot of people on here that do not approve of these Direct Entry nursing programs that allow you to be an NP after no bedside experience aside from your RN clinicals. That is a valid point and I respect the opinions of those that feel that way, however, for me this was the best route. I already have a Bachelor's degree. I don't want to spend the money on another Bachelor's degree when I could spend a little more time and money to get my master's and become an NP. There are several people on this site who have gone through these DE programs that had no problems getting jobs and felt extremely well-prepared. Additionally, from what many of these grads have told me, if you are going into something like primary care (as I plan to do as an FNP) you just do not really utilize the RN skills program. Acute care is a different story and obtaining the BSN might be better for that route. I've messaged many of the people on AN that have attended these programs myself and have received very positive feedback. Also keep in mind that many of these programs are offered by extremely reputable schools--Yale, Vanderbilt, Boston College, and UCSF to name a few. They aren't going to want to throw new grads out into the market that aren't well prepared and sacrifice their reputation.

If you want more specifics from me about my background, let me know and I'll PM you.

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