27 y.o. male who wants to get into nursing!!!!

xiongav · Jul 28, 2011

Greetings, all~

I have been reading your posts on here and fisher's ambition and perseverence to enter a nursing program emulates my current change in careers.

I am planning to apply for a MSN program that will lead to an RN, non-specialty. Firstly, this program is strictly for folks whom already obtain a 4-year degree (U of MN Nursing Program). I currently hold a BS in Human Dev. & Family Studies and have been in education for several years now.

There are 8 prereq. courses that I am required to take in order to apply for the accelerated nursing program. I can either take 2 courses (and upon doing well of course) a semester and apply for the 2013, fall cohort, or take 4 courses this fall semester in hopes to do well on them.

My question is, Fisher (or to whom it may concern), have you taken any of the prereqs yet? If so, how many courses have you taken and what do you recommend? I remembered you stating you decided to take them at a 4-year uni. as I will plan to do. I figured if I decide to take 2 courses/semester, I can squeeze in minimal PT work as a care provider and also become a CNA.

I plan to become an RN in pediatrics and hopefully advance my career to a NP. I'm currently residing in the midwest, MN. Thanks in advance for any input or info.!

fisherpe · Jul 30, 2011

Hi xiongav,

Thank you for replying to the message board. To answer you question, I have taken the majority of my prereqs from my undergrad degree such as Bio, Chem, Developmental Psych, Statistics, English, etc. All that I need now is Anatomy and Physio I & II, Microbiology, Nutrition, and Ethnics. And yes, I'm planning on taking them at a 4 year university were I can take my prereqs part-time and then apply to their accelerated BSN program. In terms of prereqs it all boils down to the schools requirement for prereqs. Some schools I have considered wanted many prereqs while others only wanted a few...it depends on the school/university your applying too! I'm planning on earning my BSN then apply to a MPH program to fulfill my interests in public health as well. Eventually, I want to pursue my MSN either in Psychiatric NP or Family Practice NP, I haven't decided yet :confused: !

Also, that's great that your gaining or want to gain experience as a CNA first...many nurses who I have spoken with mentioned that the experience is beneficial when one graduates from a Nursing program because it provides experience in the field. However, your clinical rotations can also assist you developing your resume/experience as well! Moreover, since your in a related field...your experience there can help you since you know the psycho/social aspect of people and from what I have been told...that experience can be beneficial since the nursing profession is holistic! If you have any questions feel free to ask and good luck in your career in the field!!!

ParkerBC,MSN,RN, PhD, RN · Jul 30, 2011

Not at all - I am delighted that you are interested. I am working on my PhD, investigating the symptom cluster of pain, dyspnea, fatigue, and sleep distubance in people with COPD from both a genotypic and phenotypic perspective. I have an NIH training grant so I am not doing clinical work atvthis time.
If you are interested in teaching and research in addition to patient care I would suggest that you consider a masters etp program. I was also interested in these roles and did and ms etp, it was the right choice for me. If you are intested in ped, then a peds oriented program would be good. I think you will find that most MS programs have enough public health to obviate the need for an MPH, unless you really want to work solely in this domain.
Did you ask Penn about your application? You might want to reapply. A number of people got in my program on their second or third try. I would especially urge this if you are thinking of a research career. The contacts you would make at Penn would be very helpful.

If you don't mind me asking, did you have any floor nursing experience prior to applying to the doctoral program? I am strongly considering University of Arizona. I am thinking about continuing to teach adjunct so that I will have the teaching experience once I graduate. My only concern will be that universities may not be interested in hiring me because of my lack of floor nursing experience. Do you have any insight on this?

xiongav · Aug 2, 2011

Hi xiongav,
Thank you for replying to the message board. To answer you question, I have taken the majority of my prereqs from my undergrad degree such as Bio, Chem, Developmental Psych, Statistics, English, etc. All that I need now is Anatomy and Physio I & II, Microbiology, Nutrition, and Ethnics. And yes, I'm planning on taking them at a 4 year university were I can take my prereqs part-time and then apply to their accelerated BSN program. In terms of prereqs it all boils down to the schools requirement for prereqs. Some schools I have considered wanted many prereqs while others only wanted a few...it depends on the school/university your applying too! I'm planning on earning my BSN then apply to a MPH program to fulfill my interests in public health as well. Eventually, I want to pursue my MSN either in Psychiatric NP or Family Practice NP, I haven't decided yet !
Also, that's great that your gaining or want to gain experience as a CNA first...many nurses who I have spoken with mentioned that the experience is beneficial when one graduates from a Nursing program because it provides experience in the field. However, your clinical rotations can also assist you developing your resume/experience as well! Moreover, since your in a related field...your experience there can help you since you know the psycho/social aspect of people and from what I have been told...that experience can be beneficial since the nursing profession is holistic! If you have any questions feel free to ask and good luck in your career in the field!!!

I truly appreciate your suggestions and advice. In any case, aren't clinical rotations only done when you've been accepted to a nursing program and toward the culmination of that program? This fall I plan to take a few prereqs (8 courses required to be taken in 1.5-2 years in my plan) while doing part-time as a caregiver/health provider. I'm hoping that the PT work will enable me to take the CNA course and eventually become a CNA while taking the prereqs.

If you're planning on taking them at a 4-year uni. (such as myself), what is your situation with financial aid? Will you be offered any student loans? I would assume that every institution is different regarding their amount of funds to students who have already obtained a bachelor degree, but I could be wrong ~~

fisherpe · Aug 3, 2011

Hi xiongav,

No problem on the suggestions and advice...just passing on the knowledge that has been given to me from other nurse professional within the field! To answer your question, you will experience your clinicals when you're in the program. I was mentioning that as a CNA before your training in nursing school, you can gain more clinical skills to build your professional portfolio/resume as a nurse! I'm in the same mode of gaining more "nursing" skills to add to my resume before nursing school or at least work in a hospital to gain some experience. However, some nurses have told me based on their experiences that the clinicals would provide you the experience you need in order to land your first job as a nurse. They have told me that it depends on the employer or agency and related experience. For example, I know that I want to go into Psychiatric Nursing and earn my MSN in the field as an NP and CNS because I have experience of performing biopsychosocial intakes and psychotherapy with my MSW. So, my experience relates to this specialty in nursing! Also, I have previous experience working in a hospital setting on a research project where I worked along side nurse professionals. Either way, it sounds like you have a GREAT plan!!!!:)