Masters in Nursing for Non-Nurses

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Hi. I am new to the forum. I apologize in advance if this question has been asked a million times. I tried the search function and didn't find what I was looking for.

I graduate this Spring and will receive a BS in Chemistry from a well established public university in California. I don't really see myself pursuing a career in chemistry and feel that healthcare is more aligned with my interests. I recently found out about entry masters programs in nursing and am considering taking that path. Does anyone have any general information they can give me regarding those programs?

For example: average gpa, GRE score, and clinical hours of accepted students?

How hard are they to get into vs. MD or PA programs?

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Specializes in ICU Stepdown.

Why don't you look up schools that you'd like to attend and see what their requirements are for the programs?

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Specializes in ICU Stepdown.

Do you not know whether you want to be a nurse or an MD or a PA? Because they're all different FYI

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Looking up the schools requirements doesn't give you an idea of the level of competition. And yes, of course I know they are all different. I haven't made a final decision on which route I will take and thats why i'm looking to gather some information. You were quick to reply, but didn't answer my question at all.

I know that most PA programs have a min GPA of 3.0 and a min 1,000 clinical hours. But the average accepted student has a GPA of 3.5 and 2,000+ clinical hours. See what i'm getting at here? Knowing the minimum requirements doesn't really help much.

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Specializes in Family Medicine, Tele/Cardiac, Camp.
Does anyone have any general information they can give me regarding those programs?

For example: average gpa, GRE score, and clinical hours of accepted students?

How hard are they to get into vs. MD or PA programs?

I assume that since you refer to clinical hours, you'd be interested in pursuing a NP track. There are many different kinds of paths with obtaining a MSN - informatics, administration, nurse educator, CRNA, CNM and NP. And the answers to all of your questions depend on the school you're considering and your own attributes.

There are many many entry level programs across the country. I can't speak to whether there are any in your area. You're going to have to investigate that. Each school has its own requirements regarding GPA, GRE scores, and acceptance level. I've seen clinical hours range from 500 to 800 for the master's component of NP programs, but you still need to complete additional undergrad clinical hours if you aren't a RN already. CRNA and CNM programs are another ball game in terms of hours. Again, how this is structured depends on the school.

In terms of the level of difficulty in getting into the program vs PA or MD programs - that's also very subjective. I can't tell you how difficult various programs would be for you because I don't know anything about your level of preparedness, study habits, or general intelligence. Some programs are more selective than others, sure. But some programs seem to accept everyone who applies. I also know people in my program who thought the whole program was basically a snap. But I know several people who failed out, or stopped after the BSN component of the program had been achieved as well.

You would do best to contact each school individually to have your questions answered. Best of luck.

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Specializes in ICU Stepdown.
Looking up the schools requirements doesn't give you an idea of the level of competition. And yes, of course I know they are all different. I haven't made a final decision on which route I will take and thats why i'm looking to gather some information. You were quick to reply, but didn't answer my question at all.

I know that most PA programs have a min GPA of 3.0 and a min 1,000 clinical hours. But the average accepted student has a GPA of 3.5 and 2,000+ clinical hours. See what i'm getting at here? Knowing the minimum requirements doesn't really help much.

There are a ton of forums out there that can help you answer the MD and PA questions, it wouldn't make sense to come to this one with those questions.

Like the other poster said, you'd do best contacting each school individually. If you're looking to be an MD, PA or BSN RN you'll have to start looking for answers yourself and knowing how to research efficiently 😬

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I apologize, I don't think i'm getting my message across clearly. I'm better with numbers than words. I'm not looking for any information on PA or MD programs. I'm just saying that i've done research on those and have a better understanding of what kind of applicant they are looking for. But, because it wasn't until just recently that I found out about masters in nursing programs for non-nurses (MSN programs for people that don't have a BSN, but do have a bachelors degree in another field) I don't really know much about what kind of applicants they are looking for.

Two programs that I am interested so far are: Masters Entry Clinical Nurse program at UCLA and Masters Entry Program in Nursing at UCSF

Aside from the requirements listed on their websites what else do they tend to look for? Students with lots of healthcare hours? volunteer hours? community service?

Of course each school is different in their own way, but there must be a trend in what type of applicant they are looking for.

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Specializes in ICU Stepdown.
I apologize, I don't think i'm getting my message across clearly. I'm better with numbers than words. I'm not looking for any information on PA or MD programs. I'm just saying that i've done research on those and have a better understanding of what kind of applicant they are looking for. But, because it wasn't until just recently that I found out about masters in nursing programs for non-nurses (MSN programs for people that don't have a BSN, but do have a bachelors degree in another field) I don't really know much about what kind of applicants they are looking for.

Two programs that I am interested so far are: Masters Entry Clinical Nurse program at UCLA and Masters Entry Program in Nursing at UCSF

Aside from the requirements listed on their websites what else do they tend to look for? Students with lots of healthcare hours? volunteer hours? community service?

Of course each school is different in their own way, but there must be a trend in what type of applicant they are looking for.

I understand ☺️ I honestly don't know much about masters entry nursing but I know that getting into nursing is very competitive in California. If the schools look at candidates from a holistic approach, healthcare and volunteer experience would only make you a better candidate. Still, I would call the advisors within the programs and ask if having those hours would make a difference. I hope that helps somewhat. Do you have healthcare experience?

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It does depend on the school/program itself, but I am also applying to those programs and I have found that they look at the application as a whole. They look at Science gpa, last 60 units gpa, TEAS score, volunteer service/healthcare hours, personal essay and references. There is also an interview process. GL!

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I understand ☺️ I honestly don't know much about masters entry nursing but I know that getting into nursing is very competitive in California. If the schools look at candidates from a holistic approach, healthcare and volunteer experience would only make you a better candidate. Still, I would call the advisors within the programs and ask if having those hours would make a difference. I hope that helps somewhat. Do you have healthcare experience?

I am currently interning at one of my local hospitals and getting hands on experience. But as soon as i graduate this spring I will look for a full time/part time position. I was considering medical scribe, but what I would really like to do is ER Tech.

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It does depend on the school/program itself, but I am also applying to those programs and I have found that they look at the application as a whole. They look at Science gpa, last 60 units gpa, TEAS score, volunteer service/healthcare hours, personal essay and references. There is also an interview process. GL!

Thank you. This is exactly the sort of response I was looking for. Sounds very similar to PA programs, with the exception of TEAS instead of GRE.

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Specializes in ICU Stepdown.
I am currently interning at one of my local hospitals and getting hands on experience. But as soon as i graduate this spring I will look for a full time/part time position. I was considering medical scribe, but what I would really like to do is ER Tech.

Oh cool! I was hired as a medical scribe last year but decided not to move forward with it and I'm currently waiting for a job offer as an ER tech ☺️

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