Need advice, high school student looking into med school

[futuremedstudent]

like i said, im im still in high school, im 17, but i know for a fact that i want to get my rn. in the long run, im wanting to go on the helicopters, but i know i have to get the experience first. the colloge im looking at is accually part of a hospital around here, and its supposed to be a really good place for medicine, but the thing i'd like to know is whether its better with a good strict school which is mostly just classroom work (from what i can tell) or if the hands on works better.

[Guest 360983]

Are you looking to be a nurse or a doctor? Nurses go to nursing school, either through a hospital for a diploma program (very rare now), or at a college for an associate's degree or bachelor's degree. Doctors get a bachelor's degree and then go to medical school for a doctorate.

No matter where you go, you will have a mix of classroom lectures and hands on clinicals. The one diploma program I looked at has a bit more clinical time than degree programs, and the bachelor's programs tend to have a bit more classroom time (because of the larger number of credits you earn), but in the end they are all pretty similar. Nursing schools with similiar degrees (eg all associate degree programs) in the same state will have VERY similar hours in lecture/clinicals, because the state board sets guildlines. There's probably national guidlines set up too, but I'm not 100% sure on that.

Are you thinking about going away from home for college? Go through the normal "I wanna go to college" thing with college fairs, guidance counselors, and trips to local colleges. If you're looking to compare different schools, NCLEX pass rates are one way to judge different nursing programs. Check the state board of nursing website for that information.

If you're thinking about staying home, look at the different colleges in your area. What is in your price range? Do you want a bachelor's degree or do you want to work sooner? What are the different prereqs at each school?

Make sure the colleges you're looking at are accredited. Be wary of "for-profit" schools like Everest.

Also, it's not just nurses on helicopters. I'm pretty sure paramedics do it too, and if you're an adrenaline junkie, you'll get more of that as a paramedic. You may also want to shadow a nurse to get an idea of what you'll encounter. I imagine they would let you check out an ER if that's your thing.