nervous about applying to second degree bsn

[bradk]

Hey everyone. I am new to allnurses.com. I have always been interested in becoming a nurse and am now going to go for it. I am currently in a Ph.D science program but have come to the conclusion that research isn't for me. Last month our first son was born 5 weeks premature and spent 2 weeks in the NICU. During this time I interacted with many nurses and came to the conclusion that nursing was the career path I wanted.

I have a BA in biology with a 3.02 gpa. My prereqs are anywhere from 3.3-3.5 depending on what school I look at. I also have a Masters in Anatomy with a 3.54 GPA and my Ph.D GPA is 3.17. In between my masters and Ph.D programs I also taught anatomy & physiology I and II and biology for 2 years. I do not have any experience as a tech or with patient contact. Do most second degree programs put high stock into that? I am looking BSN programs and Marquette's Direct entry MSN program. Let me know your experiences!

Thanks,

Brad

[onedayitllbeme]

Your qualifications sound good, not everyone has experience. I definitely do not and am going to apply soon. That said I am considering CNA training just to get some patient care experience.

[PeekaPooh]

Nursing would be cake for you with a background like that. The hardest prereqs are microbiology, anatomy, and physiology and you taught those classes. I'm glad I don't have to compete with you to get into a program ^^

Most second degree programs look at your TEAS score or whatever entrance exams they have, and your nursing prereq GPA. Little things like experiences do count but it's not as big as those 2 things.

For example, the schools that I'm going to apply to only give 5 points for having an Allied Health Certificate, or work experience related to it. However, they give you a maximum of 40 points if you scored 90%+ on the TEAS test. The total points is 100, and the higher you have the higher chance of getting accepted.