RN Diploma And BSN?

Nurses Career Support

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I'm currently a junior in High School and I know the area of nursing I'd like, but I'm a tad bit confused on the steps in becoming a nurse. My plan was to attend a 4 yr. accredited state univ. or college majoring in nursing, get a Bachelor's after 4yrs. then take that NCLEX (sp?) test, and become registered. Do I then get to pick my specialty? I mean, how does that work out? Please help, thanks.

You don't have to pick a specialty to work in til after graduation. You will be rotated through med/surg, pediatrics, ob/gyn, a little OR, and public health as part of your training. Those are the usual areas schools hit anyway.

Specializes in ER, ICU, Corrections.

There were only 3 of the "specialites" that we rotated through when I graduated from my ADN program. We had med/surg, OB and mental health. I worked as med/surg nurse after graduation and then ICU. I did that for about 4 years and then found my real niche.....correctional nursing. I guess that is part of public health but I do like it. Good luck and I hope that you keep up with your dreams. :p

There are 3 paths you can take to becoming a nurse: you can go to a 3 year diploma program (usually run by a hospital and these programs are slowly dwindling), a 2 year associates program, or a four year bachelor's degree. Graduates of all 3 programs take the same exam to become licensed-- the NCLEX. If you would like to eventually go into management or get a master's degree, you will need to obtain a bachelor's degree. In my program we have clinical rotations in several areas: Women's Health, Med/Surg, Community Health, Psych, Peds, Gerontology, and Nursing Research. These clinicals can really help you get an idea of what you may like to do when you graduate. I hope to get a job in an ICU when I graduate in September.

Specializes in LTC/Peds/ICU/PACU/CDI.

i would like to commend you neonatal hope04 on your choice of future profession so young!

because you know the path in which you want to go ~ bsn ~ you can specialize more now as a graduate nurse (gn) before even setting for the nclex-rn because of the current nursing shortage...a shortage that i'm afraid will still be around when you finish school because of the *baby boomers* whom are expected to retire very shortly. so if you're interested in nicu...you should have no problems in getting that position somewhere.

good luck in your endeavors!

cheers!

moe

you can specialize more now as a graduate nurse (GN) before even setting for the NCLEX-RN

i am new to all of this and this confuses me, can you explain a little better?

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