Nursing questions... I'm on my way, but I need some basic answers

kbm318 · Jul 9, 2010

I'm not a NICU nurse I'm still in school but I figured I would try to answer some of your questions anyways since no one had.

1. The only way it will hurt your chances of a scholarship are if the scholarship is for a certain gpa and if you do bad in the class it drops your gpa below the requirement. Same for a good school it will only hurt you if you fall below the require gpa to be admitted to the school. You will then have to take pre-reqs and then you can apply and be admitted to the Nursing program.

2. This one I can't answer all of the questions but I can for some. Not sure if you should work on other floors before NICU but I do know when you are applying the open jobs show what floor the job position is on. So generally you will be specifically applying to a certain floor whether it be NICU, PICU, Peds,whatever. No, you don't take any different classes in college, once in the nursing program you will have a pediatric rotation and everything else.

3. As far as colleges go just make sure the nursing program at the specific colleges you are looking into are accredited. You can usually find this on their website. I also looked into the NCLEX pass rate as a major factor when deciding.

4. Basic college track: Nursing School

Hope what I could answer helped

stralia13 · Jul 9, 2010

I'm not a NICU nurse I'm still in school but I figured I would try to answer some of your questions anyways since no one had.
1. The only way it will hurt your chances of a scholarship are if the scholarship is for a certain gpa and if you do bad in the class it drops your gpa below the requirement. Same for a good school it will only hurt you if you fall below the require gpa to be admitted to the school. You will then have to take pre-reqs and then you can apply and be admitted to the Nursing program.
2. This one I can't answer all of the questions but I can for some. Not sure if you should work on other floors before NICU but I do know when you are applying the open jobs show what floor the job position is on. So generally you will be specifically applying to a certain floor whether it be NICU, PICU, Peds,whatever. No, you don't take any different classes in college, once in the nursing program you will have a pediatric rotation and everything else.
3. As far as colleges go just make sure the nursing program at the specific colleges you are looking into are accredited. You can usually find this on their website. I also looked into the NCLEX pass rate as a major factor when deciding.
4. Basic college track: Nursing School
Hope what I could answer helped

Thanks SO MUCH! I'm so glad that someone finally answered me. :) All the stuff you said was really helpful, especially about the chemistry stuff. I was so worried about that. :) Thanks again, I owe you one!

Sydney

jjjoy, LPN · Jul 9, 2010

Hey all, I'm new to this site. I'm a highschool student and have extremely high hopes on being a NICU nurse. I'm on my way you could say, i'm in a TON of health classes including sports med and parent/child development, i'm in advanced classes, and I take college core classes. But I have a few basic questions:
1: I'm pretty good at science classes, such as biology, A and P, etc. But I've never been perfect at chemistry. I have to take it either next year or the next, and i'm going to try really hard to get an A, but I'm scared I'll get a lower grade then that. Will that kill my chances of scholorships and getting into a good school?

Are you asking if you need straight As to get scholarships and into a good school? No, you don't need straight A's. A 4.0 won't hurt, but a less than perfect GPA won't keep you out of school, especially if you already have mostly As in rigorous courses. Different schools have different selection criteria and different applicant pools, so there's not one standard answer about the minimum requirements to be accepted to program.

Do know that many nursing schools these days are impacted... that is they have many more applicants than spaces available. Some schools have waiting lists for a few years, some schools have a lottery system, some schools have entrance exams. Some universities you can only apply as pre-nursing and you have to apply again for the nursing program for the junior year, with no guarantee of acceptance. If you have great grades and the right classes, it can be easier sometimes to get into a university program than a community college program because fewer people meet all the requirements and non-uni programs are usually less expensive, more likely to accomodate part-time students and not require relocation.

2: When you become an RN, and finish college, if you want to work in the NICU, what do you do? I know it's a specialized field, so do you have to take extra classes in college? or just request to be put in the NICU when you apply for jobs? I'm so confused on that part... :)

Many nursing jobs regardless of speciality have only one formal training requirement: RN. If a facility is willing to train an RN for a specific position, they can do that. Many facilities would rather hire someone who already has experience, if not in that exact specialty then at least in a similar area. Sometimes newly graduated nurses are hired into a speciality area but sometimes specific RN work experience is required. It depends on the facility and what type of on-the-job training they provide to new hires as well as who they get applying for jobs. Working in NICU is a great goal and it's not totally impossible to be hired right into NICU after school, but it's uncommon and you should be prepared to accept working as a nurse somewhere else intially... which might mean going from working with adult patients in a hospital to working with kids at a pediatric hospital to working in ICU at the pediatric hospital to NICU.

3: What are the colleges that you guys all went to? Were they good? Tuition? Hands on experience? Internship opportunites? etc.

There are zillions of nursing schools out there so it's hard to say in general. It's better to ask about the programs in the location you think you'll go to school in. While you get clinical experience in all programs, some programs offer the bare minimum and others provide a lot more. It's not just the number of hours of clinical, but how the time is used. Ask at the schools you're interested in if you can talk to students who just graduated or are about to graduate and see if one program sounds better to you than another. If you know any nurses, ask if they are aware of the reputation of local nursing schools. Also, they may have worked with students from different schools and gotten an overall impression. If you start volunteering or working part-time in a hospital, tell the nurses you are interested in nursing school and they may have advice for you.

4: And for the final question: What is the basic college track for a NICU nurse, what should I take now in highschool? What should I do in college? What will put me above the rest in applying for Nursing programs, and for Jobs in general?

There's usually just one track for nursing. You only get a short introduction to the specialities in school. I was lucky to get two days in the NICU during my program, but I didn't get to spend any time in an adult ICU. See if you can contact an advisor at some local schools. They would be able to tell you what classes would be best.

What would put you ahead? Hands on experience! You could start with hospital volunteering for a first step into the health care setting. Then, I'd highly recommend getting certified as a nursing assistant or some other front-line entry-level clinical position and work part-time and/or summers.

Thanks so much guys, I know it's a ton to ask... :) ANY info whatsoever is appreciated GREATLY! Thanks so much!
With much Gratitude,
Sydney

stralia13 · Jul 9, 2010

jjjoy

Thanks SO MUCH! Your answers were in depth, and really cleared a lot of things up for me. I have quite a few schools in mind, all but one are difficult to get into... :) I have my fall back which is in my own state, and is a decent school, but I want to go out of state to a better school so so much.

Thanks again! Your very imformative. :)