Nursing School Assistance

gabirder · Oct 15, 2009

I say GO for it. I was a senior level chemist with the Florida Department of Health in Jacksonville when I decided to go to nursing school. I was 35 years old, married with three children. My wife was supportive or it could not have happened. I am so very happy I had the courage to make this change. As much as I enjoyed being a chemist, I love being a nurse. Take the pre-nursing courses you are missing and go from there. I got my degree from Florida Community College in Jacksonville. It is an ADN, but I am currently working on my BSN. I went the ADN route because I could get the degree in 15 months. I took a bit of a pay cut, but am very happy. For me the career change was more than worth it.

Dcrane · Oct 15, 2009

I say GO for it. I was a senior level chemist with the Florida Department of Health in Jacksonville when I decided to go to nursing school. I was 35 years old, married with three children. My wife was supportive or it could not have happened. I am so very happy I had the courage to make this change. As much as I enjoyed being a chemist, I love being a nurse. Take the pre-nursing courses you are missing and go from there. I got my degree from Florida Community College in Jacksonville. It is an ADN, but I am currently working on my BSN. I went the ADN route because I could get the degree in 15 months. I took a bit of a pay cut, but am very happy. For me the career change was more than worth it.

I just turned 39-you have no idea how bad I want to be a nurse-I'm taking Human Anatomy I next week-I want to know though did you have to go through a waiting period? I guess I"m not sure what route to take-if I take LPN classes I should be able to complete it within a year (I've read it takes anywhere from 9 months to a year to become an LPN). I was 4 classes into my MBA-I received good grades but I'm miserable-I have no interest in accounting or business-I received a Psychology degree because that's what I was interested in (my college didn't have a nursing program)..

gabirder · Oct 16, 2009

You will make much less money as an LPN than an RN with many of the same responsibilities. I would suggest going the RN route. Most of those programs will take two years. I was blessed with the ability to work full-time and go to school full-time. Not everyone can do that in the nursing program. I had to work a varied schedule, but with my position, that was doable. If you desire to go RN, but have to go LPN, then you can always bridge. The only problem with that is the limited number of seats for most bridge programs. There was an LPN in my nursing classes that wnet through the regular RN program b/c it was faster than going LPN to RN, but this was in Jacksonville so there may be more programs down where you are. It is something to think about though. Whatever you decided, best of luck to you. Nursing can be both uplifting and draining, but rarely is it boring, although those days are longed for at times.

Dcrane · Oct 16, 2009

Thanks for your help-may I ask one more question? What type of entrance exam did you take? I'm sure I can find study guides?

gabirder · Oct 16, 2009

I took the NAT, at least that is what I think it was called. It had several sections: math, reading comp, a couple of science sections, spelling (yeah I said spelling - and it was my hardest). As far as study guides go, I am sure there are some, but do not know for sure. I took the test to see how I would do before I bought a study guide, and did well enough to not have to retake, but I had a science and math background, and that is a large portion of the test.

Dcrane · Oct 16, 2009

Great-thank you for your assistance-we will see what the future holds

FLg8r · Oct 17, 2009

some will require either the net or teas .... and if you don't have a degree, some also require an additional test called the tabe

Dcrane · Oct 17, 2009

some will require either the net or teas .... and if you don't have a degree, some also require an additional test called the tabe

great! thanks for the information-as anyone become a nurse as a second career?

FLg8r · Oct 17, 2009

great! thanks for the information-as anyone become a nurse as a second career?

yup - i am :coollook: first career was a cop .... i'm 46 and ready to start over

Dcrane · Oct 19, 2009

yup - i am first career was a cop .... i'm 46 and ready to start over

really? why do you want to switch careers? i'm 39 and feel like i'm way too old-

FLg8r · Oct 19, 2009

Really? Why do you want to switch careers? I'm 39 and feel like I'm way too old-

cause i'm 46 now and gave up being a cop when i had my son - my husband is also a deputy. now that my son is older, i decided i could either go back into law enforcement, starting at the bottom of the ranks, or go into nursing, which is what i have wanted to do since i was in high school. that is why i chose nursing. i really didn't feel like starting over as a cop and deal with all the physical abuse you take on the street. now, if i could have gone back and straight back into what i was doing, as a detective in the vice and narcotics unit, then i might have considered it ...... but when my son asked me a question about "mommy, what did you want to be when you grew up?" and i told him "to be a nurse" and he said to me, "then why don't you become a nurse then?" it was at that moment i decided he was right and decided to pursue my dream of becoming a nurse. i'm slowly climbing the ladder from the bottom ... CNA first, now in school for LPN, then RN, then BSN. and i'm much happier now knowing i am doing something that i've always wanted to do. TMI? if so, sorry :coollook: