Okay so I really want to go to nursing school.

Jules A, MSN · Jun 14, 2010

I'm surprised you aren't able to find a CNA job, bummer. I do think nursing school is worth investigating and I would contact an advisor at your local community college for instructions on how to start. Good luck.

LaurieEllen1973 · Jun 14, 2010

The most urgent step you need to take ASAP is registering for classes for Summer and Fall. First find the school closest to you that offers the program you want. Look at their webpage to learn their course requirements. Then apply to the school and register as fast as possible. I was in your position a year ago, and jumped in. I love the courswork, and I am deep into the prereqs now, and hoping to start the AS program in Spring 2011. If you are already a CNA, you are well on your way. I think you should go for it.

StephanieP2009 · Jun 15, 2010

It also depends on what type of nursing school you want to go to, and what type of nurse you want to be.

I just enrolled in LPN school, which is 10 months. Plenty of community colleges and tech schools offer LPN programs with the only pre-req being a high school diploma.

If you want to be an RN, then you'll most likely need to go to a college. The colleges will need you to have pre-req's done (A&P 1 & 2, Biology, College Math, etc) before you can get into their actual (clinical, not just regular classes) nursing program. There are also 2 different RN degrees you can get. You can go for 2 years and get an Associate's degree, or you can go for 4 years and get a Bachelor's degree.

Good luck and I hope that helped!

JROregon, ASN, BSN, RN · Jun 15, 2010

Colleges are all different. My local comm college requires a placement test for math and English before getting started. To prepare for the placement test, I got an algebra workbook to get up to speed on math. There are some classes we can't even take without minimum proficiency in college math. Cell biology was required before taking the A&P series. We didn't need all the pre-reqs in order to apply for the nursing program but we need a certain number of points based on grades in A&P 1,2,3, micro, psych - general and developmental, and nutrition. We also earned points for passing general ed classes that included a technical writing class. I didn't apply until I got as many points as I possibly could. In California, it sounds like a lot of the colleges have waiting lists. Not the case in Oregon. Get an appointment as soon as you can with an adviser to see what steps you will need to take. Enrollment is up in my comm college so most of the pre-req classes for fall term are already full. Yikes.