Online versus typical schooling

vamedic4, EMT-P · May 5, 2007

Hi all, I just got my license, was so excited to get my first job, but really not liking the limits on where I can work.......Basically LTC.....can anyone give me a rundown on the differences between online and traditional schooling? What I am looking for is cost, time, difficulty etc?? Thanks you guys, I am sure I will be a regular on this board soon enough, I was so dissappointed and jealous during the nursing orientation this week, everyone else was working in the hospital, and it just seemed like their job was going to be so much more interesting and exciting........Also, I am in MI in case that helps.
Emilie

Hi Emilie,

Having been a student at a 3 year RN diploma program (in the late 80s) and now going thru the same thing thru Excelsior (because at 17 I thought that making beds and wiping butts wasn't what I wanted to do with my life...talk about coming full circle), I think I can answer some of your questions.

Basically the difference between traditional schools and online schooling is that...online...you do EVERYTHING yourself. You have to be motivated to study, to teach yourself, to learn. It's no different than regular nursing school, but you don't "HAVE" to be in class. You don't "have" to sit for 4 hours listening to someone speak about Orem's Self Care Model, or Gordon's Functional Health Patterns, but you DO have to find out what they are yourself and be familiar with them.

As for the practical side of things, you said you were an LVN?? I think that is your greatest asset. The reason I say that is because you are already familiar with the Nursing Process, Nursing Diagnoses, interventions, rationales. As a paramedic for the past many years, these things are foreign to me once again.

All the best in your decision.

vamedic4

There are resources out there for students, like this site which are wonderful tools if you choose to utilize them. Ultimately, both schools are exactly what you make them. They can be difficult or easy, depending on your aptitude, effort and attitude toward finishing.