please help me

ok i am not a nurse ..........yet anyways i just lied so i could get some info and what better way to get info than from nurses themselves. do i need to become a CNA to become a RN i mean i am going to pre-med this fall to become a RN but i don't know the requirements and i have spent hours trying to look them up online but i never seem to get anywhere so if you could you please help me and i am truly sorry if i offended anyone by doing this. i just really need to know if i have to become a CNA or not or if i take CNA classes but if there are not required would that put me a step ahead of the game. i am really desperate. please help thank you

I'm a little confused about how you lied. There is no requirement to be an RN to be a part of the allnurses.com forums, just the desire to learn and get to know others. In answer to your question, it depends on your schools requirement. I know of some that do require you to go through a CNA program prior to starting NS and some like mine that do not. Only you know what nursing schools are in your area, so you are the one who is going to have to do the footwork in finding out. Contact someone from the school you are interested in and they should be able to steer you in the right direction as far as prereqs go. Most schools that I've heard of require AP I, AP II, Micro, some (but not all) require a nutrition class, Psycology, plus the rest of YOUR schools required classes which would include your englishes, histories, maths, etc. Since each college is different, there is no way anyone will be able to help you find out this info besides yourself. Welcome to Allnurses and good luck.

hey!

the best way to find out about the CNA requirements is to call the state board of nursing or contact your school's nursing department. It varies per program and per state. i graduated this year in arizona, and my program required it. let's just say that it wasn't my favorite part of the nursing curriculum, but it is good hospital/nursing experience. any nursing experience prior to school is good, but if it's not a requirement, it's up to you. you could work as a CNA while in school if you needed the cash....

make some calls and weigh your options is my advice!

best of luck!

Hi,

In MA, you are not required to be a CNA before becoming an RN or starting nursing school, but it is very good experience. Have you tried calling your school's nursing program or looking up the nursing program requirements on your school's website? You should be able to get some helpful information that way. I'm not sure if you are already in a nursing program or not, but nursing schools in your area that you could look into include Springfield Technical Comm College, Holyoke Comm College, American International, Elms, and UMass. Good luck!