Potential Nursing Student in Chester County...

adamsmom · Jul 13, 2007

HI

I live in Chester county. I am going into my 2nd year at Brandywine School of Nursing. I did my pre reqs at Immaculatta University. There is also Delaware County nursing program. Delaware county is hard to get into they take the highest NET test students.

Let me tell you about myself, I decided to become a nurse at the age of 40. I had not even stepped onto a college campus before.

Here I am now, 3 years later and hope to become a RN in May.

It is not easy, I almost quit last semester because I failed 2 tests. But I passed the semester by the skin of my teeth. You have to get a min. of a C each semester to keep going.

Many of this past years graduating class told me that last semester is the hardest and if you can pass that you can do it.

If you need more info please feel free to email me.

Good luck

jrwoodall79 · Jul 13, 2007

im also in chester county.... am applying for DCCC Fall 2008 Nursing Program. if i dont get in there, i guess i will apply for Brandywine, but i am hoping i dont have to do that since i would like to continue to work full-time and DCCC has an evening/weekend program. if you have any questions about the application process at DCCC i will be more than happy to help you!

hennesm81 · Jul 13, 2007

Thanks so much for all the encouragement and helpful advice! I have found all the info I need to enroll in a CNA class and take the test, and I think that might be a good place for me tostart, since I can at least "get my feet wet" relatively quickly via that route...

However, that being said, I'm wondering if maybe I should look into starting out as an LPN...Does anyone know of LPN programs in/around Chester County? Are there part-time LPN programs in my area so that I might work at the same time? Does Brandywine School of Nursing have an LPN program? What about West Chester U.?

adamsmom · Jul 14, 2007

If you want to work as a CNA Tel Hai not only has free CNA classes if you work for them but they also have a scholarship program. That is how I have been able to afford to attend Immaculata U and Brandywine. I have to work for them for 1 year after graduation and they have paid thousands of dollars for my education. Not a bad deal.

They also would pay for LPN school too.

As far as LPN school, Coatesville area tech has classes it is next to coatesville high school. THere is also some tech schools in lancaster too. I know many people who start as LPN then you have to work for so long and you can take a bridge program to RN. If you have any specific questions please feel free to email me.

hennesm81 · Jul 18, 2007

Are CNA night classes in the area? Or LPN night classes? Also, are there any shorter LPN programs in the area, like an 8 month program?

I'm having some trouble finding programs that fit my schedule and time frame. Maybe it would help if I explained my goals and my background a little: I'm a third year law student who has only 13 credits left to finish before earning my JD and I was pre-med in college. I took most (but not all) of the pre-med classes. As you all know, the pre-med requirements are not exactly the same as the RN requirements. I have earned a BA in English Lit and a Minor in psych. So chances are, if I were to take a BSN2 program, all the English and Psych requirements will have been completed, and many of the science classes. However, I have not taken classes like Nutrition or Microbiology because those were not required for pre-med. So I would have to take a few prereq classes before I could begin a BSN2 program.

I will be going into health law and have also nearly completed a Health Law certificate at my law school, which I will receive when I graduate along with my JD.

Now here are the monkey wrenches: I'm taking some time off from school (from now until the end of May). Then I will be going back to law school from May until December to finish up, and I will only be attending part-time. I would like to earn a degree in nursing and be able to work in a hospital at nights or on the weekends, and I think having the degree and the experience will greatly help me with health law and enable me to make a real difference as far as the healthcare crisis. I think it would also be really nice if I could give something back to the community by working as a nurse around my legal schedule. To that end, I would like to get as far in nursing as I can between now and May. Then, I can finish the balance in nursing after I graduate from law school and take the bar. In other words, I am hoping I can earn at least a CNA and possibly an LPN between now and May, and then finish an RN after law school. That being said, I will also need to work between now and May, either in a legal or nursing job, in order to pay bills, student loans, tuition, etc. I am not under any illusions that this will be easy, but it is something that is very important to me and that I would really like to accomplish.

Any help or advice anyone could give as far as programs that might be available in the Chester County area that couild fit into my life and help me achieve these goals would be so greatly appreciated.

adamsmom · Jul 18, 2007

There are night and weekend LPN classess but it takes 18 months. For LPN you do not need pre reqs. I think Gwenyd in DE has weekend classes but it takes a couple years before you can sit for NCLEX. If you are looking for BSN that is a 4 yr degree as far as micro and psych that is part of pre reqs for RN along with chem. I do not know of any CNA classes I just know of LTC places that teach you and you have to committ to work for them.

jrwoodall79 · Jul 19, 2007

it looks like delaware county community college offers a CNA course. http://www.dccc.edu/catalog/career_programs_cert.html#patient_care

hennesm81 · Jul 23, 2007

I will definitely be looking into the DCCC PCA course, as well as all the other suggestions made here. Thanks so much! I'll keep everyone posted as to what I wind up doing...