pre-pre-pre-reqs stay at home.....studying on my own

capella44 · Aug 25, 2011

hello! i know how you feel about the waiting. i am 34 years old and have another degree in a unrelated field. it wasn't until a year or so ago that i realized my true calling was nursing. however, due to my current financial situation i will not be able to apply to nursing school for probably another 2 years. in the meantime, i am taking one prereq a semester as i work full time. since nursing school is a ways off, i am trying like you to study things on the side that may be beneficial. i would recommend reviewing your a&p for sure. also medical terminology, and maybe pick up some books specific to nursing and diseases. i have this one book i got that lists common diseases/illnesses, and discusses symptoms, treatment, and follow up care that is from a nurse’s perspective.

if you find anything you think would be good to study, let me know! it's nice to know there is someone in a similar situation to mine. if we keep the "pre" studying up, i think we will be super students in nursing school. :yeah:

learningmom · Aug 27, 2011

Totally agree with you on being SUPER students. :)

Thanks for the reply Capella44. I hope your financial situation gets better. I really didn't know what else to do, with all this delay. I will definitely start reviewing my a&p, as well as microbiology. The one book I would recommend is Canadian fundamentals of nursing - potter&perry. It has basically everything you need to know about professional practices of nurses as well as rationale behind procedures, which can be a bit overwhelming to understand when in the program. Also take a look at a nursing pharmacology book, which is the hardest topic that as nursing students you need to pack into your brain.

Keep up the pre-pre-req studying. It helps me stay focused in my day to day life with the kids, as well a little bit intelligent. lol

Don't give up...We will succeed!

gr8txrn2b · Aug 27, 2011

Hi there...I totally understand why you want to wait until your kids are in school full time. But I think 3-4yrs of just waiting and reading your old books would be a huge waste of your precious time. Why not take one class a semester, preferable online so you can still be at home with the kids. You can get your work done while the kids are napping, and since they are little you can put them to bed by 8pm and you can do your work. Think of it as night school...lol. If I were you I would start with the minor classes like psych or art. Find out how many of your previous classes will carry over to your new program and start from there. This way with only taking one class at a time you can really focus on making those A's and having a really good GPA. In 3yrs you should be ready for your sciences since most schools don't want them to be over 5yrs old. Do what you can now so it won't take as long when you are really ready start. Think about it, if you wait to start in 3yrs you will be looking at ALL your pre reqs which might take a year to complete. Then you have the application process which might take you another year to get in. So your 3-4yrs of waiting will probably end up being a total of 6yrs. I know this semester has already started but maybe you can get in a class for next semester. I hope this helps.

learningmom · Apr 13, 2012

UPDATES updates! This is a really old post, but I hope my story inspires/helps someone out there! I spoke to an academic advisor at Ottawa U. She basically crunched in all my grades from my college transcripts.

She gave me the game plan.

1 - I need to take 2-3 college courses to boost by 2% my existing overall average so I can apply for nursing.

I have all my pre-reqs, and might be allowed for some exemptions as well for some psychs and electives~! Yay!!!

2 - She also suggested that I can take the following courses when I asked about how I can lighten my load before entering the fulltime studies: 1 A&P(from 3), Microbiology,Measurement and Data analysis, and the English. These would be all university courses, so I really gotta do well.

3 - apply for fulltime nursing @ university

soooo... my kids are almost 4 and 1 1/2. I just registered for Medical Terminology as a online course in college. I am in the boosting average process of my journey. My husband is very supportive and this site has greatly helped me as well. Youtube channels for nursing students are very inspiring as well.

There is always a way to pursue your goals, even if it is 1 course at a time. Don't give up! You are alive you can do this.

learningmom · Mar 8, 2013

I got accepted!!!! into RPN program at Algonquin College for fall 2013!!! aaah, I'm so happy. I didn't accept the offer yet, because I am still waiting for my 1st choice BScN collab @ Ottawa U. I pray all of you get for ya'll want too. I wish I can just share this happiness through the computer screen for you.

Lucia1225 · Sep 10, 2014

Hi learning mom

Just saw your posts and found them really interesting to me. I also want to apply for the UO BscN. But till now I still dont have some prerequisite. I have a Chemistry Degree before, But I still need to take the ANp course. How did you make up all your pre requisite courses? at Ottawa U campus or took them online? I dont have research method , anp , stat courses and those are all required to be university levels. Did you take them online?

thank you and waiting for your reply!