Kundera

I know this thread is old, but I wanted to thank Jacqueline for her post. I will be starting my new job as a hospice aide in just two weeks, and am sure her advice will be invaluable!

You say that you don't want to consider student loans, but they very well may be your ticket to a better future. For me, they were the only way I could realistically get the college education I truly desired ( and I did it as single mom of preschoolers). Anyway, that is just my opinion, and I will get off my soapbox! Where I live, there are CNA programs that are offered at night to accommodate those who work during the day. Some of these are offered at "CNA schools" and others are offered through local community colleges. When you call nursing homes, ask if they have a program where they will train you in return for a work commitment of 6 months or so. Many nursing homes offer such contracts in order to secure employees for their facility. Also, think about what it is you really want. Do you want to be a nurse more than anything, or is it financial security you really desire? If you want to be a nurse, then you have a pretty finite path to travel to meet your goal. If you want financial security, you have lots more options of how to get there. Think about what you want, and what you are willing to give up to get there. Then you will know what you need to do.

Good for you! I am sure you will do great this time around!

Ditto what Intern67 said. The real value is in creating them yourself. One of my A & P professors told us that we should spend a good amount of time drawing the structures we were trying to memorize. One of the problems with premade flashcards (at least for me) is that you end up memorizing that particular picture and can't apply it to the models.

Lol, you are helping people when you are an accountant! If I were you, I would think about what type of work environment you would feel the most comfortable. There is a lot of chaos in nursing, but if you are a people person it can be easier to ignore. If you get a lot of pleasure out of poring over details for hours, I would assume that you would be happier in accounting. You say you have a math background... have you thought about becoming a financial analyst? You would probably have to get at least a bachelors, and maybe a masters, but it pays well and there always seem to be jobs for people with mad math skills! It is good to question what you really want to spend the rest of your life doing, and considering all the angles and options is what smart people do! Good luck with your choice!

I'm taking an online a&p class and I LOVE it! The class is accepted by all our local community college programs, private universities, as well as our local teaching hospital's nursing and physician assistant programs. The lab and lecture info are combined for each learning module, and we take one test that covers both the physiology and anatomy aspects of the body system we are studying. If I were you, I would talk to the teacher who teaches the online class, and they can tell you the manner in which their class is structured. I know some people have to buy lab kits and do dissections at home, but we don't do this. Find out more about the class, you may be pleasantly surprised!

Yes, if the math is a developmental math course, I would definitely wait on the chemistry. Chemistry teachers usually warn you that math skills are what hold people back and keep them from doing chemistry. In my humble opinion, you need to have at least algebra II level math skills to be able to succeed in chemistry without wanting to kill yourself. Is this your first term of school in a while? If it is, let yourself acclimate! Like cb_rn says, if you have a lot of support, are disciplined, and are very, very organized and committed, then you should totally be able to do this! Best of luck!

Yes, give yourself some time to figure out what it is you REALLY want! If you will be embarrassed to say you are a nurse, then nursing is probably a poor choice for you. Does the idea of giving patient care or taking orders from an MD make you cringe? Will pursuing nursing make you feel like you accepted "second best.?" If either of these ring true for you, do NOT become a nurse! From your post, I get the sense that you really want the MD, but you are afraid of the tremendous amount of work and commitment it requires (For the record, I am not saying that nursing does not require either of these :) ) Evaluating this is OK, and even smart. Wait until you know what you really want, and are ready to commit to your chosen path. Few things are worse than working at a job that you chose for the wrong reasons. You will end up miserable, and hating your life.

I wish that we didn't have to memorize the action, origin, and insertion in the community college course, but we do!

I took A&P I at PSU during fall term and it was a very, very difficult class. You are learning the information at a higher level than the classes taught at the local community colleges. On the first day of class, the teacher basically told us that if we learned everything in the book, the we have learned everything we needed to know for his test. I liked him, though. He didn't pander to the students or dumb anything down. I would imagine that if you took the accelerated class during the summer, you would be doing absolutely NOTHING else. Nothing. Also, the require an insane amount of memorization, and you are pretty much on your own. When we were learning the muscles (which we got to do on real cadavers. They have their very own, which is pretty cool) they took the labeling key off of the wall after the first week. The muscles you had to know were flagged, but you had to use your textbook to make sure you knew which ones were which. I am taking the last two anatomy classes online at a local community college, and they are a breeze compared to the one at PSU. Good luck, whatever your choice!

I would go BSN. It is getting harder and harder to make it in this world with less than a bachelors degree.

I assume that you are trying to receive financial aid from a community college? To my knowledge, most universities will give you a federal financial aid loan for any "post-bac" classes that you want to complete for a new degree program. At my school the limit is 12,000 in loans for post-bac. If you go to a University, you may also qualify for monies to complete a second degree (again, these are financial aid loans). If going to a public university is an option for you, I strongly suggest you try this route. Also, many private colleges may offer loans to those who wish to return to school. Give this lady a break, people! We don't know her circumstances, and we wouldn't want other people passing judgment on ours. Best of luck to the op, I hope you figure something out!

Will your new employer ask to see all of the prescription medications you are "taking"? I doubt it. Also, most drug screens only test for heroin, pot, cocaine, the illegal stuff. Employers are not really worried about employees who are on medications for common conditions (such as ADHD.) They are looking for illegal drug use. Additionally, I would be amazed if ANY employer had a full spectrum prescription drug screen-- I don't even think such a thing exists, and if it did it would be REALLY expensive! I would relax, take a deep breath, and not worry about the drug screen. You will be just fine.

Go for it! If you don't, you may always regret it!

I am a university student who is about to graduate with a bachelors degree in a liberal arts field. A few years ago I started taking a few nursing pre-reqs. I got a "B" in my A&P I class at a community college, so I decided to take a 300 level A&P at the university I attend. Long story short, I got a lower grade taking it the second time! There are a few different nursing programs that I am wanting to apply to, and here's the problem... one program recomends we re-take courses in which we recieved a grade less than an "A" (and does not accept any grade lower than a "B" in the pre-reqs), while another program warns applicants that it looks unfavorably at course retakes. I also have a few "W" grades and a "D" in a chemistry course where I only took the first and last exams.... Yes, I have been flaky in the past. What should I do? Should I forge ahead and retake the classes I screwed up? I feel like I have lost my chance to try to get in to nursing school because I wasn't really sure of what I wanted to do career-wise. Any adivce or words of encouragement are appreciated!