veggiemom

Thanks for that schedule. That really helps. What program are you in?

Are you saying it is BETTER to enter in the winter so you get that extra semester?

Thanks for the responses. I get the feeling that DePaul's program is very good from the posts I've read. What are the approximate hours? As in, is it a 40 hours a week 9-5 type thing? I'm also looking into the possibility of just doing a BSN program first (looking at Lewis since that's nights and weekends which would make child care a bit easier). Are there any major advantages of doing a GEP program? Should I have hospital experience before applying to a GEP program? Do you generally take out private loans to pay for the remainder of the tuition? It seems that the programs are all pretty expensive and federal loans don't totally cover the tuition.

I've been looking into the GEP programs in the Chicago area. I'm a bit confused because I was first looking into the program at UIC and it says the FIRST part of the program takes 15 months, the master's portion takes another 2-4 years beyond that. However, the Rush site, though it doesn't give as much info, seems to say you complete the entire MSN in less than 2 years. Is that true? When you graduate, are you a Nurse Practitioner in a specialty (Family practice, pediatrics, mental health, etc)??? Same with DePaul, the entire program is less than 2 years... Are the programs at DePaul and Rush just different from the program at UIC? Also, I did pretty well in undergrad, but I haven't done much since graduating a couple years ago (I have a young daughter and I've been mostly home with her). Do they generally only accept people who have lots of clinical experience? Last, what are the approximate hours of these programs. UIC says it's about 30 hours a week for the "full time" portion. Rush and DePaul don't say. And are the hours pretty much scattered (as in some nights, some weekends, some days)? Do you have a regular schedule week-to-week? Just trying to figure out the child care end of it. Thanks in advance

I should go through and figure out a timeline of when I would be able to do certain educational programs. That would be helpful. The point of becoming a NP instead of a psychiatrist is so I could do the schooling part-time and be home with my daughter (and future kids). Isn't psychiatric nursing a bit more laid back with hours, too?

I'm trying to decide if this is the right field for me. Right now, I'm just finishing up my BA. It's basically a general studies BA, but I took a lot of psychology, chemistry, biology, and nutrition. Those are my main interests. I'm also interested in holistic alternative medicine and using diet and nutrition to help one's mental health. I thought of going to medical school and becoming a psychiatrist, but now I'm a mother and I'd like to do something that I could do on a part time basis until I'm done having children and they're older. I'm sort of interested in research, but it seems like a lot of the research in physiological psychology is done on lab rats. If I ever did research, I'd rather it be with people. I'm primarily interested in clinical work. I want to help people who are overcoming mental illness, I want to be able to talk to them (not in and out, "yep we'll keep you at x mgs of prozac and see you in 6 months" sort of thing like some psychiatrists), assess their physical health (through blood work, physical exams, etc), help them nutritionally, suggest alternative therapies and if necessary, monitor medications. I'm saying this with little knowledge since I've never done any clinical work, but when I picture myself in a career, that is what I want to be doing. Maybe even focus on adolescents with depression, OCD, anxiety, eating disorders... something like that? Hospital, treatment facility, or private practice, not sure which. I just want to be able to look at the whole person and not just the nutrition or the medication or the talk therapy or physical health. Is that basically what a psychiatric nurse practitioner would do? Would it help to have degrees in other things first, like psychology and nutrition? I have out the careers in nursing, health care, nutrition, chemistry, and psychology books out from our local library all at once. You could say this has been on my mind a lot lately And sorry if this is the wrong place for this question!

Me! I guess I'm sort of pre-pre-nursing, though. I have a 22-month-old daughter who I'm at home with full time and we want more :) My husband is a 4th year vet student and I'm taking 1 class online and will be completing my BA this winter. I'm hoping to take my remaining pre-nursing courses and figure out what kind of nursing program I'd like to do (BSN or ASN... preferably part-time), so that's where I am right now.

I'm new to allnurses.com, but I'm in the very early stages of trying to figure out how to get to nursing school. So here's my question: This winter, I'll be graduating with my BA (pretty much a general studies degree, though I took a good amount of science and psychology). I've decided that nursing school would be right for me, but I have a young daughter (not quite 2) and my husband and I want more kids, so I would like to go on a part time basis to avoid day care. We live close to MSU, but it seems that they only have an intensive accelerated second degree program. What other options do I have? Should I do a part time program through a community college? Is it really important to have a BSN as opposed to a BA and RN if you're planning on going on to a MSN program later? Thanks in advance!