jymom

Thanks for your reply! Just a few questions - did you take online courses, and if so, did you place your child in someone else's care? How many hours of clinicals is it a week? It's amazing that you can still squeeze in a few hours of studying after the kids go to bed... I wonder if I'll be able to find the motivation and drive to do so...

I don't understand why the idea of becoming a physician after getting experience in nursing is so objectionable to people. It seems that some of the frustrations nurses find with physicians have to do with the lack of understanding and appreciation they may have for the nursing role. So then, if a student is willing to go through the grueling training of becoming a nurse, work in the field for a few years and gain valuable experience/understanding of what it takes to take care of a patient minute by minute, wouldn't that experience make the person that much better of a physician? To me, physicians and nurses work as part of a team to care for each patient, and I just feel that the more a doctor can understand the nursing role, the better coordination/communication there will be. I say, if you can handle the training and work of both nursing school and med school, then more power to you! BTW, with regards to egos... I'd say in reading some of the responses that this thread was not without its share of egos.

Wow... I'm new to the forum, and honestly, after reading this thread, I can see how others who are newer to nursing would be reluctant to ask honest, valid questions w/o being flamed. The OP mentioned that she did not mean to offend - and maybe she didn't word things the exact way that you'd like to see them and maybe she has different aspirations or ideas about the medical field, but there were some nasty responses to her post! These are coming from the "nursing" community, where folks are supposed to be helpful, compassionate and nurturing? It sounds to me that some of you are a bit too defensive about your profession.

Hello, I'm new to this forum and need some advice from students with young families and how they make it all work! I recently started thinking about getting a BSN as a second degree. I already have a degree in Biology and an MPH, but I feel that having a clinical degree would add a lot to my career options... and would allow me to work directly with patients, which I feel would make my work so much more rewarding. Being in Houston, I'm looking at UT Houston's accelerated BSN program, b/c they offer online courses and allow you to finish in 12 months. That being said, I can imagine (and have read) how stressful that type of program can be with everything crammed in! I'm looking to apply maybe next year to start the following year (if I can get in, of course), when my oldest starts Kindgarten... but am feeling conflicted b/c I will still have a little one at home. For those of you in the accelerated BSN program (or any nursing pgm, for that matter), how do you do it? Do you just have to sacrifice time with your family to make it? What types of hours do you put in to take classes/study a week? How many hours of clinicals do you have to spend on campus for the accelerated BSN? Can it be done as a p/t program? I'm 34, and just not sure if I want to wait another 6 years before I go back to school... but feeling that it'll be too stressful on the family if I start now. Sorry for the novel... but I appreciate any advice!