CyberVulpine

The best thing you can do is talk to an advisor for the college. Nursing school was a decision that I made later in life, and did not have the greatest grades. I made an appointment, discussed what I wanted to do, followed their advice, and was accepted first time into the program.

As many others have already stated, it is not so much me as my family that identifies me as a student nurse. I have asked many times for them not to do this, but it always seems to come out. There was only one time that I came out and told this to someone, and it was more to give a chewing out then anything else, though I believe that the scrubs I was wearing at the time with the nursing student badge was a bit of a giveaway (raced to the hospital after clinical for a family emergency)

Every experience is different, however maybe sharing mine will help you. Until recently I was a computer programmer, I had thought about going back to school for about three years to become an RN. My family is for the most part a medical family, and I had discussed my desire with them. Whenever I brought up the idea, the only response that I would get from my family is how difficult the medical field is. They would tell me about the long shifts, the mandatory overtime, the short staffing, and all of the negative aspects not only of being a nurse, but working in any health care field. It did discourage me from entering the field, however I kept looking into it and finding all I could from others. Almost two years ago I decided that despite what my family told me I was going to do it, for I knew it was something that I wanted to do. So on my own I researched schools and found one that I liked. I talked with my SO about this, and to my surprise his family told me that if I was going to go to school, we were welcome to move in with them rent free until I finished. I made plans to pay for school, gave my employer notice (they even thought it would be a great move for me) and prepared for my move. After all of this I finally told my family, and they asked me to come over one evening to talk with me. I agreed to, even though I knew it was probably going to be an evening of them telling me it was a bad idea and that I should forget it and stay with my employer. Well, I could not have been more wrong, instead of trying to persuade me to give up, it was the opposite. Almost my entire family showed up for that dinner and they told me how proud they were for choosing this career, and they knew that it was the right move for me. To say I was shocked was an understatement. I even said so much, and asked them why they tried to talk me out of it if they thought it was such a great idea for me. The answer surprised me and I will always remember it. "Nursing school and nursing will take commitment. If you could not choose this profession with others saying it was a bad idea, you were not ready to be a nurse. You needed to find out that you wanted to do it for yourself." Since that day my entire family has been supportive, they have helped me out in many ways, and offered encouragement that means so much to me now.

Thank you everyone for the advice, I am sure that it will be helpful to remember. To Sparky99, My orientation first started with the introduction to the nursing program. Explained everything from uniform requirements, to books, to testing strategies. They also went over things that we had to have done before the first day of class (CPR class, proof of health insurance, etc...). The rest of the time we spent on team building exercises, and they kept telling us that the competition is over and we need to work as team from now on. Thanks again everyone, Cyber

One of the best things I can recommend, if you have a little free time, is to pick up a math book from your local library. Flip through it at the library and find one that has math that seems familiar. Start by taking the end of section, or end of chapter test for each section. See what you got right and what you did not. Now here is the most important part, do not grade it, just see what you got wrong. Use the questions you got wrong to see what areas you need to review. You might be surprised at what you remember once you start doing some of the problems again. If you get stuck on something, do not be afraid to ask. You have children, depending on their ages they might be going over some of this in school right now. Think of the fun they might have getting to show off what they know to you. Hope this helps and congratulations on deciding to further your education :yelclap: CyberVulpine

The biggest thing to remember with statistics is that most of your work will be word problems. I actually enjoyed this math class since most of the questions I had involved figuring out exactly what the question was asking for.

I finished my orientation a few days ago, and I start my nursing classes in less than 2 months. During orientation, there was one question that popped in my head and I figured I would ask it here. What is the one thing you wish someone told you before you started nursing school? Thanks, CyberVulpine

Thank you every one. I can not wait to start, though I am a little nervous. My GPA was 3.7 due to getting a B in english, and a B in A&P II, though I do not know what the cutoff was. I do know that last semester someone got in with a 3.2. Sorry I do not know more than that. Thanks again for all the well wishes, Cyber

Just got my letter today from HCC, and I am in for the fall program. Good luck for all of you still waiting, and I hope you get your letters soon. Now it is time for me to panic and try to get ahead on all of the reading.

Hmm, I am thinking it is a federal job, and a question that should be asked that everyone does. Would it be which patient is it?