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I'm finishing up my B.S. degree and I'm going to have about a year off before I start my accelerated B.S.N. program and I'm trying to get a job in a hospital and having some trouble. I've been working as a patient attendant (sitter) for 2-3 years now and it's terribly boring and I have a long commute to the hospital I work at (UofMich). UofM doesn't really require any certifications for things like phlebotomy or PCT, they do most of the training on the job as far as I know. But all the hospitals where I live here in Lansing require various certs of those sort of things. The local community college offers some of these certs but none of the schedules really work for me and even if they did it's too late for this semester. I really need a job soon and I'm applying for retail jobs in the mean time but I dread retail/food service and I already know I'm going to be miserable working there. Is there anything I can do to fast-track into some sort of health job? (phlebotomy, PCT, EKG tech, pharmacy tech, etc.) Any online training certification that employers will actually recognize and offer me a job with?

Thanks for the reply, I'll get to the meat of it when I have more time to think about everything you said, but I just want to let it be known nursing school wasn't decided on a whim for me. It was my original career choice when I started out 5 years ago but I explored other areas and ended up choosing the pre-med route. I've been working at UofM hospital for 4 years now as a patient sitter working with a variety of pts, mainly suicidal, schizophrenic, or head trauma. So I've seen that side of patient care and I've seen some of the worst patients in the hospital. I've been spit at, cussed at, punched, threatened etc and I still think this is the career for me. I'm starting up as a PCT next month (friend got me the job) and I'll get to see that side of patient care and I'm guessing that will only further strengthen my desire to be a nurse.

Either way I will lose federal financial aid because right now I'm in my 10th semester and federal fin aid will only cover 12 semesters. Plus if I switch to a standard BSN I will be in school for another 3-4 years which I definately don't want, and can't handle.The thing that makes the most sense to me right now (logically) is to finish up this spring semester with my Human Bio major (since the nursing pre-reqs count as electives towards my degree anyway) which will leave me about 15 credits shy of that degree, and I should be ready to apply for the ADN program that will start fall 2009. I'll use up my last 2 semesters of federal fin aid and I should be an RN then. At that point I could go back and finish my Human Bio degree if I want, and probably do a ADN -> BSN bridge as well in the future if I need it. How does that sound? What a headache

So you're doing an associate's degree in nursing? That's another option I guess. I'm so confused now... I could put my bachelors on hold and get my ADN (14 months at lansing CC) and finish up the bachelors at a later date (even I even need it) and/or do a bridge program ADN -> RN. How much work is involved in that?

Ugh, but then I can't get accepted into the program w/o a Bachelors degree. There's just no way to win, is there?

This is good info as well. Maybe I'll take this summer off... That will leave me with about a semester's worth of classes that I could take (and pay for) once I get my BSN. I'll try to get it all sorted out soon, I'm going to call the nursing school tomorrow and see what can be done with my situation.

The main ones I'm missing are developmental psychology and nutrition, I'm taking both of those next semester. I have a feeling that I was going to sign up for a couple others in the summer but my desk is a mess and I can't find my little paper I jotted everything down on. And there's a few other things I have to clarify with the nursing school before I'm good to apply. For example one of the pre-req courses is a class called "Organic and Biochemistry" which I haven't taken, but I took a full year of organic chem and a full year of biochem when this year is over. :chuckle

Crap! I just realized that you're right! I guess I missed the fine print on that one... Wow thanks for the insight. I probably won't be working at McDonalds (lol!) but I will probably pick up more hours at my hospital job to work full time. I guess I'll just have to go full force with my nursing pre-reqs (I'm taking a few next semester and more in the summer) and do the best I can with the rest of my Human Bio classes. Or maybe I'll even drop my Human Bio classes and take them next fall or something because my brain could really use a break. I've basically been going non-stop for 5 years with full time schedules and summer classes (I lost a lot of credits transferring so it's always a struggle to stay on top of things.)We'll see... it's been interesting getting advice from you guys, it's been really helpful thanks. :)

whoops! i was thinking one thing and typing another, i meant months and i edited it accordingly.i think 90% of being burned out has to do with working so hard towards something that seems to have little effect on my future. the poster above's suggestions of taking a semester off might be a good idea for me. in that time i could work and also apply to a community college to bang out the rest of my pre-reqs with a good gpa, and do so for basically pennies on the dollar compared to what i'm paying at michigan state right now. i likely won't be ready for nursing school this upcoming fall anyway depending on how fast i can get into community college and get these pre-reqs done. i guess i could always go back to msu after i get my bsn to finish up the degree. thoughts?

I'm a 5th year senior Human Bio major with pre-med intentions and I decided this year that medical school isn't the path for me. I originally started out school as pre-nursing and after 5 years I've decided that a 16 month accelerated BSN program would be best for me. I just want to be done with school and start working. But here's my situation, I have about 30 credits left to take, about 20 of which are difficult science classes (biochem II, pharmacology, gross anatomy, eukaryotic cell biology, etc.) and about 10 electives which will be nursing school pre-reqs. The problem is I'm completely burned out on school and I absolutely hate my life right now. I have no interest in a lot of the classes I'm taking right now (biochem I, organic chem II, immunology, microbiology, etc most of which are 400-level) so it's getting to be a struggle to even get a passing grade. To make matters worse I've been putting things into perspective lately and the more I think about it, the less I think I'll need this bachelor's degree in Human Bio. The 16 month program I want to do gets me my BSN... so will having a second bachelor's benefit me in any way? If I do end up finishing this degree I'm just going to half-ass it because I don't have the energy anymore to force myself to study all these boring subjects. I already tanked my GPA this semester. What should I do?

Wow, I got more than I bargained for. I wanted advice on nursing and I got advice on life. Thanks for the kind words, Jim. What are you talking about, I've barely been here a week and I have 7 posts. I don't see how cliques have anything to do with this thread?

This is sort of an adendum to my previous thread. I've gotten a lot of new suggestions and I have a new set of questions that I think warrants a new thread. Here's the previous if you want to flip through it: https://allnurses.com/forums/f8/so-end-my-pre-med-career-i-m-thinking-switching-nursing-342952.html Cliffs: I'm a soon-to-be graduated Human Biology major with previous pre-med intentions but I've changed my mind for various reasons (primarily lifestyle... as in, I like to sleep and have a life, salary isn't that important.) I had my mind set on an accelerated RN program, but lots of allnurses.com'ers are trying to turn me on to PA school so I figured I'd give that a look. So here I am now... PA school doesn't really appeal to me that much. It's longer, more expensive, and in the end the salary isn't much better and you're still working under someone's supervision. Plus there isn't much room to branch out in your career. Nursing on the other hand... I could complete the program in 16 months for $18,000, it's a job I'd love doing, and there's tons of options to specialize. I'm most strongly considering doing CRNA, if that matters. I think over 10 years if you take cost and reimbursement into cosideration, CRNA and PA work out to be pretty much the same amount of money, but the big benefit of the RN is I'll be making full salary at 24-25 years old and I can work 3 days a week and get out there and live a little. :chuckle So I think the only issue is that if I do nursing, the last 5 years of college have been a complete waste. I'll have a degree in human biology that won't mean anything because I won't be doing anything with it and maybe that's why everyone's telling me to do PA school. Anyway, what are your thoughts?

For all those recommending the PA route, why choose that over something like NP or CRNA? My original plan when I first got to college was to do CRNA.. Also I'm at a stage in my life where I'm simply tired of being in debt... I can't work enough with my course load to stay ahead with bills, rent, car payments, CC debt, gas, etc. The only way I get by is with my student loan refunds and a little help from my folks. I just want to get done with school, pay off all of these credit cards, pay off the car, and start chipping away at student loans.

Dude I hear you about being burned out. I have 15 credits next semester and 11 I'm going to take care of during the summer (mostly gen eds to fulfill 120 credits required for graduation.) I honestly feel like up and quitting even though I'm so close. I still have another semester of biochemistry, eukaryotic cell biology, and one other hard class I'm forgetting about. I wish I was one of those people that knew exactly what they wanted to do straight out of highshool. I could be out by now and already working.I guess at least this way I can never be like "I wish I tried to be a doctor when I was still 22."

it might be easier to answer "where don't you see yourself in five years?" i definitely don't see myself working 80 hours a week for 3 more years before i can make enough money to put food on the table for a family. 5 years from now i'd like to be working and have a steady so that wants to travel with me and just have fun. i want vacation time to go up north, and to visit my family. i'm not saying you can't have a life as an md, but too many sacrifices have to be made for my tastes. and this might sound kind of silly to everyone here, but i really value sleep. i can stay awake for 24+ hours and frequently do studying for exams, but after that i need 10+ hours to recover. i can't see myself working 20 hours, sleeping for 4, waking up to a pager, and going back in for another 16-20 3 times a week. that's funny you and i are basically in the same position. i didnt' mean to come off as cocky bragging about my gpa. my grades didn't come easy, i've had adhd all my life and i've chosen not to take medication for it so it's been a constant struggle. i'm also the same as you... knowing i wanted to get into healthcare but not being quite sure what role i want to play. i started out going for my emt but switched to nursing, then pre-med, and now back to nursing. i think i'm best suited for nursing though... i've been working as a patient sitter for almost 3 years now and i love the level of patient interaction i get. :)there i go again with the long-winded reponse lol. :typing it's encouraging knowing there are others out there like me.