PhillyQuaker

Like other posters, I graduated with a non-nursing degree, worked in a non-medical field for a while, then realized I wanted to be a nurse and took the required pre-requisites. I was accepted to a program and begin in September. My lack of previous healthcare experience (all my experience has been as a patient!) didn't seem to be a barrier. The admissions person who interviewed me wanted to be sure that I had a reasonably accurate idea of what nursing entailed, that I had thought this through and was "going into it with my eyes open", and I am sure that healthcare experience would have helped. But it wasn't a pre-requisite. Before deciding to apply to nursing school, I talked with healthcare profesisonals about nursing and interviewed quite a few nurses (friends, friends of friends, and random nurses I met while taking others to healthcare appointments). That demonstration of research seemed to go over well. Good luck to you!

Congrats everyone! How are you all doing on the pre-matriculation requirements? I feel like I'm nearing the finish line. My security clearances are in, I've turned in all the medical stuff (except for my last HepB injection), and I just did my CPR training on Father's Day so I have my two-year card now. I'm really looking forward to starting in September!

The interview went great. I was accepted and have put down the deposit. I don't know anything about campus housing. I am local to Philly and live up in the Germantown/Mt Airy region (northwest corner of the city). My neighborhood borders up on Wissahickon park land and is green & lovely. There are two regional rail lines and a handful of bus options to get downtown on public transit, and driving downtown isn't too bad either: it's usually 25-40 minutes in rush hour and 15 or so when the roads are clear. If you have a car and want to live downtown near campus, be prepared for parking headaches/expense. I have lots of non-Jeff friends who live in West Philly, especially in neighborhood around Clark Park (which borders Baltimore Ave). Clark Park is pretty fabulous. South Philly has its own flavor and I have friends who absolutely love it. In my experience, it's not nearly as green (with mature trees -- or any trees) as neighborhoods in the Northwest and West Philly. However, it's walkable/bikeable to downtown, has small neighborhood parks, and good public transit, and those are all definite pluses!

Not yet, but my interview is in a week. Have you accepted?

Thanks everybody! This is a lot to think about, but I'm feeling really encouraged again. I was all revved up to apply and start in Fall 2010. Then I started this thread as I started getting cold feet. I definitely still want to switch from my current career to nursing, but I'm weighing the pace and timing. We really want to have a third child (and you just can't control the timing with adoption -- you get picked when you get picked), so I'm considering staying in my current job (which offers flexibility and parental leave benefits) for another year or two until we've finished expanding our family. I can keep chipping away at the pre-reqs/core courses. I'm so glad that I found this site. Thanks for all your thoughts and insights. Good luck!

I started out looking at accelerated programs and BSN programs. I would talk with teaching faculty and they would all tell me the same thing -- "you already have a bachelor's degree and you have two small kids (infant & 4 yo). Why don't you do the associate's program at CCP and then get your RN license?" The instructor at the Drexel ACE Program session flat out told me that ACE was a bad fit unless I had enough childcare (and household support) to be away from my kids 6 days per week, that at most I might have half a day per week (on the weekend) for family time. That level of intensity won't work for my family, even though my partner is incredibly supportive.

Hi -- I'm new to this board. I've read a lot of contradictory things about the nursing job market in Philly. For example, I gather that it's terrible and new grads can't find jobs (see recent article in Philadelphia Weekly: http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/news-and-opinion/cover-story/Recession-Diaries.html?page=2&comments=1&showAll=), that it's hard to find jobs and really depends on who you know, and that hospital jobs may be hard for new grads, but that you can always find a position with a nursing home. I also hear contradictory things about the necessity of having a BSN. I hear that most positions at magnet hospitals now require a BSN, but I've also heard that most hospitals care more about the bachelor's degree than about whether it is a bachelor's in nursing. I'm taking steps to switch from a fundraising career to nursing. I've been taking prerequisites and hope to start the 2-year associates program at CCP in Fall 2010. I already have a BA and an MA, both in History. I'm hoping to do the nursing program at CCP, get my RN license, and start working as a nurse. Is that just hopelessly naive? Rather than post this on the PA Nursing Programs board, I'm approaching you PA nurses who are already out there, working or looking for work. For new nurses with previous bachelor's degrees, how important is it to start out with the BSN? What's the scoop on the job prospects in the Philly area, now and two years out? My next big step (the irreversible one) will be to leave my current job this summer. In this climate, that's scary. But I can't juggle this job and nursing clinicals at the same time. Thanks for your thoughts. I'm all ears...