Jasmijn

Nearly all the job openings I came across said "BSN preferred" and some required it. I only found a few (out here in Southern California) that didn't explicitly state that. Some of my classmates enrolled in online BSN programs right after graduation so they can click the "BSN in progress / degree expected" field on the application and progress beyond that wall. The classmates who did get hired right after graduation were already working at their hospitals in another capacity. One classmate said the only ADNs in his New Grad program were those who, again, were already working there. Otherwise, those of us who have found jobs seem to have done so mostly at independent, and, often, smaller hospitals rather than the big chains (like CHW/Dignity). Good luck! It's not impossible but out here, at least, it's definitely a disadvantage.

Depends on the school. I know people at other schools that have done it or come close. At LA County College of Nursing, it can't be done. I talked with one of our instructors after graduating about this -- she told me, in all seriousness, "but nobody ever gets higher than a 3.5 in any nursing school!" and I couldn't get her to believe that people in other schools do. We all came in with at least near-4.0 on prerequisites (had to, to get the points to be admitted) but only 3 in our graduating class finished with a GPA of over 3.0. It does actually make a difference to some jobs: we found that some do ask for transcripts as part of the application process, and some New Grad programs (like Cedars) require at least a 3.5. And of course going on to BSN or MSN programs, that's an issue too. So if this is an overall concern to you, see if you can find out what the high/average GPA of previous classes was in the school you're considering. And keep that in mind as you progress.

The Reserve components (of all branches, I was told by a USNR nursing recruiter) will only accept a BSN. So if you're an ADN nurse (like me!) who had hopes of getting back into the reserve forces, you still have work to do. Keep in mind if you are prior service that your time served is deducted from the maximum age limit to a certain extent. The USNR recruiter, for instance, told met that without limit, while the USAF Reserves recruiter wrote that the max age limit will still be 47 regardless of any adjustment due to time served. OK, back to the job search boards... :/

Very nearly not!

What a great idea! I will, too :)

Not trying to scare you off but I repeat what others have said: County's program is hard. We're waiting to see if it's harder than it needs to be or whether we'll be grateful for what we've been through. Academically, most of us were A students or close to it when we got in (we had to be to get in!). Most are now just grateful to get a C and pass. (Unofficial motto: C=RN!) I'm not saying it's impossible to keep getting A's or even B's, just that it's a lot harder than it's been so far, even with nearly all multiple-choice tests. Even if you like to study on your own, plan to do at least some group study sessions. It really helps. Clinically, yes, we see and do things that apparently others don't. We start with one patient and finish doing total patient care for 4 or 5 patients. That includes charting as well as all interventions. The only thing we don't do by the end of our 4th sem med/surg rotation is take verbal orders and have access to Pyxis. I've heard of other schools only getting their seniors to 2 patients and that some don't do foleys, IV pushes, whatever. We do everything but give chemo, just about! There is no such thing as an "easy" patient at County: they all have multiple issues and comorbidities. You'll be dealing with isolation patients, patients with major psych issues (on the med/surg floor for medical reasons), AIDS and TB and other "big" illnesses, jail ward patients, burned patients, gunshot victims, amputees, babies, old people, dying patients, patients who can't speak English... Patients who can't afford preventative care or basic care and so don't come to the hospital until they're really very seriously ill. The first year is pretty nice. I loved first semester. Then it got harder and harder. This is not the kind of school where you feel you know it all and can coast by the time you're a senior: each semester has a learning curve, and you may still worry about being able to pass clinicals near the end of fourth. It's a real concern: some don't. You only get to withdraw from school once and fail one class; after that you're out of the program if you don't make it through the next try. You may do all your clinicals at LAC+USC hospital (except psych) or you may spend parts of it at Harbor-UCLA, Rancho Los Amigos, or Olive View. The experience is different at each b/c each one, although part of DHS, has different protocols and standards (for instance, they still don't all do electronic charting). First semester you'll do all 18 weeks in med/surg rotation. In second, you'll do half med/surg (usually on either the hematology/oncology floor or the more general one) and split the other half between OB and pediatrics. In third, you do half med/surg, half ambulatory care (i.e., clinics) and psych. In fourth, you do med/surg and ICU and OR (observation, mostly) and team leading. This is just a little more information about this one option you're considering. I haven't heard anyone say nursing school was easy for them, though, no matter where they went, so keep that in mind, too. Good luck, whereever you choose to go!

Our school has a unique design that we have just been able to resurrect and reorder for the current graduating class. I'll email you pictures :)

I'm with you, Raincitynurse! I don't think they should be required any more but for those who want to reflect the tradition of this proud career, it should be allowed. My mother worked as a coder in a hospital in the greater Los Angeles area until recently, and the nurses on one floor wear all whites with caps once a week because the response from the patients is so positive and it makes them feel proud to show that they are nurses, not NAs or techs or even janitorial staff in scrubs. (Ironic that people associated the cap w/ maids, btw, when now it's the lack of something like caps that makes us look just like the NAs and janitors in scrubs in many hospitals...) I'm one of about 50% of the women in our graduating class (in Los Angeles) who chose to order our school's unique caps to wear at our ceremony. I don't think any of us are planning to wear them on the floor once we start working as RNs, but we are all very proud to have them. BTW, one of the guys bought one, too, stripe and all! (for us, black velvet stripe along the brim means graduate nurse; short horizontal ones at the edges denoted what year you were in school, but the caps are optional now and nobody's worn one as a student in many years).

Out of the 33 women graduating in our class this month, 14 wanted caps. Our school has a unique design that students used to order through school. When it became optional in 1991, very few took the option although it is still in our handbook as part of the uniform female students may wear. We found institutional memory had lost the details of who made the caps but fortunately one of our alumna instructors had hers still and we found the company name and custom style number and were able to order some in time for graduation! We are very excited about this and plan to wear them during the ceremony. Given that nearly 50% of the current group of female graduates want them, perhaps we're not alone out there, eh?

Oh, I did forget to mention: GI Bill is paying for most of my nursing school expenses -- all the tuition, plus a stipend every month! Whoo hoo Check into that, as well. You're probably qualified to apply.

Definitely not too late! We have several people in my class of 48 or so who are over 40, and at least a third of the class is >30 y.o. They are doing just fine, and all of them have various reasons for coming to this later in life than the "kids" do. OK, so they (we!) can't pull all-nighters any more, but on the other hand after living as adults, we have better organizational skills and life experience that helps us. Also several of my classmates are male. They are confident, secure men who have no problem telling people with a straight face that they are going to nursing school. They know they will be in high demand when they graduate: perhaps one of the few fields where equal opportunity works in their favor I was an Army medic and civilian EMT (and academic and geek) before I even considered nursing. Your military background will help you both with planning and with that issue of dealing with authority -- "we" know to look at the position and not the person, which is handy in a hierarchical situation, not to mention wearing uniforms regularly! While I was an EMT, both the nurses (at hospitals and SNFs) and we EMTs were happy to find male nurses and CNAs on staff. Not only for the greater physical strength, but because the atmosphere is different, and many male patients are genuinely more comfortable and relaxed with a male nurse. What if you don't like it, you say? If you don't like the first job you get as a nurse, look for another. There is such a wide range of job options for nurses, from ERs to air evacs to teaching to offices to home health to clinic manager to ... well, you do a search and see for yourself. You're bound to find something you enjoy even if bedside care isn't for you. I say go for it.

4 days a week; 2 lecture & 2 clinical. All days start at 7 am, but end at different times. I'm told clinical days get longer each semester: now we get out at 1 pm, but 4th semester is there till 3:30. Nice not to have clinicals on evenings or weekends. Fridays are also off. BTW, they told us to plan 2.5 hours of study time for each hour of class. So far that seems about right.

I live in Los Angeles, not OC, so these may be inconveniently far for you. The 2 I applied to were the LA County College of Nursing and Mount St Mary's College Accelerated BSN. Here are their web sites: http://www.ladhs.org/wps/portal/CollegeOfNursing http://www.msmc.la.edu/admission/nursing-transfer-students/accelerated-bachelor-of-science-in-nursing.asp

I applied to two rather unusual programs and got into both on the first try this year. One has a point system based on the grades you earned in the core classes ONLY (so your grade in Anatomy counts; your overall GPA or your grade in geometry don't), plus your score on their math and English assessment tests. The other is an ABSN so they have a killer list of prereqs (42 units, I believe) and also weigh the entrance essay heavily, b/c they get so many straight-A applicants. All my grades for both programs' prereqs were straight As. My GPA for earlier classes wasn't 4.0, so overall I wasn't 4.0, but neither of the programs was too concerned about that. I decided not to apply for most of the nursing schools around here, because they have lotteries or wait lists, and most also require stats, which I don't have. What really helped me prepare was making a single spreadsheet with the prereqs and other highlights of all the programs I was considering applying to. This way I could see which ones I was already ready to apply to and which ones still needed more classes that I could take while I was waiting to hear back from the first lot. Also some programs had options for certain classes that overlapped with others: for instance, one program wanted chem. OR physics, and since chem. was a prereq for some other classes, I took that. If I'd taken physics, I'd still need one more class.

hey eric, just saw your question, so i'm posting an answer to your 2nd question in case you or anyone else surfing for it would like to know. (if you are still wondering about your first question, please post again and i'll answer; otherwise i'm assuming you've already learned more by now.) i just started here, and i had also applied to a (much more expensive) bsn program. got accepted to both, and i asked a former head nurse, who is also a nursing instructor in another state, how important it would be to get my bns right now instead of transitioning later. (there are a number of rn-bsn transition programs, as well as some absn ones if you already have a bachelor's degree in anything else.) this was her answer: "the adn is a perfectly great starting point. the foundation for both degrees is the same. the only significant difference is the bsn offers leadership/management and community health. it is really a good idea to work for a while with your adn and finish the bsn concurrently."