l0k33_RN

ugh - sorry you have to go through that. At 1st glance, I would guess your husband may be feeling threatened/neglected himself? We all know that attending classes for nursing, and applying yourself, takes a lot of time; however, it is very much worthwhile and you are entitled to it! Were it me, I would sit down and have a very candid, non-confrontational talk with him. Lay-out what the next few years of studying/clinicals will be like for you, and stress how important becoming an RN is for you. It is obvious from your post that your family is of the utmost importance as well, and I would hope your husband realizes that when he is not feeling insecure/spiteful towards your ambitions. If you two can discuss these things rationally, it comes down to him having to accept, and support, your goals. What I did when I was thinking of starting back to school for nursing was to have a long, frank discussion with my wife about the demands school would place on my time for the next 3.5 years (2nd Bachelor's, 1st was English, so had a good chunk of math/science to wade through to even get to the nursing core prerequisites). She thought about it, and resolved to be supportive of what we both agreed was a worthwhile goal. That is not to say that we do not "butt heads" occasionally about how much time I put in on my studies (gotta keep that 4.0 ), but I make a concerted effort to schedule time with her as often as I can. Communication is key, obviously, and reinforcing things that you already perform for the family/your child should serve to nudge his recognition, and appreciation, of the actions and responsibilities you undertake just for them. As I noted earlier, though, he has to reconcile himself to being supportive of your goals, and that will mean having to be your partner in your endeavor, and stepping-in to help out when you have to be hitting the books for the good grades you need. Good luck!

I imagine it is a case-by-case basis, in terms of which programs accept/deny which online classes. Were it me, I would double check with the program I was planning to transfer to, however.

Medical school here. I am a 2nd Bachelor's candidate, and, with my 1st Bachelor's in English, I have had to take a lot of math/science courses on the way to satisfying the nursing core. I have enjoyed the heck out of all of it as well! At some point along the way, I started researching med-school requirements, and have subsequently been squeezing in physics, more chemistry, and math classes. With an ABSN program netting me a spot at an NCLEX test within ~24 months, this is still my first choice, to be sure. However, if programs are too impacted, closed (CA resident, so lots of transfer level programs closing ATM), or whatever, then I will continue to plug away at medical school prerequisites while working on getting experience in hospital settings.

http://edukan.org/index.real?action=welcome A consortium of community colleges that are accredited that also offer online A&P courses (I and II) as well as other nursing core classes. Make sure and confirm with the program(s) you are looking to apply to that they accept online courses for credit, however. I know the CSU ABSN program I am applying to does not, despite the regional body accreditation of the community colleges. Good luck!

Get the texts early and study. At this level, the chemistry is foundational, and with some time and effort, you can self-educate pretty easily. Cross-reference the end-of-chapter guides in your micro text with the concepts you'll need to be familiar with in your chemistry text, and design a study plan from there. Most of the chemistry knowledge utilized in intro-level micro courses is broad-concept level stuff, anyhow: I doubt you will be calculating pH levels or drawing, balancing, and identifying complex chemical reactions for your micro. course (the idea about getting a syllabus early is a great one). Good luck!

Are your nursing prerequisites complete within the last seven years? This is typically the maximum threshold for BSN programs. Also, application for these programs is both lengthy and impacted, usually - not something, unfortunately, one can decide to jump into w/in a semester (unless you go with a for-profit institution - be wary of accreditation if you go that route). Given the options you present, I would go the student loan/BSN route, if you already have all the prerequisites satisfied. P.S. Azusa is the one, local school I have found that offers an EMSN NP program... 3-4 years in length, and it is a private institution (not where I graduated from, though)

AA or ABSN - the EMSN programs typically offer a Clinician, Adult Acute Care MSN. While this is fantastic if you are one of the lucky few who, never having done any nursing, knows this is the path you want to follow, for the rest, some experience is recommended prior to choosing an advanced degree specialty. AA to BSN to MSN, on your (prospective) employer's dime is the most economical way to go, if the notion of being in debt with student loans is overwhelming. However, if you are OK with the commitment of student loans, then ABSN = a better position than possessing an AA, and that much closer to an advanced degree.

The Entry-level MSN programs offer you the advantage of possessing, well, a Master's. However, they are longer than the ABSN programs. If you intend to go on to CRNA, then you will need a minimum of 1 year of ICU experience. CRNA is a separate Master's as well. My feeling is, given your goals, ABSN>EMSN, purely in terms of time invested and how soon you will be able to get out there and start nursing - to even see if CRNA or NP is where your passion lies.

An RN is earned after passing the NCLEX exam - you are eligible to sit for the exam with any of the following: a diploma earned via a hospital-based program, an AA, or a BSN. As far as where you are ATM and where you want to go, CIO is a lofty goal - may want to identify some markers along the way to achieve. A 2.6 won't cut it, probably: most post-grad programs expect a minimum of 3.0 in previous course work, and "A's" in nursing/science classes. You will need a MSN, NP (focus) in order to sit for the NP exam. Nursing education is rapidly evolving - do some research and see if you can identify programs in your area that may allow you to utilize your previous undergraduate degrees in order to segue into a MSN/NP degree. I know of at least one, accredited, university in SoCal (where I live) that offers such a program. As noted, however, you will most likely need to work on your GPA in your last 60 units completed, with an eye towards a 4.0. Good luck!

With the application deadline for spring, 2011 past, I am wondering about potential news from the university to those that are applying?. I have my application in for the cohort, and have everything done except A&P II, which will be IP this fall (completed prior to admission). I am guessing I will be at ~42 points, with the big variable being how many qualified applicants, with everything already completed (nothing IP), are applying to the same cohort. (link to point system for CSUSM ABSN: http://www.csusm.edu/el/degreeprograms/absn/ABSNProgramAssignedPointsCriteria.pdf ) As far as the poster commenting on the chaotic/disorganized nature of the ABSN, I will echo the sentiments someone already expressed, those being the program is still new and working out the "kinks". That said, a fantastic indicator of a program's quality, new or otherwise, is the NCLEX pass-rate for the school, found here: http://www.rn.ca.gov/schools/passrates.shtml CSUSM posts a 95.35% pass-rate, placing it in the top tier of schools in CA. However, the data for CSUSM does not differentiate between BSN and ABSN, making it unclear if the data is accurate for the ABSN program. I noticed a post earlier in this thread indicated that 33 points was the minimum the program was looking for - wondering if anyone else can verify/update this observation? Obviously, as the program gets more popular, that number will climb upward. Here's to hoping for good news for spring 2011! :)

LOL! "hundreds of thousands, every year"? California graduated 9,580 in total, in 2008. Considering CA is the most populous state in the union by far, you have a loooong way to go to justify such a wild claim. source: http://www.dailybreeze.com/ci_15189410 (California Institute for Nursing and Health Care cited) Research is your friend: http://www.aacn.nche.edu/media/factsheets/nursingshortage.htm - lots of fantastic data therein, directly addressing the nursing "situation" America is in. Bitter much? The facts can be found in the preceding link, but the bottom line is that there is both a shortage *and* a recession - thus, current nurses get overworked and new ones, though needed, cannot be hired due to budget constraints in lots of areas. However, even the OP's reference cites job openings for those willing to relocate, in addition to the AACN link I posted offering the same observation. Current nursing employment opportunities are not all peaches-and-cream, as some would like, but nor are they doom-and-gloom, as apparently some others would like.

I ran into this same issue, first when I decided to go back to school for a BSN, as a returning student at my local community college, and later, when said community college decided to start bumping students with 80+ credits (this is my second Bachelor's) to the end of the queue for registration. Luckily, I was able to get all the classes I needed, sequentially (~54 units), with 1 trick: - when you go to register online, and the classes you want are full, there are often RSS feeds for the registration sites - that is, you can "subscribe" to RSS updates for certain classes that you are "watching". If this is the case for you, set up the RSS feed and watch it like a hawk. Heck, I checked every 15 minutes for several days, via the computer at home, and via my handheld when away from home. Even if there is not an option for RSS updates, then keep checking the class status as often as possible. There are almost always a handful of people that will change their schedule and/or drop the class(es) you need - the trick is to be right there, online, when they do, or soon enough after to snag the seat. Failing that, here is a link to all the community colleges in SoCal: http://www.cccco.edu/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=1MLZTbFko6s%3d&tabid=829&mid=2528 As others have suggested, register at as many as you think are within a tolerable distance to commute, and watch their class schedules. Many community colleges run honors programs, in addition to hardship programs. I imagine most are familiar with what one needs to qualify for most honors organizations: GPA, sufficient load of classes, etc. For the hardship programs (usually designed to encourage those who would otherwise not attend college to do so), some colleges have a wide breadth of what they consider a "hardship" - I have seen "1st generation college student" listed as a hardship, among other criteria that are rather unusual. The upshot is, as a member of either of these programs, typically, students are able to register *before* regular registration begins! Granted, not all community colleges have these programs, but, if the ones around you do, research what hoops you need to jump through, and get in there. Even taking some "fluff" classes the 1st semester to get your foot in the door, so as to access these programs (and others like them), would be to your benefit. I know the whole process of trying to register for your prerequisites is stressful, and can be disheartening, most of all in California right now. Keep at it, and make sure and explore your options - research is your friend, especially when coupled with a mentality of doing your best to flow *around* obstacles in your path, rather than be blocked by them :) Good luck!

Your 3.64 is solid. What will really help you for nursing school applications is to do your utmost to get all "A's" in the nursing core pre-req's as well as shoot for as close to a 4.0 in you last 60 units completed (I imagine you have ~30 to 40 units remaining in your current BA). Your TEAS score also carries a good amount of weight with many schools, so aim to score as high as possible on that (try and take it when you feel you have a solid foundation in biological science/life science/math/English/reading - basically, have at least half of the nursing pre-req's completed, or their equivalent, with an "A" prior to taking the test). If you can carry a 3.64 cumulative, 4.0 in your last 60, 4.0 in the nursing core, and a 90%+ on the TEAS into an ABSN application, I am guessing you will be gtg at the vast majority of programs.

Check out the following link for contact information for CSUSM ABSN: http://www.csusm.edu/el/degreeprograms/absn/contactus.html As for what type of nursing I want to do, I am hoping to segue straight into the ICU and get a year there, then on to more school for a Master's in anesthesia. That is the plan, anyhow

great thread - made me laugh IRL (in a good way ) With Anatomy, Biochem, and Intermediate Algebra courses for me this semester, I constantly feel like I am just keeping my head above water with all the work. To the poster that mentioned they feel guilty if they are not hitting the books 24/7, I sooo feel you on that! We can all do this though - just think of all those that have gone before, having done the exact same thing as we are now. That always helps me when I start to feel overwhelmed: if they can all do it, so can I :) Keep pluggin' away!