LindsayLu

I live in North Dakota, and there are a lot of nursing jobs open here. I don't know whether the hospitals have a preference for experience, but with so many job postings and such low unemployment, I imagine they aren't as picky as places that have to sift through droves of applicants.

Chemistry classes at the university where I live are that expensive. When I found that out, I was determined to take it at a community college. Unfortunately, the university (where I may apply for nursing school) doesn't accept chemistry from the community college. So, I'm taking it online through another community college that's a few hours away. Not the ideal situation, but it's hard for me to justify spending that much money on a course. So, at the community colleges around here, it's $175 per credit. One of them charges $200 per credit if it's online, and the other just charges normal amount.

North Dakota has jobs. Some of them are in rural areas, but there are also cities with hospitals that don't seem to require years of experience (at least, that's how the postings read).

A friend of mine is in the Peace Corps in an African country. She's completing a health education project and helps a lot with HIV testing drives and educating people in her village about healthy habits. She's actually sort of helped with some clinic-type stuff because there's not much of a staff there (she's not a nurse or anything). I'm not sure if there are positions for actual nursing, but there are definitely health-related positions, and I'm sure they could use your insight as a nurse.

I work in journalism right now, and if I complete my goal of becoming a nurse, I'd probably be making twice what I do now. (Not to mention more than what I'd ever make if I stayed in this job.) As a single person, my current wages are enough to get by and even save some money. So, I think a nurse's pay would seem like a lot to me. I suppose it's all relative and depends on your expenses. Though I will say that nurses are underpaid when you take into consideration the hard work that they do and the knowledge and skills it requires.

Louisiana State University includes anatomy and physiology. In fact, most of the time if you take it beforehand, they won't give you credit. They use cadavers and assume that any A&P course you'd have taken beforehand wouldn't be as good. And they're pretty cheap whether you're in-state or out-of-state.

Even though online courses don't require you to be sitting in a classroom at a specific time, there's still guidance from the instructor and feedback from other students. I've taken some online classes before, and I've always been able to contact the instructor with questions and they've given feedback on assignments. Some of them had discussion boards where students could talk about what we were learning. Of course, not every online course is set up the same. So, you should probably learn more about the format of the ones you're interested in. Online courses CAN be harder if you're a better classroom learner, but they aren't impossible and you're not on you're own. You just have to be motivated and determined to learn!

I'm not in nursing school yet, but just volunteering in a hospital has helped me. I used to be kind of nervous just being in a doctor's office, but I'm used to the medical atmosphere now. I had to stay overnight once at the hospital I volunteer at, and it was nice to already know how everything works there and understand the things nurses said or did.

I'm sorry to hear that you weren't accepted. It must be very disappointing. There are usually a lot more applicants than slots to fill in nursing school, so it's very competitive. So, it's often not enough to meet the minimum requirements. I'd suggest contacting the school and finding out why you weren't accepted and how they'd suggest strengthening your application.

That's a lot of debt to have, especially when it can be avoided. And waiting two years seems a little unnecessary, and disappointing, I'm sure. Since you're young and single, I'd consider looking at other state schools in Florida (or community colleges outside your area, depending on which you want to attend). You may have to move, but it'd be a lot cheaper and you'd probably be able to get in sooner.

I don't think having a biology minor will help much beyond aiding you in getting your prerequisites done. Med school doesn't look down on other majors. Some of my former classmates who were applying to med school were actually told that their other majors (journalism, anthropology, etc.) made them look more well-rounded. So, as long as you take the courses required for admission, I think it's up to you. Plus, having the minor doesn't mean much more than having the specific courses. So, maybe it would be less overwhelming for you if you just took a couple of extra bio courses (depending on your interests and future plans) instead of committing to the actual minor. As for choosing a career, some more research might be useful. Though some of the jobs (NP, PA, MD) seem similar, there are specific differences. Think about what you want out of a job and weigh your priorities (hours, patient contact, education, etc.).

The health system where I live has a clinic where some of the specialties are based, including family medicine and ob/gyn. It's on the same campus as the hospital, but they are run much like a doctor's office with business-type hours. There are also other facilities in the system, such as a dermatology clinic, etc. Your area may not have something exactly like this, but if you look at a hospital's job postings, you may find that there are certain departments within that offer the sort of job you're looking for.

Everyone has a right to keep private what they want to keep private. I think you have to weigh your priorities. I'm sure that your co-workers would respect a kind response that you'd like to keep that information to yourself, but a lot of people don't think of marital status or kids as being all that private, so they might not understand. I personally would be willing to answer a couple of questions in return for amiable relationships with my co-workers. :) I think when you're new, people will inquire about your life no matter what. But as you work there longer, and don't volunteer personal information, they'll learn that you're a more private person. It might draw less attention to answer a couple of questions now and let your personal life settle to the background, than to make people wonder.

I know exactly how you feel. I work full time, also, and have been trying to plan my prereqs. Like you said, I know I have plenty of time, but I want to know that I'll be able to take them at some point instead of worrying about it. I'd also suggest seeing if you can shift your hours a little bit so you can leave early. I'm not sure what sort of job you have, but maybe you could go in earlier on those days. I'm lucky in that I work in the afternoon and evening, so I can make morning classes. Unfortunately, the schools around here have certain classes that are offered only in the afternoons or have exams at night. For me, I'm taking the ones I can in the mornings (some at the university, and some at the community college) and taking the rest online. Some of them will be difficult to take online, but I'm not planning on quitting my job until I get into nursing school. I need to save up money, and it's the best way for me to do it.

You've gotten so far! If nursing is what you want, then I think you should go for retaking the class (maybe with someone else). I think it'll be good for your kids to see their mom going for something she wants and succeeding. When I was a teenager, I liked spending time with my parents, but I was also glad that they had plenty of other responsibilities. You may find that when your kids get a little older, it's harder to find free time in their schedules than it is yours! :)