coopermke

I agree with Cerriwin, I feel like I read A LOT of... "Nursing school is impossible, you have to devote your life to it, etc". I am a final semester student, graduating with my BSN in December. I work 20 hours a week at a hospital as a Nurse Extern, and have worked that amount (or more) throughout nursing school. I am engaged (no kids) and I maintain a very active social life, I take time for myself, and I study for NCLEX. This is all on top of 16 hours of clinical precepting each week and 7 hours of class once a week. What I have found is that nursing school FORCES you to maintain a busy schedule, there really is no way around it. HOWEVER, this does not mean that all you will ever have time for is school. It really gets to me because I had teachers tell me I had to quit my job or I'd never make it... and things like that are clearly not reasonable for independent adults putting themselves through college. As long as you can prioritize, you will be fine! Also, courses throughout your core part of the program (pharm, med/surg, etc.) will absolutely be more difficult than A&P... in my opinion anybody can learn the A&P content and pass the class.... core nursing classes are not the same, and for some it takes more work than others. With that being said, as long as you put in the effort and manage your schedule to allow time for school... you should be just fine! Take time for things you enjoy... it is important to remember that you have a life outside of nursing school! and take it from me... it is not the horror experience some people make it out to be at all.... I managed to plan my wedding, land my dream job in the ICU and enjoy some great times with friends/vacations/etc. through it all! You can do it -- get a nice, big planner and hit the ground running!

Have you considered making flash cards? I see that someone else mentioned this and I know that for Med Surg flash cards were very helpful! Break the cards down by section for each test, for example Cardiac ... labs, procedures, ECG, etc. and go over them a lot. You learn by writing them out the first time and again by quizzing yourself. It also makes it easy to study with others if you have your cards on you and you can reinforce again by going over concepts with classmates! You can do it.... the final Med Surg content is daunting, but you'll get there, just take it on in chunks so you don't get overwhelmed! Good Luck!

Volunteering is a great idea to supplement your time in nursing school for one HUGE reason... NETWORKING! As a volunteer you will have minimal patient interaction, and it will not be in a "nursing capacity" so you will not gain any "skills" in the medical sense. However, you will work closely with nurses, administrators, and staff throughout the hospital---people who you can build a relationship with who will hopefully offer you advice, their expertise, and maybe help you get a job down the road. This is also something to list on your resume, and in the competitive market- it cant hurt! Definitely recommend this idea.... it will secure your career choice, offer you access to people who can help you throughout nursing school and beyond, and make you feel good to help others!

I would definitely not go the CNA route if your program does not require it and you do not plan to work in this capacity. Experience as a CNA will really not give you much of an edge in nursing school, and simply taking the CNA class without even being employed as a CNA will offer even less of an edge. The skills that are learned throughout an entire ($700+!!) CNA course are taught over the span of one week at my school, in other words, they are minimally important. Of course, the skills a CNA offers are beneficial to the patient, but they simply do not overlap with the content of nursing school on very many levels. I would go the RN route, especially if the two choices are offered through the same school (so the requirements for admission are the same). I think that for long term security, it makes more sense to put in the extra time to become an RN because you give yourself the option of advanced practice down the road and can be flexible with specializing if you so choose. I know that may seem far away, but someday you might be very glad you left yourself those options. Also, getting a job in a hospital CAN (not in all cases) be easier as an RN because that is slowly becoming the standard. I know you may hear horror stories about balancing work, family, school, clinical, homework ...etc etc. and they are somewhat true, nursing school is not easy by any means. HOWEVER, in my opinion many people over dramatize this fact. I got to school (4 yr BSN program at a private college) with many mothers who have young children (many of them single moms) and they are very successful in their classes. Dont let people scare you off... it is very do-able. I was terrified when I started school because of the stories I have heard, but I have found that with organization and effort nursing school is not the crazy, impossible feat that many make it out to be. It just takes hard work and intelligence! :) good luck!

Whether or not you need to have chem with a lab is totally dependent on the school that you are applying to. I know that my school requires a lab with chemistry, so high school chem would not fulfill this requirement. Usually a chem + lab course would be around 4 credits (3 for the class and 1 for the lab) so if you can look on your school's website to check the number of credits the required chem course that they offer is, this may help. My guess would be, however, that you will have to take chem with lab at college. High school chemistry may not properly prepare you for future nursing courses (especially without a lab) so even though it is a bummer, you will probably be better off taking the college chem class in the long run (you will have a better understanding and achieve a better grade in your nursing courses) ... good luck! :)

I would sell it! The odds are the book will get you a decent amount back and you already did so well in A&P ... my thought on A&P is that it either comes easy to you or it doesn't, clearly it comes to you so I wouldn't worry too much. Plus your patho book will have a refresher (as well many of you nursing school textbooks). If you ever get really stuck you can use other students, the library, or the internet as resources!

I think the idea of enrolling in a CNA class is a great idea... as far as getting yourself some exposure to the medical field goes. With that said, it is important to realize that what a CNA does and what a nurse does (and the scope of care they each provide) are VERY VERY different. If you are employed as a CNA it is most often in a nursing home, rather than a hospital, and you will have found a job that can be incredibly fulfilling and a great part-time job to have through nursing school...but you will most likely not see much of what the type of nurses you describe acutally do. If you are lucky enough to get a CNA position on an L&D floor (which you described as your ideal spot) then it would be a perfect situation, the odds are just very unlikely. Working around sick people does allow you to build up a great immunity to many illnesses, since starting nursing school and my job I have gotten sick SO much less... so I wouldn't worry too much about that. Again, with a CNA you will not have any experience with needles. This is something you wont have experience with until your clinical skills class and clinical rotations. I had a fear of "getting shots" too... not of needles, it is important to remember that the receiving end of a shot is not pleasant for anyone, even nurses. But even this fear has passed as I spend more time working with needles, you come to realize its really not a big deal. So I agree with kbucksn, get into the field in some capacity... getting your CNA will only benefit you if you choose to enter nursing school and the classes are only a few hundred dollars at your local community college. This will test your "squeemish-ness", trust me! Just keep in mind that as a nurse you will have far greater responsibilities and in my opinion you will enjoy the RN work a lot more than the CNA work. Good Luck!