:)CoreyB

i will be returning to school next month. but, i have been in college previously. i decided to leave when my parents died in a car accident. i was pre-med when i was in college the first time, and decided to change my focus to nursing after spending so much time in the hospitals (during my time as a pre-med student, and when my parents were in icu) i saw what the nurses did in the hospitals, and i was drawn to it. so, you're right, i am not in school right now, but i have seen nursing from many different angles in my personal, professional and academic life. i answered the nurse practitioner question because the person who posted his question sounded just like i did when i decided i wanted to be a nurse. he was looking for information on the uab program. i know a nurse practitioner who studied at uab and i told her my plans and she gave me the same advice i gave him. i also included some info from their website. nothing i said was out of line, and just because i am not in school at the moment does not mean i have not been down the road before. furthermore, none of the areas of this site are restricted. if i see a question that i am qualified to answer, then i will. i don't think i'm in for any "surprise" because unlike the rest of the people who complain about the job, i have taken the time to make sure this is where i want to be. this will ensure that i don't have to complain about it to a bunch of strangers, who can't help me any way. all the best.

If you would read the entire post, you would realize that I was making a comparison of some of the meaningless tasks that nurses sometimes have to deal with, and another profession altogether. You don't know what I like so use those quotations wisely.

I just wanted to expand on what I wrote. Admittedly, I am not a nurse yet, but I have had two jobs in the hospital where I got to see the stress of being a nurse first hand. It was this experience that made me want to become an RN. Also, my advice to the op was to quit, and it is genuine. I'm insulted by one of the posters who made a reply on my original post about returning to the bank of your parents or whatever. I know the real world. You don't have to be a nurse to feel its burden, and I have been on my own since I was 16. I know the real world quite well. My advice was for the op to quit, but obviously she would never quit without another job first. But here is some real advice, Why not do something that will make you happy? That's the reason these posts get under my skin. You can return to school. You can find a different job. But, there is no way I would ever do a job that I absolutely hated without knowing something better is coming in the future. 2 of my closest friends went through the torture of nursing school and 1 was an ICU nurse for 7 years and one day she left. She is a bartender now, and she warns me everyday to not go through with my plans. She is HAPPY, and really makes a similar salary. Nursing is not going to get any better anytime soon. Also, just so that everyone is well informed, I don't care about candy coating what I feel, so you will all need to learn to deal with it.:redbeathe

This is not directed at you, but my goodness I wish everyone would stop complaining. I'm really looking forward to being a nurse, and I come to this website to get motivation, and then I see countless posts about hating jobs and how this happened at work and the pay is not enough and I have too many patients BLAH BLAH BLAH...Here is the best advice I can give. If you don't like your job...QUIT. What are people going to tell you in a forum that will make your job better. get real and grow up this is the real world.

I would recommend that you wait until after you have had some experience as an RN. A nurse practitioner is expected to be a health care provider. You simply can not provide full medical care after just going to school for several years.This is the reason that doctors have a residency etc. I would take some time to be an RN on a medical-surgical floor and then maybe in the ICU. Not only will this teach you the ropes of advanced practice nursing, it will also help you to decide what area you would like to specialize in. Look at it this way. If you were going to school for an MSN that focused on nursing management, Do you think that qualifies you to go in as a charge nurse or assistant DON without ever being an RN. No It doesn't. About the program.. A nursing degree (BSN or higher) from a regionally accredited institution, equivalent to the one offered by the School of Nursing at UAB An undergraduate grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale either cumulatively or on the last 60 semester credit hours (3) Letters of professional reference attesting to the applicant’s potential for graduate study Standardized test score (MAT, GRE, GMAT)* A minimum score of 410 on the MAT; or a minimum score of 480 on the GMAT; or a combined score of 1000 on the verbal and quantitative sections of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE)* Additional – Selected options may require experience prior to enrollment in a specialty courses. Good Luck with your pursuits

I will try to make this as short as possible, but I want to give you some background. In 2007, I started college at a university. I was studying physics and hoping to become a doctor. I was doing well into my second year, but my mother died and put me in this state of depression, which resulted in me dropping out and creating a financial aid nightmare for myself (deficit in academic progress, high loan balance, etc.) I have recovered well enough from the loss of my mother to go back to school, but I don't want to go down the pre-med road again. So, I figured that being a nurse would be a great alternative. I still get to care for people, and be involved in the medical process, but I read some of the posts on here and feel discouraged. I don't want to deal with a cna's that think they run the hospital, I don't want to answer a call light to pour a patient water, and I don't want to work for a smart a$$ doctor who thinks he is better than everybody else. I think the good outweighs the bad in nursing, but I have a friend who gave up a job making 30.00 per hour her first year in nursing to go back to being a bartender. I just don't know if it is for me. I love the study of disease and the idea of helping a sick person become better, but I'm just not sure. I qualified for an accounting scholarship for 4 years. I'm seriously considering going with the accounting degree. Please offer your opinion. Again, I do not mean to belittle the work nurses do. My ultimate goal is just to be happy that is all.

There is a grant program that was established by the U.S. Department of Labor exclusively for careers in high demand. This grant covers tuition, books, supplies, and transportation. It can only be used during the professional component of nursing education, but it is well worth it. There are some qualification factors, which are mostly regarding income limits and certain competencies that you must demonstrate, as far as basic math and reading. In Alabama, (Roll Tide!, btw) you have to contact an Alabama career center in your county. Here are some links that will help. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Career Center Locator: http://www.servicelocator.org/ Information from the Dept. of labor about W.I.A. grants: http://www.doleta.gov/programs/general_info.cfm