KA Stritt

i am very much like you in that nursing is a passion for me also. no matter what job i have during the day, i always miss nursing. i also will be working and going to school - for me, there's no way around it. i know the challenges ahead of time, but am willing to put in the time and effort that it will take for the end result. if you put your mind into it and try your hardest, you will do nothing but succeed. in the end, you can look back at the adversity you've faced and feel strong, happy, and confident that you made it through. i'm not saying it's not going to be hard - because is it. nursing is a challenging field. nursing school is all about your gpa - studying - labs - clinical - it is a lot. in the end, you're learning about what you love and that will make it easier. if you don't have people surrounding you that believe in you, then that will be the job of your fellow nursing students. we all go through the same feelings and we will all graduate together in the end. think of only the positives and let the negatives go.

it's def full time work with the labs and clinical, but not full time credit. i would definitely try to take an online course or a simpler class. good luck! :)

i have orientation for an associate's degree rn program tonight at a local community college. boy, am i nervous - about anything and everything. in high school, i was pretty smart - honor roll. now, i'm 35 and not really sure how smart i am anymore. i'm going to school because i've always wanted to be a nurse. i work full time during the day and that adds to my nervousness since i will have to work, as well as go to school. but there are night/weekend classes and i am all up for that. i've decided to go for my rn just to get the ball rolling. what i am thinking is that once i am an rn and i make more money than i do right now, hopefully i can work for an establishment that will have tuition reimbursement to get my bsn. plus, right now i am looking at 3 years of school going part time just for my rn. adding my bsn right now would mean a lot more time in school and less time of me making more money. any insight into my opinion? first step is to take the teas test - test of essential academic skills - which will basically tell me which classes i need to take, in addition to the prerequisites for my program. i'm picking up my book tonight, so i can study and prepare for my first test in lots of years. another worry of mine is financial aid or getting loans to go to school. my credit isn't the best - nor is it the worst - but it will be almost $12,000 for school and that's a lot of money. i'm just looking for some outlook on my situation, maybe what other people have gone through - esp people who were out of school for an extended period of time and then went back. i'm sure some of my questions will be answered tonight, but i'm looking for people who have lived this. thank you!