bambi147

I am planning on attending college in the fall of 05 and was wondering about the pre requisite classes I had to take. At the University I want to attend, I have to take 18 pre requisite classes totaling 59 credits. I was wondering how do I go about this, I'm kind of confused. Do I go to college to take these classes and then register for school for my BSN or what?

NO---I believe you misunderstand. Let me try and clarify: there are 3 programs of study in the USA to get your RN: diploma ---a hospital-based intensive 3 year program of study, these are getting rare to come by. Most are on the East Coast. VERY good programs, if you can find one. ADN ---Associate's Degree in Nursing, you pursue this program at a community college ---traditionally called a 2 year program, because that is what the NURSING portion of it takes. You have to have a lot of prerequisite courses along with it, and likely you will take more like 3 or more years to get this degree. Roughy 60% of entry-level RN's have THIS degree, first. BSN---Bachelors of Science in Nursing----earned after completion of a 4 year program of study at a 4 year university. You can also go there as an RN with an associate's or diploma degree to complete a BSN. It can take more than 4 years, if you are not loading up on classes each semester pretty heavily. Roughly 30-35% of entry-level RN's have this degree when they graduate to become an RN's. What you chose is up to you. I don't believe one is "better" than the other....but if given a choice, I would go for a BSN. If you want to one day be a midwife and pursue a Certified Nurse Midwifery education, you will need a BSN first anyhow. Some universities offer online/non-traditional programs of study for BSN completion. Something to consider if you decide to pursue an ADN or Diploma first. Also: if you already have a bachelor's degree or higher, some universities offer fast-track BSN and/or MSN (master's degree) programs. These are designed for those already holding degrees and are intensive, fast-paced nursing-coursework-centered programs. Here is a website to help you find universities and colleges that have nursing programs of study/schools of nursing. www.allnursingschools.com You will want to narrow down what universities/colleges you want to look into and find out what classes to begin taking. Entry to nursing school is NOT a given and very, very competitive. Some places have 2 or more years' waiting lists just to APPLY, so you are wise to get your prerequisite courses (algebra, speech, history, government, english comp, anatomy/physiology, microbiology, etc) finished up FIRST. These are your NON-nursing "building- block classes". You will need good grades in your pre-req classes and decent SAT or ACT scores to get into most programs, also---- so study, study, study! After graduating, you will need to take a national exam called the NCLEX to actually become licensed to practice as an RN. Good luck. Let us know if you have more questions. And, welcome to the boards! It's up to you. I hope this post helps clear things up for you regarding entry to Registered Nursing practice. Thank you alot for clearing things up for me. I am most likely going to attend a community college for 2 years and then a University for 2 years. So do you think a BSN would be better? Also when I've been looking at the college courses most colleges offer, they usually only have RN listed, but since you said diploma, BSN, and ADN are all included to get your RN, does that mean they still offer the BSN?

I am in highschool and I will be graduating this spring and I am attending college this fall. I want to be a maternity nurse but I just wasn't sure about the degrees I had to have. Does that clear your questions up?

Thanks for the help. I am from the US. So what your saying is when I go to college, I should major in RN because BSM is included in the RN?

i am planning on attending college in the fall of 2005. i want to be a maternity nurse but i just want to get some things straight before i proceed onto college. first off, (this might sound dumb but i want to get it straight) i wanted to know if there are specific nurses for the maternity ward (maternity nurses) or are the considered mid-wifes. second, i wanted to know what kind of degree i would need to become a maturnity nurse.....rn or bsm. and i wanted to know what the difference was between the 2 degrees. all help and advice will be appreciated. thanx!