Ashke

**I posted this as a reply in another thread, but thought maybe it would be better to make it its own thread. Sorry if this breaks etiquette/rules*** Hi, My niece is in her senior year of high school and wants to be a nurse. She recently got accepted into the Health Sciences program at Rowan College at Burlington County, but I see they have a AAS.NUR program that also has an option for a BScN through the 3+1 program. I understand applications for high school students opens January 4, 2021. I'm in Canada and so I'm trying to shift through the information for her from a distance. Can anyone comment on: 1. how good the nursing program is at RCBC (I.e. the quality of the program) 2. how good is the RCBC Nursing program's reputation 3. how competitive it is to get into it 4. how well does it prepare you for the NCLEX Thank you for your time in answering my questions. Any bit of information helps.

Hi, My niece is in her senior year of high school and wants to be a nurse. She recently got accepted into the Health Sciences program at Rowan College at Burlington County, but I see they have a AAS.NUR program that also has an option for a BScN through the 3+1 program. I understand applications for high school students opens January 4, 2021. I'm in Canada and so I'm trying to shift through the information for her from a distance. Can anyone comment on: 1. how good the nursing program is at RCBC (I.e. the quality of the program) 2. how good is the RCBC Nursing program's reputation 3. how competitive it is to get into it 4. how well does it prepare you for the NCLEX Thank you for your time in answering my questions. Any bit of information helps.

Hi! Have you checked out ACSM (American college of Sport Medicine)? They have a pretty strong voice in the health and fitness world. Their certifications include that of personal trainer, exercise specialist, and exercise physiologist (the last one requires a masters degree as a prerequisite). The specialist and physiologist certification allow you to work with clients that have health problems but need a supervised exercise program.

Thanks for replying KellyTel! That is great that you are working in the field already. I was hoping to volunteer to start, but the opportunity I was hoping to obtain eluded me. I also considered an MPH degree after nursing, but I will wait to see if such a move makes sense once I have started working. Thanks again!

Hi! What is turning you off about becoming an NP? Is it the courses? Is it the working environment? You said that you always wanted to be an MD but that this is no longer possible. What makes you say this? Is it due to time, money, or that you are no longer interested in medicine? I have been feeling down myself about my career. I am currently enrolled in a nursing program but I still consider other careers like PA, PT, OT, MD, or even just sticking it out with my CK/DC combo. Heck, I have even considered leaving healthcare all together. For me, the problem seems to be a lack of passion for much of anything. Any path requires a high level of commitment and dedication in order to be successful. Maybe you just need to find your spark? I'm just trying to give you some food for thought. In the end, I hope you make the best decision for yourself.

Hi xInspiredx, I suspect that the two would be the same. Just like a bachelors of exercise science = bachelors of science in kinesiology = bachelors of phys. Ed. = bachelors of kinesiology. What matters is that the content is the same. I would suggest comparing the program curriculae and if they cover the same things, then it should be okay. Alternatively, you could research NP programs and inquire about their MSN prerequisites. Sometimes, their websites will give detailed descriptions of what the masters program must cover in order for it to satisfy the requirements. Good luck!

Hi! Not sure where you are located, but the message seems to be the same everywhere. The job market is pretty tough for new grade at the moment to the point where most are simply trying to get any job anywhere just to get experience. Once you have experience, it will be easier to transition into the area that you want. You may even consider volunteering in the area you want while working; I'm not sure how that works or if that is possible. Since you are in your last year, I would do your transitional rotation in ICU, which is the tougher of the two areas that you like to get into. If you don't get hired by your last placement, it won't be too hard to get into LTC. That is my advice based on my research thus far. Perhaps others will give further insight. Good luck and congrats on being almost done. :)

I think the tone of your original post may have just given a negative vibe. When someone says 'I don't see myself in a nursing home' I am more inclined to think that they have determined that they do not have the tenacity to excel or enjoy the role. When someone says 'I never want to work in a nursing home,' I sense aversion and disdain which may put someone on the defensive, especially if they are a part of LTC (like a worker or a resident/patient). You probably didn't mean it to sound disdainful, I'm sure. Maybe just use words that are less strong. It is like it says in the bible: "A soft answer turneth away wrath."

I had not thought of working in he universities. Thanks for the suggestion; I will look into it. This is all really great information guys. I really appreciate the responses. It sounds like if I can start developing relevant experience and demonstrate above par assessment skills, I should be able to get to where I want to go.

That is interesting. What does school nursing entail? What is wrong with immunizations?

Thank you RiRi03! That really helps a lot. It seems like I am in for a bit of ladder climbing. Are public health positions very competitive?

Hi again, Well, I seem to be happiest when I am playing the role of a consultant to patients -- that is, educating and advising them on their health and teaching them how to make positive lifestyle choices. I also like the art of designing, administering, managing, and evaluating a plan of management (i.e treatment plan). I could see myself working in an STD clinic, community health centre, or doing in-home consults. I do not see myself doing well in a hospital environment and so I hope to avoid it beyond what is absolutely necessary.

Wow, thank you very much for your responses. Is public health nursing a popular field in Ontario?

Hello, I would like to inquire about aspiring to be a public/community health nurse in Ontario. Is this a specialty that a new grad can get into right out of school or does it require experience somewhere else? Are there certain things that one should do in terms of schooling, volunteer work, or credentials that would maximize one's chances of getting an offer for a position as a public/community health nurse? Thank you for your attention to my queries.

Well it is probably the 'fastest growing profession' but what they fail to tell you is that it is growing in terms of the number of professionals being pumped out by the schools; in terms of the number of opportunities for said professionals, it is stagnant at best -- shrinking is more closer to the truth. I second the comment that an RN designation compliments the chiropractic background and need not be seen as a replacement. Is that $75-$90K range based on a percentage split or as a base salary?

Hi! The only job opportunities available to chiropractors at this time is private practice, which requires one to build his/her business. This is becoming increasingly harder to do, due to stagnant utilization rates of chiropractic care while the number of chiropractors continue to grow exponentially. Increasing cuts to the reimbursement of chiropractic services by health insurance companies limit people's accessibility to chiropractic care and further exacerbate the situation. Finally, the scope of practice can be quite limiting, considering what we are taught. Nursing offers the opportunity to branch off into a seemingly infinite number of possibilities in healthcare with a much smaller investment of time and money into schooling than required for chiropractic. A consistent paycheck is also a nice plus. Where I am, the average salary for a chiropractor is about $53K; about $10K less than a nurse's average salary and about $3K below the average of all occupations combined.

There is a sub-forum specifically for nursing programs in California; have you searched it? Below is a map to reach it: Nursing in the United States --> California Nursing --> California State Nursing Programs I did a search on "accelerated BSN California" on Allnurses.com and got a few relevant hits. Just sift through the threads. I'm in Canada, otherwise I would try to help you further. Good luck!

Hmm...hard to say without understanding the full context of the situation. Maybe the father thought that you were coddling his daughter too much over what he would consider a trivial cut? It would definitely make me feel bad to be talked to in a curt manner. You said you were the friend of the daughter's parent(s)? Maybe you can ask how you were "making it worse." In any case, I would just defer to the parents the next time their daughter got injured and let them deal with it.

Really? In Ontario? I have seen Ontario postings for public health nurse positions that did not stipulate as much.If I focus my schooling in public health while doing volunteer/paid work in the same field, would that increase my chances of being hired as a PHN, or am I shooting myself in the foot by de-emphasizing hospital-based/LTC nursing in my education?

To address another part of the OP's question, I would imagine that nurses do hang out socially so as to reinforce positive working relationships. Nursing is a stressful job, and it is nice to do fun activities with co-workers so that you don't always associate them with stress and negativity. However, these are typically on the platonic, professional level (i.e. no getting inebriated and waking up with your panties on your head in the entertainment district). I have two siblings who both met their significant others on the job (not nursing). Fast forward many years and they are still together, married with children and are very happy. However, neither of them stayed at their jobs very long and I think for at least one of them, the relationship was a factor in their (forced) leaving. Neither of them regret it, but then they also didn't invest years and money into those jobs either. It would really suck to throw away years of accrued experience over a fling that may or may not pan out. I feel the need to reiterate that the above applies to the context of co-workers getting together; patient relations outside the context of a professional relationship is a sure-fire way to get kicked out of the entire health care field. You put in way too much of yourself to let that happen.

Bear in mind, also, that having such a thing on your record in one profession will likely get you banned from ALL health care professions in the future; so don't think you can be deregulated in nursing and then just hop-skip-and-jump to medicine or physio or any other health care profession -- you will be black-listed. In short: DON'T DO IT!!

On my first day of chiropractic college, our very first lesson was "don't have sex with your patient." Violating this rule where I'm licensed meant an automatic revocation of your license for 5 years minimum before you could even request to have it reinstated. Chiropractors aren't even allowed to treat their spouse or they will face the same consequence. When it comes to fraternizing with patients, regulatory bodies don't play; losing your license is the rule, not the exception.

Thank you for clarifying. I don't have a pm, and I usually access AN via the phone app, so I don't see notification of the edit. Thank you for confirming the edit.

Did a moderator edit my post? I could have sworn that I posted the above comments in a different thread.

Cardiac rehab would definitely be a good option. You may need to get your exercise physiologist certification with the ACSM, which requires a masters degree. There is an exercise specialist certification with ACSM that may be okay, but I am not sure what the scope of practice is, nor do I know if the certification is valued by employers. In any case, it may be a more efficient use of time and money.