MykRTstudent

I don’t know how long it has been since the last time you were in school, but your information is not accurate. Plenty of people get accepted into nursing programs after being unsuccessful in another program. Yes, there are some schools that are strict and will not accept anyone who has previously been in nursing school, but not all institutions are like this. And yes, to tell the OP that they shouldn’t continue on with nursing IS discouraging, especially when they’ve stated they still want to be a nurse. Who is to tell them what they should do with their life.

This is not true. I’ve met four people throughout my schooling who all failed out of nursing programs, got accepted into another program, and have graduated. They are now all working as nurses. What a discouraging piece of advice for the OP. Anyway OP, I was in nursing school at one time and failed a course myself. I had the opportunity to retake it, but was turned off to nursing in general. Long story short, I realized how unhappy I was in nursing school and switched gears- I went back to school for respiratory therapy, I loved it, and just graduated this summer. I think community college is the best way to go for those who were unsuccessful in previous nursing programs. I’ve found that CC’s tend to be the most accepting, and will give you a second chance- plus money is another factor, CC’s are usually the best options financially, so if you already have loans to begin with that’s a no brainer. Like others have said, if you change your mind there are other professions in allied health that pay well and you can use your nursing pre-reqs for. Some examples would be Respiratory Therapy (what I chose), Radiology Tech, Surgical Tech, Medical Lab Tech, or if you can handle a little more schooling there’s also Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy. Respiratory Therapy would be the closest to nursing out of all of these. Best of luck and keep your head up!

Fair enough, the choice to go there is certainly your right. Keep in mind that “hearing good things” is purely subjective. I just wanted to let people know that the program did have a lot of problems not long ago and had very poor statistics. I hope things have changed for the better at Queens. I remember a lot of the professors there- so feel free to message me for advice on some of them if you want. Also, I’ve spoken to at least 3 of my former classmates from Queens who left and started over at other programs (Two transferred to Chamberlain and one went to CPCC) and thrived at these other schools (unlike our experience at Queens).

Former Queens student here, let me just give my two cents, and that is stay away from this program. It is a mess and has mean, incompetent, unsupportive professors. Just take a look at the extremely high attrition rate- that should say enough. There are plenty of other nursing schools in the Charlotte, NC area- take a look at them before wasting money at Queens.

I was a student in Queens traditional BSN program 4 years ago- what an absolutely horrible program!! I’m not sure if that’s changed, but I’d be surprised if it has. I have never in my life seen a group of more miserable, negative, unsupportive professors. The program is a mess- completely disorganized and incompetent teaching. The high attrition rate should tell you something. But I’m sure Queens won’t let you know about that. Anyway, the traditional program isn’t too hard to get into. They say you should have at least a 3.0 GPA, but really it should be at least 3.3 if you want your application to stand out. I believe I had around a 3.4 or 3.5 when I was accepted. The accelerated BSN program is a lot more competitive from what I’ve heard, so that’s something to keep in mind. But there are plenty of other nursing schools in the Charlotte, NC area that you should look at- ones that are much cheaper and where the faculty are actually competent! Stay away from Queens if you want to be treated like a human being and receive a god education ! I’ve heard positive reviews about Chamberlain and Cabarrus College. Also consider CPCC- there’s nothing wrong with going the ADN route first, it will save you tons of money.

Yes, exactly. This is the best place to be in my opinion. The two don’t have to be mutually exclusive. However, from my own experience, those who are solely in it to make money burn out quickly and don’t last very long in the field, or even in nursing school. I’ll always remember on my very first day of school our instructor went around the room and asked every person what made them want to be a nurse. There were four people that said money. None of them made it past the first semester. Nursing is not the only job in this world that pays nicely. You’ll struggle in school if you don’t have a passion for the career.

Not trying to bash anyone at all.. but with comments as ridiculous as the OP has made, it really makes me wonder what their motive is and if nursing is really for them. Hence the mostly negative responses in this thread by many. Of course making a livable wage is always something to consider, however the OP’s tone seems to lack any sort of compassion and only be interested in money. She also states that working with children she hates changing diapers and doesn’t like being exhausted. Excuse me? You know as a nurse those two things won’t be going away.. they’ll be worse actually. She’s going to absolutely hate being a nurse then.. because there will be plenty of cleaning BM along with several other bodily fluids, many of which you won’t see working with toddlers in a preschool. Oh, and 12 hour shifts too of course. There are several jobs in healthcare that don’t have direct patient contact which pay nicely. Try to put yourself in a patients shoes.. would you really want a nurse coming into your room to care for you who is miserable and hates her job and is only interested in what her paycheck will look like? The OP’s comments/tone are absurd, and that is what has allotted my feedback.

Just caught this added info. Wow. Please don’t go into health care. You clearly are in it for a paycheck. I’ve seen a big difference in those who are in it for money vs. those who actually want to make a difference and help people. The way you write and post on here just gives me the image that you are immature. How about you look into careers within the business side of healthcare rather than direct patient contact.

Ok, so usually I try my hardest not to judge people based on these posts and/or tell them what to do in life, but are you really sure nursing is for you? You state that you’re tired of changing diapers and being exhausted. Bad news- you’re not going to escape that in nursing, and in fact, it’ll be worse.

Ugh.. really? “respiratory tech”? Come on, as a nurse you should know that’s not the proper title. It’s respiratory therapist. That’s like referring to an RN as a “nursing assistant”. ??‍♂️

It's true that many hospitals now prefer nurses with a BSN. After you get your ADN and take the NCLEX, you are still a registered nurse. My advice would be to enroll in an RN-BSN program as soon as you get your ADN, many of those programs are online, so it makes balancing work and school a little easier. This way when you apply for jobs employers will see that you are enrolled in an RN-BSN program and it will help.

I'm in school to be a respiratory therapist. This semester I did very well! Got an A in cardiopulmonary Pathophysiology, and an A in Advanced Respiratory care procedures (learning about ABGs, PFTS) . Both classes were tough. I'm almost done, graduation is in June! Feels great to be on break right now

I say go the community college route. At this point you've probably already spent a lot of money on school and a CC associates degree program will be much cheaper than most BSN programs. Also, I've found that community college programs tend to be more accepting towards students who were not successful in other programs, since community colleges are meant to be open to anybody, and for second chances, etc. There are 3 community college programs in my area that all have a great reputation and high NCLEX pass rates, so there is absolutely nothing wrong with going this route. I personally don't think your pre-req grades are that bad, and since you've retaken a couple courses that should look good on your applications as it shows you are committed. Surprised at some of the rude comments you're getting, cut it out people, you don't know this girl personally and all she's asking for is help. If you don't have anything nice or helpful to say, don't respond at all. Best of luck to you, and feel free to contact me with any advice as I've been through something kind of similar to your situation.

My suggestion would be to look for a community college associates degree program in your area and go from there. This makes the most sense financially, and I've found that CC programs are usually more accepting toward/willing to take students that were unsuccessful in other programs.

No judgment here at all, I was in your position actually! I was in nursing school for two semesters (one year), realized I hated it, and left myself. Good for you that you were able to realize what you don't want- why waste all that time and money only to remain unhappy? I'm now in school for respiratory therapy. I love it! I'm starting the second year of the program tomorrow, actually- nine more months to go and I'll be done! Have you thought about respiratory? It's similar to nursing in some ways, but you are only responsible for one area of the patient's care rather than the patient as a whole. I find this to be less stressful and easier to manage. RT's have a pretty wide scope of practice and the pay is pretty good in most parts of the country. Another thing that I like about respiratory is that you will travel around various floors/areas of the hospital and see a lot of patients throughout your shift. This differs from nursing as usually nurses will remain in one floor/department for the entire shift and be stuck with the same handful of patients all day. Respiratory is so underrated and is a great field always in demand! It's also continuing to grow, and that's very exciting to be a part of !