nicole_e

Hi everyone! I need a litte bit of advice. I'm in the process of applying to BSN programs, both acclerated and traditional, but I'm unsure of which path to take. I just graduated in May, therefore I already have a Bachelor's degree and have already completed all pre-reqs. With my ABSN, I would be done next winter, which my advisor told me would be a good time to start looking for a job as a new grad. It is also appealing that I would be completed with the program in just fifteen months. However, I will admit that I am nervous about getting good grades. With the rigor of an accelerated program, the last thing I want to do is struggle to keep up. I am also concerned about how many hours I could work, as I am not in a financial situation where I can take a year off from work. With a traditional program, it would take me 3 years to complete, which would put me at 26 and just starting out as a new grad. However, in this case, I would be on a more regular schedule, which is appealing. The most appealing of all is that I would only be taking 2-3 nursing classes a semester (like I said, I already completed my pre-reqs/general education requirements). This would really allow me to focus on my coursework and enjoy the program. Along with this, I would likely be able to balance working part-time. All advice is greatly appreciated! Thanks! :)

Hello cracklingkraken, I feel that the main reason I left the first time was because I was not mature enough to deal with the intensive nature of a nursing program. I was intimidated by all the other girls because they seemed so much smarter and I got afraid. It's stupid I know hahah. This time around I feel that I have grown up and matured a lot more (I'm now 22) and am ready to face this challenge! As for my pre-reqs, I am currently finishing a sociology class and chemistry. Thank you for your response!

Hi everyone! So first off let me start by saying how much I love this website. Allnurses discussion forums have given me so much insight and information about the wonderful field of nursing. If you all wouldn't mind, I'm struggling with some career choices and would love some feedback. So here's the rundown (I apologize it's long. Please bear with me!): Ever since I could remember, I told my parents I wanted to be a nurse. I daydreamed about the day I would walk across the stage at my nurses pinning ceremony and beam at the audience. I imagined myself standing over an operating table, bracing a patient while she delivered her first baby, holding the hand of a child during chemotherapy. This came as a surprising choice to my parents. You see, I was an excellent English student...and a relatively subpar science and math student. I passed these classes with B's but I have always been the type of kid (and adult) who loses herself in a novel. I could write term papers with no effort but make me study physics and I was a goner. Much to my (and my parents') surprise, I got into my top nursing school. I felt immense pride at doing just what everyone told me I couldn't: get into the ultra-competitive world of undergraduate nursing. Well, freshman year arrived...and I blew it. I got caught up in "college" and spent my time staying up late watching Netflix with my roommate, blowing off class and cramming for lab practicals when I had to. I was becoming more and more unmotivated as the year and more and more intimidated at the girls who could look at a complicated chemistry problem and know the answer within seconds. Not surprisingly, my grades (and self-esteem) didn't pull through. I started getting nervous and anxious thinking about clinical placements that would inevitably happen and I did what I never thought I'd do: I left the nursing program, after a mere bout with pre-reqs. I switched to a Public Health degree and excelled. I liked my major, I enjoyed the topic matter...but I got to my junior year and hit a wall. I wasn't fully satisfied and was asking myself: what was I going to do for a career? I didn't want to work in non-profits or in a school system. I didn't want to work a desk job or rally at government meetings for a new bill to be passed. I gradually started to regret my haste as an intimated 18 year old freshman, bolting the minute things got tough. I started looking into nursing again and before I knew it, I was obsessed. I made the decision when I was a senior, about to graduate, that I was meant to be a nurse. As much as I want to do this, I am scared and don't have the support of my parents, which honestly is really hard. When I left the nursing program initially, my dad looked at me and said "Well that's a good thing, you were never good at math and science anyway." What I wanted to tell him was that I had retaken courses I didn't do well in the first time and got A's. But I didn't. I believed him when he said I wasn't good enough. So here I am, a graduated 22 year old working as a waitress/medical scribe, spending my days researching nursing programs whenever I have time. I can't pinpoint the moment I decided I wanted to be a nurse...I just know it's what I'm supposed to do. I know it sounds weak, but that's all I can say. So with that background, my question seems relatively elementary: what tips can you give me about how to excel in an accelerated nursing program (I want to get through the program and start working in my field as quickly as possible, that's why I want accelerated)? Life advice on the career would be great too. I'm sorry this is so long...I just don't think anyone can help me the way you guys can. Thank you!!!