michfish

I am starting the RN to MSN Leadership and Management on Feb 1. :)

I just took NCLEX this morning. My pinning was May 6th. I turned in my paperwork for licensure on May 22nd, I got my ATT on June 3 and took it today. It stopped at 75 questions. I know for sure that I got question 75 right. I had 26 SATA, 5 put into the right order, a couple of pictures, 1 dosage calculation, tons of delegation and prioritization questions. Our school did ATI and the ATI NCLEX predictor gave me a 97% chance of passing first attempt. None of the questions weren't anything weird to me, similar to what I saw in school. Thank goodness my state participates in the quick results. I am on pins and needles if I am now a RN. As I was driving to the exam, I kept telling myself I am driving her a CNA and leaving a RN.

I started an ADN program at my local community college on Weds Aug 21. I am 40 with 3 kids ages 15, 9 and 7. I have BA in History and I have been working on nursing prereq's for the last 2 years, I have all the prereq's completed to do an RN to BSN program. You are never too old. Most of the people in my section (we take all 1st semester classes together) are in their 30's and 40's, those that are in their 20's are in their mid to late 20's. I took the Accuplacer to go back to school 16 years after I obtained my BA, it also happened to be my 38th birthday that day, I also wondered if I was too old, if I had waited too long to go back to pursue my dream of becoming a nurse. I was terrified for classes to start in the fall, realizing the 18 yo incoming freshmen weren't even born when I graduated from high school. I have found my age and maturity to be an asset. You are never too old to pursue your dreams. :)

I just turned 40 and I start my ADN program in August. You can do it. I know that I was really scared when I started working on my prereq's 2 years ago. So much had changed technology wise since I was in college the first time around. It took me about 1 semester to adjust to how technology has changed the classroom. I embrace it now. I wondered if I would be able to keep up academically with the younger kids. I have found that not only have I kept up, but I have surpassed many of them. I have found my age and life experiences to be an asset rather than a hindrance. I am better able to manage my time than when I was younger and my grades are vastly improved from my first go-around (I have a BA). I may have to work harder at it now but I also want it more than when I was younger. I am definitely more motivated. I know what I want and I work very hard to achieve my dreams. :)

It depends on the program. My school requires you to have a CNA and you get extra points on your application if you have worked as a CNA. While being a CNA isn't fun work, it is necessary work. Nurses do have to change briefs, etc also. In some hospital units, the nurses do all of the "personal hygiene" work that a CNA would do in a LTC, the techs/CNA's assist the nurses. Being a CNA would give you a good feel for the nursing field. I work as a CNA right now and I start an ADN program at my local community college in August.

Orientation on July 30th and classes begin on Aug 21. I am so excited.

I just turned 40 and I start the ADN program at my community college August. I completely understand how intimidating it is being out of school so many years then going back to school. It was 16 years from when I got may BA to when I decided to go back to school to pursue nursing and I was very scared. I wondered if I would be able to keep up with the younger, more traditional college age crowd. I have actually found my age and maturity to be an asset in the classroom. You can do this! Nursing is something that I have wanted so bad for almost 20 years. I am so excited to start in the fall. I am also doing this for myself and my kids, to make a better life for us. As previous posters have said, start at your local community college, even if it is only 1 class. Some of the prereq classes may even be offered online.

Check if your community college requires you to have your CNA. I start the ADN program at my community college in August and they require you to have your CNA to even apply. My school goes off of a point system, grades help, but aren't everything. My GPA is a 3.9. I work at a LTC on the weekends, so I got additional points for actually using my CNA. I would talk to the nursing adviser at your school to find out the criteria to acceptance into their nursing program. Find out the average GPA of those accepted into the program, do they require you to have your CNA? Being a CNA is not fun work, but it gives you valuable health care experience. I have been told by many nurses and patients at my work that the best nurses were CNA's first. I have gotten to be friends with several of my nurses and they are all very willing to help me when I start nursing school and they will give me little tips here and there that will help me in my nursing career. Good luck. :)

I applied to 2, the first was an ABSN that I didn't get into. I also applied to the ADN program at the community college where I have been taking my prereqs and I got into that one. I am in the Fall 2013 cohort. I am very excited. I will do the RN-BSN program at my first choice school when I am done with my ADN. My first choice school has a partnership with my CC for the ADN nurses, the competition isn't has fierce to get into that one. There are 6 accredited nursing schools within 40 miles of me. I was going to apply to the other schools plus reapply to my 1st 2 choices if I didn't get an acceptance from one of them. Good luck...

First time posting, I have been lurking for a couple of months now. I start my ADN program in the fall with orientation on July 30. I had applied for a ABSN at the U of U and the ADN program at my community college where I have been taking my prereqs. I found out on March 11 that I didn't get into the ABSN program but then I found out on March 13 that I got into the ADN one. I will do the RN to BSN program at the U of U once I am done with my ADN. I will have the prereqs for both programs done once Finals are over in 2 weeks. Because of the partnership that the U has with my CC, the acceptance rate is 98% for the RN to BSN program. I can apply to that program during the 2nd year of my ADN program. I have to pass the NCLEX within 2 months of starting the RN to BSN. The road will be a little longer than I had originally planned on, but I am super excited to have a spot with how competitive it is. My GPA is a 3.9 and I scored a 96% on the Hesi A2 with perfect score in A & P, Biology, Math and a 96% in Chemistry. It has really surprised me the intensity of the competition for a spot. I am pretty nervous about starting this fall but super excited too. I have been dreaming of going back to school and becoming a RN for almost 20 years when I finished my BA. I have been working as a CNA at a LTC on the weekends and hopefully I will be able to continue this through nursing school. I will have classes on Weds and Thurs with clinicals being Mon and Tues and possibly on Fri. Good Luck to everyone.