mimi97

Hey everyone, This might sound weird, but I'm a junior in highschool, and I've been really interested in Emergency Medicine since I was 8 years old. I've recently decided that I would like to follow the path in college to becoming an ER nurse (or maybe something else, but something specialized). Here are my questions: 1. How many years total does it take to become a nurse? I've done lots of research online and I still don't really get it. I know that you need to get either a BSN or an ASN, and then take some sort of test (not really sure)? After that, do you need the 2-4 years of Nursing School? 2. Is Nursing School like Medical School (really expensive and hard to get into)? What were your experiences with that? And how smart do you have to be? Me and my family are not very well-off, and even though I'm pretty smart I doubt I could get enough in scholarships to pay off that much in loans (I actually don't want to take in any at all). So is it possible to become an ER nurse and graduate without debt? 3. What's the difference between a nursing practitioner and an ER nurse? The amount of schooling? 4. Do nurses have to go through "residency" like physicians? 5. What's it like being an ER Nurse (from personal experience)?! I've heard that ER nurses connect more with the patients than the physicians. Is that true? Sorry if this is really long or if it's already been answered, and thanks so much for your time! -Mimi