HollyK

Excellent information, vintagemother --- thank you for your post!

Good for you, futureLVN40! The more I talk with people in the nursing profession, the more I learn and realize there are a multitude of options to take to get where you want to be in your career. I traveled to the Santa Cruz area this past weekend and was having dinner with my parents and boyfriend (talking about nursing school, of course) and a woman behind me finished her dinner, stood up, put her hand on my shoulder and said, "I overheard your conversation… I am a nurse… get your BSN!" Unfortunately, the program that I am planning on applying to chooses their future nursing students at random from the pool of applicants. They used to have about 1,000 applicants/semester; but, they have "redesigned" the program, so now applicants apply only once a year (in the spring) and they choose 40 students for the following Fall and Spring semesters. My friend got in on her 3rd try, but I have heard of students applying 7,8,9 times… so I am looking into Carrington, or a similar type college… I just don't know how reputable those types of colleges are --- and they're insanely expensive! Anywho, I hope you don't mind my rambling --- I wish you the best of luck in your education and a successful career!

Wow, missycrowell! It would be wonderful to find a company that would pay for my education/bridges; unfortunately, I don't think (or at least I haven't heard of or found) a company/clinic/hospital like that where I live. I wish you the best of luck with everything --- it sounds like you have a well laid out plan that will work in your favor!

Hello to all pre-nursing students, CNAs, LVNs, and RNs, I have just started my nursing journey from CNA to LVN to RN, and am looking for some advice --- tried and true "do's and do not's" of the nursing world. As of now, my plan is to complete a CNA program this coming Spring 2015 at a community college in Northern California. From there, I plan to apply to the LVN program in the Spring of 2016, complete that, work for 6 months, and then apply to the LVN-RN bridge program that my community college offers. Eventually, I plan to obtain my BSN (and one day my Master's), but I figure I should take it all one step at a time. After several "unnecessary" years in college (due to a couple of major/degree changes), I have obtained an Associate's degree, and have found myself with the completion of several required pre-req nursing program classes --- a pleasant surprise. Right now I am in an introductory A & P class and am incredibly close to earning an "A" --- yay! I do know that I have to take a pre-req chemistry class for A & P I and A & P II (the dreaded lab classes, or so I have been told) and microbiology. I spoke with a dear friend a few days ago, who happens to be a nurse practitioner, and she said not only to REALLY pay attention in A & P and to ask as many questions as possible, but to primarily pay attention to the biopathology of diseases and ailments. I will also be taking a medical language class, as well as a dosage calculations class (which, surprisingly, is not required as part of my nursing school curriculum, but merely "suggested.") So, for all you in nursing school and all of you that are already RNs, what are your sage words of advice? 1) What are your tips & tricks for studying? 2) What should I pay attention to for the CNA exam, TEAS V, and NCLEX? 3) What are some avenues you have taken to be successful in your nursing career? Thank you to everyone for your advise!