Acromic

Hi everyone! I am currently a student in the one year accelerated program in the Pleasantville campus. I can give you guys some information that should be helpful (even though its a different campus). You will be taking the following courses in the first semester (its the same for both campuses): pathophysiology 1, nursing fundamentals/clinical education lab/geriatric nursing, psychiatric nursing, evidence-based practice & communication in nursing. Let me just start by saying that it's a VERY intense program; you will not be able to do ANYTHING else but prepare for class non-stop. You'll be getting a tremendous amount of chapters to read per week along with clinicals, one exam per week and a whole bunch of assignments for all classes. So far a few people have left during the first week and a group of people are not doing well in the exams (grade ranges have been like 50's to 90's). Here's some information about the classes: --Pathophysiology 1: everyone that I've talked to that is in the 2 year program has told me that this class is a nightmare. Thankfully that has changed a good amount. It seems that the instructor that was in charge of the class in past semesters has been put in probation for failing 50% of the class. Even after the changes it's still a very tough class and not a lot of people are doing well. --Nursing fundamentals: this class begins as your typical nursing introductory lecture course along with a clinical lab in which you learn basic nursing tasks such as taking blood pressure, injections, urinary catheters, etc. You are tested in the clinical lab for some tasks and you must pass after two tries. If you don't pass after the second try you are automatically kicked out of the program (someone got kicked out this way). After about 6 weeks of nursing introductory lectures you move on to the geriatric nursing portion of the class and begin your geriatric clinicals (no more clinical labs at this point). --Psychiatric nursing: lecture and clinicals with lots and lots of assignments (which will help you get a better grade - trust me) --Communication in nursing: not the most exciting course but a welcomed relief in regards to the amount of work --Evidence based practice: a fully online course in which you work in a large group to produce a research based poster Let me say this once again: this is a VERY intense and difficult program, you need to be 200% committed to it, especially since it's not cheap. Also a couple of things: you can switch between campuses once you're accepted; if NYC is a hassle for you to get to everyday then you can defer your acceptance to the spring semester in pleasantville (you can do this once the program starts as well, but do so by the second week!), you can switch to the two year program after the programs starts and up until the second week, if you fail one class but pass all of the others then you'll be placed into the two year program but if you fail more than one you'll be kicked out. Let me know if you guys have any questions!

Thank you all for your responses ! I didn't mean murders but nurses, a horrible typo . It seems from the responses that nursing is a bit difficult to be employed when you first begin and is quite a difficult job but for those who like it will LOVE it. I never thought of the different positions a nurse could have. It just sounds like it's something you truly want to do, not really something that you settle for or choose because you want a job.

Kelly and JR, you guys are right. There are other options but i guess since u always see murders in hospitals doing what most people consider "usal fare nursing" you might think that's the only option. It seems like a BSN is useful for a variety of things depending on the kind of person u are. Thank u both.

That's sort of where i'm stuck, how do I know which field i'd like to go into? I can probably volunteer or shadow. I saw being an RN as a step towards NP since I'd like to treat patients in a "doctor-like" manner, less so like a RN. To get into NP programs you are required to have a year or two of experience as a RN, that's why I thought I would get a BSN then practice for a year or two and then apply to NP schools. Plus I would get paid and save that money for graduate school. Also it's because PA school is incredibly difficult to get into I thought the NP route would be more feasible, even though it would take longer which I don't mind. Plus I thought it was a win-win situation since even if I didn't get into NP school I would still have a good career as a RN. Lastly, I really like that NP's are far more independent than PA's.

I think i'm in a position where i don't know what I want and can't decide on anything. I think I'm just afraid that ill choose something and then regret it later on. As far as passion goes i think that I'm passionate about wanting to go into a health field and help people.

Thank you all for the responses! It seems like nursing is a career that you should definitely know you want to do before jumping in; you have a passion for.

Hi All! I've been considering an accelerated BSN degree for some time now (and eventually after two years a masters in family nurse practitioner) and have been doing a lot of research into the nursing career. I really don't want to jump into a career that I will regret later on, especially one that I will have to take out a loan for. I keep running into two views and I want to know honestly which one is the truth, especially for nursing in NY since that's where I live: 1) Is this shortage of nurses true? More importantly, is it very difficult for someone new to nursing to get an entry level job? I keep looking up at job postings and every single posting requires at least a year of experience. 2) Is the saying that "nurses are overworked and underpaid" true? Is the career of nursing THAT draining that burnout is common? 3) How good is the pay? 4) I think asking this in a nursing forum makes no sense but i'll ask it anyway: Do you believe its worth it to become a nurse? Would you do it again if you were told you'd become 18 again and be able to choose any career you wanted? I try to stay positive about nursing as a possible career but I keep thinking that i'm being blinded by the hype ("nursing is booming and pays good") and need an honesty "splash". I'm also considering other allied health positions because of this constant nagging negative views I read from time to time ("there is no boom, pay is mediocre, work is killer"). Please, could anyone provide me some honest facts.

I wrote down so many questions when composing the post that I forgot number 3 . It sounds like nowadays jobs in urban areas are very difficult to find.

Hi all! I've just graduated with a bachelors in biology this past fall semester and was planning to apply to physician assistant school in the near future. Sadly I don't feel very competitive with my current overall GPA (3.0); half my credits are from one college (which I did quite horribly) and the other half is from the school that I received my degree from (which I managed to pull off a very high GPA after some hard work). So I've been considering applying for an accelerated bachelor of nursing degree in New York state (preferably the metro area as I live in the city). When I was younger I considered nursing as a possible career but gave up on it since my undergrad schools didn't have a program in it. I would receive my degree after a bit more than a year and have a good career. Then I plan to become a family nurse practitioner after a year or two of working as a nurse or (hopefully!) a nurse anesthetist. My questions for the community are thus: 1) It seems like after receiving the degree a lot of jobs require a certificate to work in areas such as ICU, is this true? 2) How difficult is finding a job for someone fresh out of nursing school? 3) What kind of income can I expect as a nurse in NY and that of a family nurse practitioner? 4) Any programs that anyone could recommend? So far I've been very interested in NYU's program since they have a BS/MS joint degree. Sorry for the long reading and thank you!