SpruceToSea

I'm not averse to bedside care, but it's not what I ultimately want to do. I'm in nursing school because I want to do education and advocacy, and hope to work in public health or correctionals. I know this is a very reasonable possibility as a new grad because I've contacted hiring managers from both sectors and have been tracking job postings for these positions for three years. Have a spreadsheet and everything That said, I might still seek a hospital position for a year or two to make me a more well-rounded nurse. Ya never know what the future might bring, and I feel like it's wise to be prepared...

I was in the exact same situation, and it did not affect me. 2.0 in my first college stint, 4.0 doing my pre-reqs 15 years later. I was accepted to both of the programs I applied to. But, as caliotter says, you need to check with the schools you're applying to. One program I applied to only looked at courses within the last 10 years to calculate GPA, the other only looked at the courses that specifically applied to the BSN degree.

I wish I could "like" this a million times. My mom moved to the US in her 20's after growing up in very rural Thailand. She started teaching herself English while still in Thailand after getting the equivalent of a 3rd grade education. She became a naturalized US citizen, got her GED, and has worked a great job for the last 30 years. She is one of the smartest, hardest working people I know but her English... well, it still sucks. She says (& writes) things like "I'm just keep smile" when she's talking about her philosophy of smiling through the tough times. The discrimination I've witnessed her suffer makes me so angry and hurt I can't talk about it. Here's the point I wanted to make to the OP though: if English isn't your strength, don't be too proud to ask for help. My brother and I help edit Mom's "important" correspondence to ensure that she isn't dismissed as unintelligent based on her English skills. If you don't have family members you can ask for help, you could try a public library, or your city/state might have an employment resource center.

If you're not used to Dansko-type clogs you might also consider that if you're a little clumsy to begin with they're really easy to roll your ankle in (inversion). I wear Danskos as street shoes and semi-regularly invert myself into a stumble. Although I'm not a nurse yet, my current job has days where I'm on my feet for 10-12 hours. I tried to wear my Danskos a few times and the height/rolling issue, plus the fact that they have rigid soles (uncomfortable to crouch in) made them a no-go for me. As I shop for my first pair of nursing shoes I'm looking for close to the ground & a flexible sole.

I took pathophysiology distance, but during the regular spring semester, so I can't give advice regarding go-your-own-pace classes. However, during my search for online patho courses (and in discussing with the registrar at the school I applied to) I found that you MUST make sure that the patho course you take will actually transfer in. For example, the program I applied to required a 4cr course, and would not accept a 3cr course, period. I seem to remember that the courses I looked at were about 50/50 4cr/3cr. (Oh, wait... here's a self-paced course for the lovely price of $1305 UNE Online Pathophysiology Course | UNE Online College of Graduate and Professional Studies ) Hope that you've already found the course you needed, but maybe this will help someone else!

I'll be starting nursing school this fall, and it will be my third career Being older (36) and having worked in two incredibly disparate fields (IT & sm. business owner) has given me the experience to truly understand my skills, weaknesses & desires in a career. Although a constant refrain in my head is "this would have been so much easier at 20!!" the truth is that I just didn't know who the heck I was then. I think I'm figuring it out! The most frustrating thing about the application process is the different criteria each school uses for admission. I had a Bad Experience with college during the first go-round in my teens/20's, and had a low GPA. That being said, I had a 4.0 for all of my pre-req's, and the schools I applied to either weighted science course GPA separately, or only used courses taken within the last 5 years to calculate overall GPA. For healthcare experience, the option I know of is to get a certificate and start working (CNA, phlebotomist, etc.) For volunteer work you should call hospitals/clinics/long-term care/public health depts. and see what they have for opportunities. You may also be able to arrange job shadows. Good luck!

I took micro before A&P. As several others have said, as long as you have a solid bio foundation you'll be fine either way. My only advice is to take micro during a semester where you can take the time to enjoy it because it's AWESOME. Definitely my favorite class of all the pre-reqs.

Most of the hospitals in Alaska will not hire new grads. Providence in Anchorage has a small new grad program that is *highly* competitive, and tends to go to students who have done clinicals there. Same with Fairbanks Memorial. The hospitals in the larger small communities (I know that sounds oxymoronic, but that's how it is in AK) all want experienced nurses since they are typically too small for specialization and want new hires to have already seen/done a little bit of everything. An acquaintance just graduated with her BSN last spring and passed the NCLEX in the summer. She had to leave the state (I think she's in MI?) to find a new grad position in ICU where she wanted to be. I know another girl who's graduating with her BSN this spring and has an offer from Providence to work in NICU, but she's been working there as a tech and did clinicals there. Hope this helps anyone considering moving north