CriticalThinker88

Just submitted my VCU accelerated BSN application! Love to hear if anyone is in the same boat! :)

Submitted my application! The next step is to wait to see if you're called for an interview right? Does anyone know when that will be? I know decisions are made February 2018

Hi NurseRed92, Are you able to send your electronic references? I've filled them out, and they read "sent". However, my references aren't getting them

Hey guys! I just started a thread for UVA's CNL Summer 2018, but I'm also applying to VCU's ABSN program for Summer 2018. If anyone out there is doing the same, or just applying to VCU, I'd love to hear from you! :)

Hi! I wanted to start a thread for those applying to UVA's MSN CNL program for Summer 2018. I finish up my last two prerequisites this week. I'm nervous, but excited to apply! Just wanted to see if there's anyone out there in the same boat as me. I look forward to hearing from you! :)

I started prereqs for two accelerated programs this January. I took AP I and II Spring 2017 and Microbiology, Developmental Psychology, and Statistics Summer 2017. Applications for the programs I'm applying to open in August and October :) Good luck with your prerequisites!

Hey all! I'm still working on my prerequisites for accelerated nursing. I finished Anatomy and Physiology I with a B, Anatomy and Physiology II with an A, and just finished Microbiology with a B. I'm taking Statistics and Developmental Psychology now, and I will be all done August 1st!! The applications for accelerated nursing in my area open in August and September. I'm so happy to finally be finishing up prerequisites!! :)

I'd absolutely recommend them! I liked them because you can get the work done around your schedule and don't have to worry about commuting to class. It definitely depends on your learning style, but I enjoyed being given a weekly deadline and having flexibility to complete assignments when I have time.

Right now (Spring 2017) I am taking two for a total of 8 credits. I took A&P I for the first 8 weeks, and I am on the last week of A&P II for the second 8 weeks. I am going to be taking three courses this summer: Microbiology, Developmental Psychology, and Statistics for a total of 10 credits. Micro will be in person, but Stats and Psych are online :)

The accelerated programs to which I'm applying each require a 3.0 GPA or higher. However, I would contact the programs that you're interested in and get their advice. You could also apply and explain your GPA within the application. It never hurts to try! Good luck!

I am working full-time while completing my prerequisites. I am doing most of my courses online. The flexibility of online classes is awesome!

I have taken AP I and AP II online. We complete the lab assignments in the lab manual, but anything involving an actual physical lab we skip. There are online modules called PHILS we complete as well. They're simulations of lab experiments which are pretty cool. For my courses we had an online text and a hard copy lab manual. I ordered the hard copy of the book as well. We had a mix of proctored tests and ones that we completed at home. I took these classes at a community college in Va. Hope this helps! :)

I am taking A&P 1 online right now. It's one of the prerequisites for the accelerated BSN program that I'm hoping to apply to this summer. I chose this option, because I found it to be easier with a full time job. I enjoy the flexibility of completing assignments when I can. We're given a weekly deadline, so on days when my schedule is packed, I know I can complete the assignments on another day prior to the deadline. It's also helpful that my professor happens to be very accessible via phone and emails. You do have to be motivated to stay on top of assignments and not be afraid to ask questions. The virtual labs are pretty cool, but I do miss the having the opportunity to do them in an actual lab. However, I think you'll enjoy the experience! :)

I'm in the same boat as you! When I went to the info session for the accelerated BSN program at the college, they recommended that we take our pre-reqs at a community college. They knew that we'd be competing against current students to take the pre-req courses at the actual college and that community colleges have flexible schedules since we work full-time. I was still nervous, but I heard over and over again that as long as the grades are good, there's nothing to worry about. I also verified that the courses would transfer properly and met with advisors at the college and community college. I start my pre-reqs next week! Good luck to you! :)

I can definitely sympathize with the feeling isolated part! I love my kiddos, but when I start saying to my friends "1-2-3 eyes on me" when we're out at a social event and expecting them to reply "1-2 eyes on you" there's a problem haha -- I'm an elementary teacher looking into accelerated nursing programs in my area, so I'm curious too about anyone who has made the leap from teaching to nursing.

I am curious about this too! I am just now exploring accelerated nursing programs in my area in order to make the switch from being an elementary teacher to nurse. I enjoy working with children, so I was thinking pediatrics but if anyone knows of any other nursing specialities that would fit with a teaching background, I would appreciate the insight! :)

I'm a current elementary teacher looking into making a career change to nursing. If you truly feel that you've given the nursing profession a fair shot, and you do not enjoy it, I say go for the career change. However, working less than a year as a nurse seems like a little soon to switch, maybe you just need a change of environment? As for student loans, there is a government program in which you work five years at a Title 1 school (public low-income) and you can qualify for up to $17,500 off of your student loan debt. Also, there is a public servant loan forgiveness program (applicable to public school teachers as well as health professionals in public hospitals) for forgiving all loans after working there full-time for 10 years. As for the stress-free part, I have an aunt who is a nurse and her job isn't stress-free and teaching isn't stress-free either. I'm somewhat confused as to why you'd want to leave a stress-free job? But to each his own. Keep in mind that when working in education, you have to pay to set up your 'office'. Here's what I mean: you pay for your easel ($400), your classroom rug ($400), your supplies, your crafts, snacks for kiddos, your paper, books ($3000+), etc. Some schools will reimburse you, but after you've spent thousands of dollars that year and receive $100 if that from the school, it doesn't really mean much. If you qualify, you might get $200 to $250 off your taxes, but again nothing close to what you've actually spent that school year. Take into consideration how much you'll be spending yearly to how low the salary is. Also, get comfortable with parents calling and emailing all hours of the day, and I mean all. I've been at schools with helicopter parents who get upset when little Billy didn't get to sit next to the cool kid and lunch, so they need to send me a 3 AM email complaining about it, to schools where I've never even met the parent and I've been the one buying the kid's field trip, lunch, supplies, etc. Teaching is a noble profession, but it's changed much over the years. You will come in early and leave late for hours that you aren't paid, you will work when you're at home and during the weekend. I would also recommend substituting in a local school, if possible. I would say give nursing a fair chance at least three years, before making the leap.

I know I'm late to the conversation (...by three years), but I wanted to post anyway for anyone who has a similar question. I'm a current elementary teacher looking to switching into nursing. I would say go ahead and continue with the nursing program try out the field and then you can always go back to school to become a teacher if you do not like nursing. Since you will already have a bachelor's degree, you most likely will not have to do a 4-year program. Making the switch while still in school is a tough decision, but I would try out the career first before switching to a totally different field. There could be a nursing course that motivates you and brings back your desire to become a nurse! Good luck! :)

I'm getting ready to make a career change into nursing as well. I have a BA and M.Ed, so I'm looking into two accelerated nursing programs in my state. One is for a BSN and the other for an MSN. They both require that you have a bachelor's degree in another area of study. Luckily, in my state, the BSN and MSN have the same prerequisite courses, so I'm hoping to apply to both. I believe with the MSN you can go further in the nursing field (as with a master's in any field). Both of the programs I'm applying to require that the prerequisites be no older than 5 years. I'm not sure about the paramedic question, but when I went to an info session for the BSN program they really pushed volunteering and having some sort of experience in the health care field, so I believe that being a paramedic would give you a leg up! At the info session, it was recommended that the prereqs be taken at community college to fit with the schedules of students working full-time. Of course the GPA needs to be high, volunteer experience needs to be there, and you'll have to submit your SAT, ACT, or GRE scores at least for the schools I'm applying to. Hope this helps and good luck! :)

I'm a current teacher working to get into nursing, so I'm on the flip side of things. I enjoy teaching and working with children; however, I do not enjoy getting paid so little and spending thousands (yes thousands) per year in my classroom (my easel costs $400, classroom rug $400, classroom books $3380 and counting, in addition to the monthly school supplies costs: paper, pencils, construction paper, snacks, I could go on) and not getting reimbursed, having to go home to do more work for school, working through the weekends, working outside of my scheduled hours (coming in and hour or more early and leaving hours later) and not getting paid, among other things. It's unfortunate, but I've spoken with other teachers who feel the same way. I've also gotten to the point that I feel dread when I think about continuing in this field, and I know that me feeling this way isn't allowing me to be the most effective teacher I can be. When I came to this realization, I knew that I needed to make a change. I believe that if you have reached the point where you're dreading going into work, a change needs to be made. Consider your options of being a nurse in a different environment or if you're dreading all of nursing, I say follow your dream and become a teacher. You need to do what will make you happy and productive. Hopefully your family can accept this. Good luck!

I would suggest getting a dog that's at least a year old to start, puppies will need to go out hourly or close to it depending on the age. I've put my dog in doggie daycare before. It was helpful, because there's a camera for you to watch him, they have nap time, outside play time, and you can order treats for your dog too! If you're getting a puppy, you might want to see about doggie day care, so that it can be let out during the day or have a friend do it. When my dog isn't in day care, I have him at home in a gated area in the kitchen with his crate and toys; he's an adult now so he can hold it until I get home to let him out. Hope this helps! Congrats on your soon-to-be new doggie addition! :)

As a teacher, I've had students in this situation before. We always contacted the parent to let them know (which is tough enough in itself). Sometimes the parents are embarrassed and deny the problem, so we also let them know that it's impacting their child socially, because others do not want to play with him or her. The social aspect helps the parents get involved. I've had parents with different cultural backgrounds who weren't used to the same hygiene routines, and I've also had parents who were struggling with getting their kiddos to bathe routinely due to a fear that the child had or some other concern. I would start with speaking with the parents, and if they are not receptive, then contact the social worker. I wouldn't want the parents to be put off by immediately contacting the social worker. The social worker (at least at my school) wants to know or see attempts that parents were contacted before they were.

As a current elementary teacher, I always have kiddos who come to me in 'desperate need of immediate medical attention' i.e. they want to take a trip to the nurse to get an icepack that will later be used as a toy or drink in class. Unless I see blood or an obvious bruise, I don't send them to the nurse right away. I try to calm them down first and see if they want to get water. My kiddos feel like that is a treat almost as special as taking a trip to the nurses office. That usually works and then they go back to their task or playing at recess as normal. The magic water fountain cures all!

I'm preparing for the GRE too. I bought The Official Guide to the GRE 2nd Eddition by ETS, because they designed the GRE. I also bought one of their supplemental books Official GRE Verbal Reasoning Practice Questions. I think I'll also get the Quantitative Reasoning book too. Lastly, I purchased the "Official GRE Mobile App" from ETS. These tools have been super helpful so far! I am learning a lot and feel better about somewhat knowing what to expect on the assessment. I also like how they provide the background about the forms of assessments and scoring. There are also a bunch of practice assessments and actual essays from test-takers along with the scoring results. I plan on taking the GRE this July; good luck to you too! I hope that this was helpful!

Hi everyone, I submitted an application to volunteer at a local city hospital, located downtown in my area. (They're actually partnered with the accelerated nursing program that I'm hoping to apply to in the near future.) I submitted the application online a little over a week ago, but I haven't heard anything. Yesterday, I submitted an application to a county hospital closer to me, and I heard back the same day. I was wondering if it's usual for hospitals to take over a week to respond to volunteers? I'm wondering if it's because they receive so many applications? I'm going to continue go through with the volunteer process at the county hospital, so that I can gain exposure into the health care field, but I would like to volunteer at the downtown hospital since it has ties to the accelerated program. If the downtown hospital ends up contacting me as well, do you think it would be too much to volunteer at two hospitals? Has anyone on here experienced volunteering at two hospitals? Thank you for your help! :)