HedgieMama

Your resume for nursing school will be more attractive if you have medical volunteer experience.

I think being an EMT is totally sufficient for work/volunteer experience for both applying to school and getting a job afterwards. I don't think being a CNA is necessary. I got accepted into the BSN programs at UW, SPU, and SU with 60hrs of volunteering in an ED, ~100hrs of volunteering at a Ronald McDonald House, and about 1000 work hrs as a patient transporter in a hospital. Universities in Washington are looking for well-rounded applicants with good grades, medical experience (to show that you know what you're getting into), and good communication skills (essays, resumes, etc). Once you're in nursing school and have completed a quarter of your program you can apply to be a nurse tech (the job is available at several Seattle hospitals) and that, I have been told, is the best job you can have on your resume when you apply elsewhere as a new grad because it's real nursing experience. You get to give meds, insert foleys, start IVs, etc. Sounds like right now you're on the right track OP, no need to make it harder for yourself! :)

I would say for the most part, nursing programs DO care a lot about volunteer/work experience. Every BSN program in my state takes experience very seriously along with grades. OP- I certainly wouldn't dump your volunteering unless you know for sure the programs you will be applying to don't weight it as part of your app. My advice would be to look into the schools and programs you are thinking about applying to. Most programs have published information about their specific requirements as far as grades and volunteer/work (my program required C+ grades and 100hrs of experience to apply). If you get great grades in all of your other nursing pre-req classes and have a resume full of applicable work/volunteer experience, I don't see you having any issues in the future. :)

Yep! Good ole' upper left hand corner.

Might as well just go all the way now and get the BSN! That way you can be done with school when you graduate and be a better candidate for specialty units (NICU/ICU/ED etc) and magnet hospitals right out of the gate when you graduate. I just turned 20 and am starting my 2 year BSN program in a month. I'll be 21 when I (hopefully) graduate. :)

1) It doesn't matter that you were lazy in high school as long as you are determined and motivated to complete your pre-reqs with high grades now. HS grades really only matter when getting into college, then once you're in they don't really matter again. The nursing program you apply to will most likely just look at your college-level work and make a decision based on those grades. You need to buckle down and get awesome grades to get into an actual nursing program because it's competitive! But you seem to be out of your laziness phase so you should be fine. 2) Many nurses are introverts. As long as you are comfortable talking 1 on 1 with your patients and their families and communicating with coworkers you will be fine. People usually don't appreciate getting their "ear talked off" anyway so I think as long as you can communicate effectively in the workplace you'll be just fine. 3) RN job markets 100% depend on the area. I read on here that some new grads have trouble getting a job after graduating, but in my state the job market is booming and I have no doubt I'll have a job lined up before my program is over. 4) I am currently in a BSN program and I'm working about .6-.8FTE which is pretty average among my classmates. It's not too bad- I mean it's hectic and stressful but doable. Especially when there is rent to pay! Hope that helps! I would say the most important things to focus on are good grades and applicable work/volunteer experience you can add to your resume. Good Luck!

If you will be using this stethoscope around patients I would say no. The tubing is slick and would not hold the paint well, leaving toxic black paint on your fingers and other places it rubs against. Yellow is fun- you should just try and rock it! :)

I grew up in Spokane and LOVED it! Great weather and great cost of living. It's very family/neighborhood oriented and although it's not a huge city- it has pretty much all of the things a city has to offer. Check out Riverfront Park when you visit! And good luck!

jgardner- Sacred Heart has about 100 RN openings right now so I don't think getting a job there will be too hard. (I have worked there and liked it- everyone is pretty nice and there's a good team environment.) As far as NICU goes, it's a beautiful new unit that is competitive to get into and they prefer BSNs and experience (per the current job postings) so you may need to get some experience before getting a job in that unit. OP- I would say that even though WA has plenty of nursing schools the Spokane area still tends to be under-served. In Seattle where I'm currently living and in my BSN program there also seems to be plenty of openings to apply to as well; they're just more competitive because there are more applicants over here. Overall, I would say WA has a great RN market right now. Spokane has a surplus of openings and even the prestigious Children's hospital that I'm currently working at in Seattle has quite a few RN openings and they hire new grads and train.

I think it totally depends on your school, but at my college (like jgardner's) Nutrition was the easiest class I took. As far as your course load goes- that will need to be a personal decision based on you and your work/school/family/social habits. Best of luck!

I would give all the love and attention you have to these pre-nursing specific classes. Unfortunately with your GPA now there's most likely no chance you could get into a BSN program... but you may be able to turn it around and shine with these few nursing-related classes. If you can get 3.5-4.0s in these classes it will bring your overall GPA up and show nursing schools that you can make it in the academically challenging world of nursing. Keep in mind that although the minimum to apply is 2.7, nursing schools are insanely competitive and you will need higher than that to be in the running for a spot. Study hard and dedicate all the time you can to these difficult classes. Best of luck. If this is what you feel called to do- make it happen!

I think both sound like good options and I agree with Gere. For option 2 are you wanting to finish with UW Seattle's BSN program? Because oh my goodness, it is extremely hard to get in to. I was just accepted into the program as one of 92 students out of 540 qualified applicants. You have to have an excellent GPA in addition to excellent experience and references. A lot of students have to apply multiple times to get in. I'm assuming UW Tacoma is quite a bit easier to get into, which would make option 1 the safer option, but not necessarily the best option. Good luck wherever you go!

Do you have any clinical work/volunteer experience? I know of some schools in the Pacific NW that will take a more "holistic" approach to evaluating RN/BSN applicants. There is a small chance that if you have excellent nursing-related experience they will look past your poor GPA. But like PPs have said, BSN programs are intense academic programs and you may not be cutout for one.

I earned 4.0s in all three quarters of my A and P courses. It's mostly just a LOT of memorization. However, if you are a visual kinesthetic learner, a fun way to get your feet wet is to get an A and P coloring book. Here's the link to a great one: The Anatomy Coloring Book: 978

I emailed the general SPU admissions dept but am sending my nursing program declination letter today. So maybe the SPU admissions dept doesn't communicate directly with the nursing program? I'm pretty sure at least two people on this thread are declining spots. What number are you on the waitlist?