Question from a HS Junior.

bullcityrn · Mar 4, 2006

Hello all!
I'm starting my college application process. I'm slated to take the SAT on April 1st. I've registered for my senior year courses and i am now selecting schools that i want to show interest in. I'm interested in the medical field. I've looked into Pharmacy and now starting to looking into nursing. I have 6 schools so far that i'm applying (University of the Sciences, Northeastern U, UConn, Texas Tech, U of New Mexico and Rutgers) to and i want to some some schools that have good nursing programs. My Gpa should be ~3.0-3.25 by the end of my Junior Year. I've taken AP Classes including AP Physics (Mechanics) AP English and AP Gov't. I will be taking AP Chemistry senior year hopefully along with AP English and Allied Health (I get to make rotations in a hospital or a pharmacy 3x a week). I'm just wondering what schools should i be looking that that are withing my zone? What kind of pre-reqs are needed for nursing? How many years does it take to get your degree (BSN AND RN is needed to practice?) What kind of role do men play in nursing?(I don't think i worded that correctly) What kind of salaries will i be looking at?
Thank You,
Tyrius

Hi Tyrius,

I think it's great you are considering nursing as a career! With your grades and planned courses for senior year, I'd say you have a great chance of getting into a good school. You can get an ADN in 2 years and BSN in 4 years. You can practice nursing with either one although, of course, you have more opportunities available to you the further you go in school. I would recommend that you check out www.discovernursing.com, there you can pretty much get all of your questions answered. You can also post your question about men in nursing at the Male Nurses forum here and I'm sure you'll get some responses.

Good Luck!!

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Mar 4, 2006

here are some links to information about the profession of nursing that you should check out.

http://www.discovernursing.com/

http://www.nursingsociety.org/career/cmap.html

http://www.nsna.org/career/is_nursing_for_you2.pdf

i'm sorry but i don't understand what you mean when you say "i'm just wondering what schools should i be looking that that are within my zone?" what zone are you talking about? are you looking for prestigious nursing schools, or nursing schools close to your home? there are many fine nursing schools that you would qualify to get into. in general, most nursing programs require a college level anatomy and physiology course, microbiology, chemistry and some sort of human growth and development course that covers the tasks of the human in the various phases of their life span. in addition to that, each college or university has very specific requirements to fulfill in order to earn a degree from their institution.

Fun2, BSN, RN · Mar 4, 2006

Hello, and welcome.

First of all, male nurses do the same things as a female nurse does. I really don't think there is a difference in job description. If you're a nurse, you're a nurse.

An RN means that you have either received a bachelor's degree, or an associates in nursing and passed the NCLEX.

Diploma Nurse, Associates in Nursing and Bachelor's Degree in Nursing all take the same NCLEX test, and all do the same job functions as a bedside nurse.

Bachelor's in Nursing allow for further expansion in different areas such as management.

Pay depends on where you live, but as with most things, it is not anywhere near what it's worth.

Remember, most schools have an application for the school and a separate one for the nursing program. What may get you accepted into a college, may or may not be good enough for the nursing program. Therefore, do your absolute best now.

Good luck to you!!!

Tyrius · Mar 4, 2006

Thank you all for your replies!

What I mean by schools in my zone is that i most likely couldn't get into UPenn whether it be the school or the nursing program. What schools do i have a pretty good chance of getting into to?

ms. vanessa · Mar 5, 2006

hi tyrius,

there are a lot of colleges around the country

that have a direct-entry program for high school students.

this means that you're guaranteed to graduate with a BSN in

four years without having to wait due to the competitiveness.

i suggest you look forward to these colleges, University of Illinois at Chicago is one of the nations best nursing schools, and does have that direct

entry program.

best luck to you!

vanessa....

bsugaRN2b · Mar 5, 2006

Hey Tyrius!

Have you looked into Emory (Atlanta) at all? They have a BSN program, and you take 2 yrs. of pre-reqs at Emory or elsewhere, and 2 years at the nursing school...total time 4 years for a BSN, and I believe 5 1/2 years will get you an MSN if you were interested...

As for GPA, I had B's and A's coming in from high school, and I just got accepted to Emory's nursing school w/a 3.049, so you should be fine...

Tuition-wise, Emory doesn't do too bad of a job coming down from their high tuition price, not to mention the nursing school scholarships they'll give you if you work for them for a few years after you graduate w/a BSN...'cause if it wansn't for that, I wouldn't be here - I'm not a money-blessed person by any means! Feel free to PM me if you want more info!

~Adria :)

EricJRN, MSN, RN · Mar 5, 2006

You're taking the SAT on April Fools Day? Good luck, man!

1Tulip · Mar 5, 2006

Tyrius...

Give a thought to the amount of debt you may incur during nursing school. Starting pay for nurses is not huge. Not bad. Just not huge. Keep your debt load low.

I don't think prestige means squat, really when it comes to nursing school. I would look at issues like:

1. Quality of the University as a whole.

2. In state tuition should be a plus.

3. Nursing faculty: How many of them have terminal degrees (PhD's). I don't mean to say that these are always the best teachers of nursing, but it's a measure of how seriously the University takes their school of nursing.

4. WHAT IS THEIR PASS RATE ON THE N-CLEX!!!! (I know of one BSN program that had only a 60% pass rate. Evidence of big trouble and major weakness.)

Nursing v. Pharmacy: I can't speak to the relative pay scales. I just know that a pharmacist is pretty much a pharmacist. A nurse can practice in an almost limitless number of settings. Everything from Air Evac/ Rescue nursing to CSI type jobs. You can work every conceivable unit in acute care. You can practice nursing in the community. You can go on to get an MSN and become a nurse practitioner. (In our town, NP's make some serious money.)

With a license in nursing in one state, you can move to another without a major flap. (Don't know if there is good reciprocity between states for Pharmacists.)

With a BSN from a solid University, your transcript (providing you make good grades) should be adequate to get you into a graduate program in almost any of the sciences. If a PhD in pharmacology or physiology or cellular molecular biology might strike your fancy some day... you should be able to get into such programs on the strength of your undergraduate degree. Needless to say... you can also keep going up the Nursing academic ladder and get a PhD in Nursing... (and be a professor in a nursing school.)

35 years after getting my BSN, I still am discovering new ways to practice nursing and new career avenues to follow.

You won't be bored. I can pretty much guarentee that.