RN school while in High School?

allnurses Guide · Apr 16, 2019

Hard to say re: maturing. Obviously there were lots of 17 and 18 year old nurses in the world war eras, but then people were pretty much considered to be adults and treated as such by that age. Nowadays childhood is pretty extended. I don't foresee a good work force coming from this, particularly if these new RNs have never worked a job before. That may just be my cynicism showing. I am also concerned this will drive down wages and that these students won't be able to readily find work. There is already a shortage of new grad positions in Texas.

AFJ32780, MSN, RN, NP · Apr 16, 2019

I like it In theory. But I’m not sure this is a good idea.

Jory, MSN, APRN, CNM · Apr 16, 2019

I'm sorry, maybe knock out a few classes so their college coursework is less, but 18 is too young...there is a lot of maturing in those two years of college.

Kitiger, RN · Apr 16, 2019

There is simply not enough time - while in high school - to take not only the classes needed to graduate high school along with the book-learning required for nursing, but also the clinical, hands-on experience one must have to become a nurse.

ruby_jane, BSN, RN · Apr 16, 2019

So they propose to train these students as ADNs, which is theoretically great.

One of the best nurses I ever knew was a hospital-trained diploma nurse. She served in Vietnam when she was 18.

However - there is no way to adequately incorporate the clinical component of nursing into a high school day. Because these kids would have to do clinicals at night, or whenever there was time. Transportation is a big issue as well. Finally, I'm not sure a hospital would be down with a 17-year old doing clinicals. RJ Junior is going to end up with her patient care certificate; other programs do MA, EMT or similar.

WestCoastSunRN, MSN, CNS · Apr 16, 2019

I love the idea of vocational programs in high schools. This is hardly seen anymore and needs to make a comeback, IMO. I don't like the idea of normal 18 year olds beginning their nursing careers as much. The program is (or should be) too demanding, for one thing. These are still kids. They should be kids while they can. Nursing steals parts of your youth away no matter how young you are in years.

Let 'em get college credits, for sure! We have kids around here who rack up a bunch of credits -- but nursing school is MORE than an associates degree -- think about all the pre-requisites! How can you get all that done in high school?

Davey Do · Apr 16, 2019

Their logan could be:

"Be an RN who is a Fox... a Fox Tech High School RN!"

There was, and maybe still is, an LPN program in the Anomaly Illinois school district which would allow a high school grad to also be able to sit on the boards.

I graduated high school in 1975 and ended up going through that LPN program in 1983. I didn't even consider nursing as an occupational endeavor in high school, but if I had it to do over again...

Emerson said, "Life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better", so let's just see how this one turns out.

klone, MSN, RN · Apr 16, 2019

I wonder how they would get around the liability issues of non-adults in the clinical setting doing their clinical rotations. I don't believe minors can sign binding consents and enter into contracts, such as what is required with regards to the various compliance forms required before stepping into a hospital setting.

AFJ32780, MSN, RN, NP · Apr 16, 2019

Great points! Not sure how the school will get away with any issues arising from a 16 year old in clinical.

Eleven011 · Apr 16, 2019

I have kids in High School, one being a senior. They are or will be taking 1 or 2 college credit classes. They are in sports and other school activities for a very well rounded education. They also have part time jobs, important IMO for developing a good work ethic. There is no way I would have them try to add in an RN degree into this mix. They need those years after high school to learn not only their careers but about life in general. I just think this is rushing kids way too much.

TriciaJ, RN · Apr 16, 2019

I know I'm being a crusty old bat but this is the dumbest thing I've heard in a while. It actually makes me laugh - so much push for higher nursing education, the persistent belief that if you don't have a BSN your patients are dropping like flies - but now you can come right out of high school and be an RN!

Considering that people who are already high school graduates (and some even with college degrees) still have to put in 1-2 years of prerequisites before even getting into nursing school - how the H. is this even going to work?

Read this forum to find out what new grads are going through in the workplace. A lot of them sound very young and unsophisticated. Now we want them even younger and dealing with nursing issues.

Hospitals are on board with this? Then you know they can't think beyond the market being flooded with cheap labour. Love how the phrase "giving back to the community" kept cropping up; are they expecting these people to work as volunteers?

The people who are thinking up this nonsense clearly have NO idea what nursing actually is. They must be stuck in the "noble calling" school of thought and would probably be genuinely surprised to see nurses wearing "doctors' stethoscopes".