Switching career to nursing - how to get started?

Editorial Team / Admin · Mar 27, 2010

Moved to pre-nursing student area.

bseesahm · Mar 27, 2010

Look into 2nd degree acellerated BSN programs. These are geared toward people like yourself with a BS or BA in a non-health field. I know in the Bay area Samuel Merritt has an excellent program and I'm sure there are others.

Another option is to get an ADN from a community college. With this you can take the NCLEX and become an RN. From there you can continue on with a bridge program RN-BSN. There are a variety of these available often designed for fulltime working RN's.

While it is important to investigate nursing schools. It is even more important to get started on prerequisites. Most programs require Anatomy, Physiology, and Microbiology at a minimum. Get enrolled at your local CC and get registered so you can start taking these classes at least. In addition to the above classes, each school may require other courses. Some more common ones are Chemistry, statistics, communication, psychology, sociology, etc.

Good Luck in your pursuit!

KKEGS, MSN, RN · Mar 27, 2010

Check if any schools in your area offer an MN (Master's of Nursing) degree. Like you I have a Bachelor's degree in a non-nursing field but didn't want to earn another Bachelor's degree. The University of Minnesota has a program, the MN program, specifically designed for those of us with non-nursing degrees who want to become nurses. I had to take 9 prerequisite courses in order to apply which I took part-time over a two-year period. I finish this summer and was accepted into the fall 2010 class for the MN program. It's doable to switch careers since I'm living proof. You'll just have to research to find a program that you can start working towards. Good luck!

jillibeeg · Mar 28, 2010

I decided last Feb to switch from teaching to nursing. My first step was to get into the healthcare field to I could be sure its something I wanted. I got my CNA, got a job as an ER Tech and began taking pre-req's (like said above: there are a lot of them). I did find a program MSN for people who have a degree in a non-nursing field so after 16 months in the program you graduate with an MSN and you take the NCLEX to get your RN License. I have not found out if I am accepted but I am hopeful to start the program in August if I am. But my best advice is to get yourself into the field and having a CNA will do that for you. Plus its good to start at the bottom.. you learn to be comfortable with patients and learn a lot of basic nursing skills. Good luck!

moma8gma1 · Mar 29, 2010

Great advice here on the board! The only other thing I can add is to make an appt. with a counselor at a school that has nursing programs. Bring a copy of your transcript, explain your goal, and see what road map the two of you can come up with to get you to that goal.

Good luck to you! :) (My husband is in the IT field, and it sounds completely unfulfilling to me, though he loves it. To each his own!)

kimsjc · Mar 29, 2010

I made the same decision about a year and a half ago. I live in silicon valley, and decided the quickest route for me would be the ABSN route at Samuel Merritt. It's a one year program to an RN/BSN for those with a Bachelors in another field. There are a lot of pre-reqs, but all of them except the required lab sciences (Anatomy, physiology, microbiology and chemistry) can be taken online at community colleges. I have been accepted for June 2010, and was able to knock down the pre reqs pretty quickly.

I considered the community college route, but it is a two year program for an associates degree, you have to have all your pre reqs complete prior to applying, and the waiting lists are 2+ years. It is worth it to me to pay the private school tuition to get done 4 years earlier, and have a BSN instead of ADN.

iPink, BSN, RN · Mar 29, 2010

By just skimming through the posts, I pretty much agree with everyone. I'm a career changer as well. Have a B.A. in another field and have decided to go the Accelerated BSN route. I'm currently at my local CC to finish up my prerequisites by this Summer. I got a list of all the colleges in my area that offered ABSNs and chose the one that required less perquisites and low GPA requirements. I didn't know graduating with over a 3.0 GPA would have been a plus years later when deciding to pursue the nursing field.

Now, some who are in similar situations as us have chosen to go directly into the MSN route. To each is own. There are topics regarding that if your interested. I felt more comfortable getting the BSN first and working to gain experience then pursue that advanced degree. Ultimately it's your decision. I did all my research which included talking to current family members who are RNs with advanced degrees and they saved me from my initial pursuit of becoming an LPN WITHOUT doing the proper research.

salsaready · Mar 31, 2010

Thanks for all your great advice.

I am researching on the master's programs that these schools offer in the San Fran/San Jose area:

USF

Samuel Merritt

UCSF

SFSU

U of Phoenix

Are there any other schools in the area? Some of the programs are competitive to get in, I heard.

So far, I am quite pleased to hear that the master's program generally spend the first year preparing you for the board exam. I need to find work soon and cannot afford schooling for years before making income.