Published Jan 19, 2012
Tofukid
2 Posts
Hello all, I'm new here. I was interested in getting a BSN but I do not know what the best course of action is.
I already have two BS in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering. Cannot find a job and engineering prospects for the future seem to be getting more bleak everyday due to outsourcing.
I know there's a lot of new grad nurses that are having difficulty getting hired and lots of places just are not hiring new grad nurses. But I still feel like there will be more growth in the healthcare industry than engineering as baby boomers get old.
I haven't started taking any pre req courses for BSN and was wondering if I could do them all within a year if that were possible? I know nursing is a "hot" job right now and there are a lot of people trying to get in and all the pre req courses are pretty packed, so is it worth it? I wanna get through them all as soon as possible.
Also I'm hearing some nursing schools don't even accept people who already have a bachelors so will it be difficult to find a school in my area?
Sorry for rambling but what should I be doing to pursue this career? Or do I have a case of the grass is greener on the other side?
CDEWannaBe
456 Posts
First find a school that will work for you, then see what the prereqs are. In your case I would look for an accelerated BSN program, which is for folks who already have a bachelors.
In addition to classes, some nursing schools require you take special tests or earn a Certified Nursing Assistant certificate prior to applying. Most programs evaluate your overall GPA and your GPA in science classes. If you aren't a strong student (at least a 3.2 overall and 3.8 in science courses) it may take a while to be accepted.
Since I took few science classes when earning my BA, I'm taking those prereqs at a community college where classes are cheaper and there are more options with online, fast track, etc. The community college also offers an Associates in nursing, but in the same amount of time I'll have a BSN.
The program I am pursuing requires a bachelors, including the following classes:[TABLE=class: centered]
[TR]
[TD=align: left]ENGLISH COMP I (3 credit hours)[/TD]
[TD=align: left]ENG 1113[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR=class: odd]
[TD=align: left]ENGLISH COMP II (3 credit hours)[/TD]
[TD=align: left]ENG 1213[/TD]
[TD=align: left]US GOV (3 credit hours)[/TD]
[TD=align: left]PSC 1113[/TD]
[TD=align: left]US HISTORY (3 credit hours)[/TD]
[TD=align: left]HIST 1483 or HIST 1493[/TD]
[TD=align: left]DEV PSYCHOLOGY (3 credit hours)[/TD]
[TD=align: left]PSY 2603 [/TD]
[TD=align: left]STATISTICS (3 credit hours)[/TD]
[TD=align: left]PSY 2003 or PSY 2113 or ECON 2843 [/TD]
[TD=align: left]NUTRITION (3 credit hours)[/TD]
[TD=align: left]HES 2823[/TD]
[TD=align: left]INTRO or GENERAL CHEMISTRY (4-5 credit hours with lab)[/TD]
[TD=align: left]CHEM 1315[/TD]
[TD=align: left]MICROBIOLOGY (4-5 credit hours with lab)[/TD]
[TD=align: left]MBIO 2815[/TD]
[TD=align: left]HUMAN ANATOMY (4-5 credit hours with lab)[/TD]
[TD=align: left]ZOO 2255 or ZOO 2234[/TD]
[TD=align: left]HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY (4-5 credit hours with lab)[/TD]
[TD=align: left]ZOO 2124[/TD]
[/TABLE]
leenak
980 Posts
I would agree with target the schools you are interested in going. My target schools started with those that are within an hour drive. I figured I'd apply to those first and then apply to other schools that would require me to move (or move further). The only classes I had prior to starting prereqs were statistics and psychology. I have an old, old chem but that doesn't count for any schools that require chem.
My prereqs are:
Nutrition (requires Intro Bio), Human development (requires Intro Psych), Statistics, Microbiology (requires Intro Bio), Human Anatomy & Physiology 1&2 (requires Bio).
Since I already had Intro Psych, I didn't need to worry about it but I did have to take Intro Bio before taking any of the other Bio classes. The school I'm applying to doesn't require Chem but other schools require a Chem class (you might've taken this already as part of engineering?). I've also seen Ethics as another class that is required by some schools.
So can you do it in a year? Possibly but it might be tough.
Thanks for the info guys. I think san marcos would be ideal for me. They list their pre nurse requirements
[TABLE=class: Table01]
[TR=class: Table01-CellLight, bgcolor: #F9F9F9]
[TD]B2[/TD]
[TD] BIOL 175[/TD]
[TD] Intro to Anatomy/Phys I[/TD]
[TD] 4[/TD]
[TD] None[/TD]
[TR=class: Table01-CellDark, bgcolor: #ECE8E6]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD] BIOL 176[/TD]
[TD] Intro to Anatomy/Phys II[/TD]
[TD] P--BIOL 175[/TD]
[TD] BIOL 160[/TD]
[TD] Microbiology[/TD]
[TD] B1[/TD]
[TD] CHEM 105[/TD]
[TD] Organic & Biochemistry for Life[/TD]
[TD] P -- ELM requirement[/TD]
[TD] CHEM 105L[/TD]
[TD] Organic & Biochemistry for Life Laboratory[/TD]
[TD] 1[/TD]
[TD] C -- CHEM 105[/TD]
[TD] B4[/TD]
[TD] MATH[/TD]
[TD] **Any CSU B4 mathematics course[/TD]
[TD] 3[/TD]
[TD] A1[/TD]
[TD] GEO 102[/TD]
[TD] Oral Communication[/TD]
[TD] A2[/TD]
[TD] GEW 101[/TD]
[TD] Written Communication[/TD]
[TD] A3[/TD]
[TD] LTWR 115[/TD]
[TD] Critical Reading & Thinking[/TD]
[TD] P -- GEW 101[/TD]
[TD]
or
[/TD]
[TD] MATH 110[/TD]
[TD] Critical Thinking[/TD]
[TD] PHIL 110[/TD]
[TD] PSYC 110[/TD]
[TD] Critical Thinking in Psychology[/TD]
I haven't looked into it yet, but do you guys think a 4 on the AP test would help me bypass any intro to bio requirements for those classes?
If you got a 4 on the AP Bio test, then you might not have to take intro to Bio but that is it. You'd need the other Bio based pre-reqs.