Why are there no nursing schools with built-in prerequisites?

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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It seems like a natural combination, lab sciences and nursing school, and yet everywhere I look the learning sequence is artificially split.

So many of the stories I read are "take your prerequisites and wait 1-3 years for a cohort." My problem with this is that life has to be put on hold while waiting, you cannot take on any substantial work because you might be pulled away in 6 months or 2 years.

Am I simply not seeing schools that, once accepted, give the full education? Or is there a historical or practical reason that I'm overlooking?

Specializes in Ante-Intra-Postpartum, Post Gyne.

You need to know what you learn in re-reqs before you get to nursing school. Its also a way to weed out students. If you can not do well in the basic of basic stuff, your not going to fend well in nursing school. And what is with the waiting? I got into my nursing program right away. Apply to a school that is merit based, and have excellent grads of course.

Specializes in critical care.

The 2 year program local to me allows you to enter the program competing with your ACT score, and you would then take the prereqs at the same time as the nursing classes. Honestly, it seems nuts to me. I took a&p with no background in bio or chem and it floored me. I would have failed out of the program in a heartbeat if I took the nursing classes on top of a&p and whatever other prereq they could fit me in. You really need the foundation first. As for why BSN programs might not admit a person to go straight through, well, if if turns out you suck at school, I guess they don't want you to take the spot of someone who is good at it.

Nursing programs are highly impacted and you will tend to see schools add to their pre-requisites as a means to weed out further students. One of the programs that I'm applying for gets 800 applications per year for 100 spots. These are people who have finished all the pre-reqs. If they were to allow those who hadn't completed the pre-reqs, imagine how many applications they would get.

When I did my first undergrad degree, the program I got into was competitive but still only 30% of the students made it to the second year. It takes a lot of resources to have a high weed out program as you need to ensure their are enough professors to teach the entry level courses but a lot less to teach the upper division courses. It seems a lot of nursing programs would rather not weed out as many students and therefore ensure the students are prepared in some manner by taking the pre-reqs.

I thought that every BSN program out there has it all rolled in to one. Yes, it may be broken up into a "pre-nursing" major and then you start clinical in the second half of your degree, but it does exist. Now for people that didn't go straight to a 4-year university out of high school, I know that they are few and far between. I would say that most for-profit programs actually encourage you to complete the pre-reqs at their school, that way they make more $$.

there is.. a few in my immediate area.

my community college, but there are developmental classes if you didn't finish high school or if you scored low on your entrance test.

And some of the hospital diploma programs dont require any pre-reqs.

Specializes in Pediatrics and Med Surf Float.

i'm in a ADN program. i took A&P I and II, micro, developmental psychology my first year. my second year i'm taking ethics. others i transferred in from HS credits or cleps. those are all 'co-reqs'. the only pre-reqs we have are HS level math, bio and chem or 1 semester each at the college level. other places i looked into like community colleges wanted a semester of chem before applying which i was unable to do cuz i was away for the year. so i applied to places that didn't require it. i applied to 2 places, got into both and chose the one with a better name. and very happy i went this route because i'm graduating the end of may which would not of happened if i had to do pre reqs

I think most BSN programs do wrap it into one, but of course that's b/c it's 4 years. ADN is only 2 years, but u need those extra classes and it's obviously going to take more time. If you didn't know A&P beforehand you'd fail out immediately anyway. Does that make sense? It does in my head lol!

All good points, thank you. I think the current markets in many locations are heavily distorted which is why I can't make sense of how things are set up.

Specializes in Pedi.

There are. They are the traditional BSN programs. I went into mine straight from high school and everything that would be considered a "prerequisite" for an ADN program was built into my program. I took A&P I & II with labs and Chemistry (also with lab) my freshman year and then Microbiology my sophomore year. Gen Ed requirements were part of the university's core curriculum.

Specializes in HH, Peds, Rehab, Clinical.

Where I went to school, pre-req's WERE built in, but they are seriously looking at changing that. SO many get a coveted spot and then can't get past A&P, Micro, etc...

who says there aren't? i went to one. it's called "a bachelor's degree in nursing." you go to college for it. all your prerequisites are timed to support the nursing courses as they progress.

just for fun i went to a good nursing school website and copied down the courses for the nursing major. here you go. you can go to the website (http://www.washington.edu/students/gencat/academic/school_nursing.html) for more info.these links are live, so you can see what the courses are.

students need a minimum of 180 credits to graduate with a bachelor's degree from the university of washington. the required credits in the nursing curriculum total 91-92; thus 88-89 credits must be earned through general education, nursing prerequisites, and elective courses.

entrance requirements: prior to beginning the nursing program in the autumn, students must meet the following requirements:

  1. a minimum of 90 credits to include the following courses:

    1. written communication (10 credits): english composition and w-courses.
    2. problem-solving (8 credits): one qsr course, chosen from math 107, math 111, math 112, math 120, math 124, math 134, math 144, phil 115, phil 120, phil 470, or q sci 291. one statistics course, such as stat 220, stat 311, q sci 381, qmeth 201, or edpsy 490.
    3. visual, literary, & performing arts (vlpa) (15 credits).
    4. individuals & societies (i&s) (15 credits): to include nurs 201 or equivalent.
    5. natural world (nw) (26-33 credits): to include chem 120, chem 220, chem 221 (three quarter chemistry series for uw students; two-quarter sequence - one general chemistry and one organic - for non-uw applicants); biol 118, biol 119; b str 301; microm 301 plus (- - microm 302 for uw students. non-uw applicants - must take a separate microbiology lab if lab not included in general microbiology course.); nutr 300.
    6. electives to complete 90 credits.

      7. [*] a minimum 2.00 cumulative gpa is required, and a minimum grade of 2.0 for each prerequisite course. because admission is competitive, the gpa for admission is usually significantly higher.

      [*] all applicants must be exempted from all english language proficiency requirements at uw in order to start the program. if offered admission the applicant is required to pay for a background check to be run by a company specified by the school of nursing

      year one of program

      • quarter 1 -- autumn
        • nclin 302 practicum: health assessment (4-5 credits)
        • nclin 306 practicum: basic skills of nursing practice (4)
        • nurs 304 human responses i (3)
        • nurs 301 clinical applications of anatomy and physiology (3)
        • nurs 309 pharmacotherapeutics in nursing practice i (2)
        • total credits: 16-17

        [*] quarter 2 -- winter

        • nurs 401 care in illness i (5)
        • nclin 402 practicum: care in illness ii (4)
        • nurs 308 human responses ii (3)
        • nurs 310 pharmacotherapeutics in nursing practice ii (3)
        • total credits: 15

        [*] quarter 3 -- spring

        • nurs 405 care in illness ii (5)
        • nclin 406 practicum care in illness ii (4)
        • nurs 303 foundations of professional nursing (3)
        • nurs 407 cultural variation and nursing practice (3)
        • nurs 404 gerontological nursing (2)
        • total credits: 17

      year two of program

      • quarter 4/5* -- autumn
        • nurs 415 nursing of families: childbearing and childrearing (5)
        • nclin 416 practicum: nursing of families (4)
        • nmeth 403 introduction to research in nursing (3)
        • nurs 410 legal and ethical issues in clinical practice (3)
        • total credits: 15

        *half of senior class completes courses listed above in quarter 4, followed by those in quarter 5; the other half of the class completes courses listed under quarter 5, followed by those listed in quarter 4.

        [*] quarter 4/5* -- winter

        • nurs 417 psychosocial nursing in health and illness (3)
        • nclin 418 practicum: psychosocial nursing (4)
        • nclin 409 partnerships in community health (6)
        • total credits: 13

        *half of senior class completes courses listed above in quarter 4, followed by those in quarter 5; the other half of the class completes courses listed under quarter 5, followed by those listed in quarter 4.

        [*] quarter 6 -- spring

        • nclin 411 transition to professional practice (12)
        • nurs 412 health care systems (3)
        • total credits: 15

      total credits in nursing major: 91-92

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