Why is there a 7 year limit on prerequisites for nursing?

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Had a hopefully easy question but wanted a full answer, I have taken ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY, and MICROBIOLOGY at CALSTATE LA around 10-12 years ago, I have been a EMT for the last 10 years in the hospital system. Wanted to know why some schools but not all require PREREQUISITES to be within 7 years? My GPA is 3.8 in the classes and there at a university, i find it unethical that a college would place these barriers on nursing for no apparent reason or benefit. Seems more like a money hungry move since not all schools are doing this. Also there is no other degree or field of study, like ENGINEERING, where this requirement is being made. Could someone please justify this or give me a answer they think the schools would give? Also what legal ramifications do i have to fight this?

With nursing, you are dealing with people's lives. The anatomy and physiology knowledge needs to be fresh.

On the other hand, if someone has a math degree they haven't used in 10 years, no one is going to die because they forgot how to graph a differential equation.

With that said though, every school I have looked at in Texas has a five year limit on science courses, but most schools waive that requirement if you have been actively working in the medical field for several years.

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Specializes in RN BS.

I agree with the OP. I think it's ridiculous. Another hoop to jump through. More $ generated.

You won't find many agreeing with you on here about this. ??‍♀️

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Specializes in Dialysis.
1 hour ago, Chan Chan said:

You won't find many agreeing with you on here about this. ??‍♀️

It's not a matter of agree or disagree. It simply is what it is

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Specializes in RN BS.
9 minutes ago, Hoosier_RN said:

It's not a matter of agree or disagree. It simply is what it is

Sure, the conditions are set, if that's what you meant, but everyone is entitled to an opinion concerning the matter.

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8 hours ago, WhaleTails said:

Silly question: if you're so convinced that your A&P/Micro credits should be accepted, would you be able to pass any sort of proficiency examination, proving that you've retained everything you learned 12 years ago?

I took both A&P classes over 10 years ago and I'm prepping for nursing school now. I'm retaking A&P and guess what? I remember very little, but I can probably pick it up quicker. I would honestly question the schools that don't have this requirement.

Now, on the other hand, I spoke to one school that started talking about retaking college algebra, stats, and non-sciences. I just said, "no thanks".

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2 hours ago, jlmcgrot said:

Now, on the other hand, I spoke to one school that started talking about retaking college algebra, stats, and non-sciences. I just said, "no thanks".

Yes, add those courses on to the load. The more courses repeated, the more revenue generated.

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I read your post and response and am stunned by your logic and lack of common sense. According to your logic, a nursing school should accept your pre-reqs no matter if you took them a year ago or 20 years ago. So, a microbio book from 1985 has the same information as one from today? So, today we have the same knowledge about viruses (HIV, herpes, etc), bacteria, etc. that we did 10, 20, etc years ago??

To compare this content to engineering is preposterous. Engineering is heavy on math and 2x2=4 today and it will equal 4 a thousand years from now. Medical science on the other hand constantly evolves especially new discoveries of viruses/bacteria, physiology, cancer cells, etc. which happen all the time.

When I applied for MBA programs, all the top programs required the GMAT entrance exam and I'm glad I took it because it helped prepare me for the rigorous program. A few smaller programs waived the GMAT and I suspect it was because they have to compete for students (and money) with other more established MBA programs. I suspect the nursing schools that waive these 7/10 year requirements also do it for the same or a similar reason.

Instead of whining about "the system," maybe you should focus on how to get accepted and put yourself in the best position to succeed or consider another career choice.

So, you're considering legal ramifications against these schools? Good luck with that...

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Anyone aspiring to enter a profession should be professional enough to take on the responsibility of keeping themselves up to date. It is not necessary to write checks to an institution in order to do this.

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22 minutes ago, caliotter3 said:

Anyone aspiring to enter a profession should be professional enough to take on the responsibility of keeping themselves up to date. It is not necessary to write checks to an institution in order to do this.

I don't think "write a check" sentiment is correct because most schools don't care where you took the class or require you retake the class with them.

I suppose we could debate how serious the intent of a person is if the classes were taken 10-20 years ago.

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Just now, jlmcgrot said:

I don't think "write a check" sentiment is correct because most schools don't care where you took the class or require you retake the class with them.

I suppose we could debate how serious the intent of a person is if the classes were taken 10-20 years ago.

I could have missed the intent of your post...haha

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Wow, my BSN program won't take them if they are over 5 years old. I had to retake 2 science classes because of this.

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Specializes in Psychiatric and Mental Health NP (PMHNP).

In California, most of us take the prereqs through a community college, and that is very inexpensive. The nursing schools don't make any money off that. I don't understand why the OP is so upset about this - it is a nominal cost.

Some nursing schools allow "challenging" the prereqs by taking a test. If the OP is so sure they know the material, then ask about challenging.

Medical schools also require prereqs to be taken within a certain time of applying.

Even experts learn from a review. Nothing wrong with a good review.

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