Would like to get into the medical field..help?!!

[PriorArmy0205]

Hello everyone. My plans are to move back to the Cleveland area by May of next year from St.Louis. I will be graduating with my bachelors degree in December, which is in Liberal Studies with a minor in Communications and Criminal Justice. I would love to get into the medical field,but all of my experience is in human resources while in the Army and administrative office work. I have been looking into the administrative positions in Cleveland Clinic and other facilities, but it seems like you need experience in the medical field. At this point, I would love to be a PCNA, STNA, or even RN. But how do I do this when I'm already close to finishing my degree that's outside of nursing?? I am a single parent of a five year old daughter and would love to provide a better life for her. My mother is moving with me and she was a LPN for many years (even worked as one while I was in high school in the Cleveland area). Any helpful information will be helpful.

[sailornurse]

You can do the second degree BSN, also called Accelerated BSN. I googled and found many schools in Ohio, including Cleveland State, Here is the info from that school. It is CCNE accredited which you want especially as many hospitals will not hire you if your program is not accredited and if you decide to continue for Master's/Doctoral degree you will need this accreditation. PM me if you have questions.

There is another thread titled: [h=1]ADN worth it in the Cleveland market?[/h]And it sounds like you should go for your BSN in the Cleveland area.

Also tuition for 12 credits/undergraduate/in state resident is approx $4820.00 which is very reasonable.

http://www.csuohio.edu/sites/default/files/Fiscal%202016%20UNDERGRADUATE%20Fee%20Schedule_4.pdf

Undergraduate ProgramsACCELERATED BSN PROGRAM

• What is an accelerated BSN?
  
• How is the program scheduled?
  
• Coursework
  
• Financial Aid
  
• Licensure
  
• How to get started
  
• Selection criteria
  
• ESL
  

What is an accelerated BSN ?

An accelerated BSN is an alternative program that can dramatically shorten the time frame for receiving a degree in nursing for students who already hold a bachelor's degree in a non-nursing subject and have completed all required prerequisites. Accelerated program students complete all nursing support courses and take the nursing courses in a specially designed sequence providing the same number of credits as in a basic BSN program. By building on past educational achievements, students in our accelerated program can earn a BSN degree in four consecutive semesters.

How is the program scheduled?

The program requires full-time student status over four consecutive semesters. The program commences in January and students graduate in May of the following year.

Coursework

Students complete all theory and clinical courses required to obtain a BSN degree. Courses include content in all nursing specialties and prepare graduates for beginning practice in professional nursing. The BSN graduate in nursing practices as a generalist.

[nszucs]

Hello,

I found myself in a very similar situation 3 years ago. A little background on me... I started in finance with a 4 year finance degree from Kent State. Decided to change things up 2 years into my finance career and switch to nursing (long story...). I'm going to Tri-C, the generic ADN track at night and on the weekends while I've worked full time. I'm 1 year into the nursing program now and work as a patient care tech at UH (hospitals are more likely to hire you with nursing school experience for the tech roles). Many of my classmates also have full time jobs and kids at home which they somehow manage to juggle. It can be difficult but it is possible! Several routes you could look into to break into the patient care world are EMT-Basic, Phlebotomy or STNA. I tried with the STNA route and didn't have much luck. The way I did it was I worked in finance at UH for just over a year then transferred to a patient care tech role. UH was pretty friendly to those in the system in administration who were wanting to pursue nursing. UH is also associates degree RN friendly (but they do require you to bridge to a BSN within 5 years).

With the accelerated programs lots of people do - you can't really work. You have to do these full time. Plus they involve student loan debt which I wasn't willing to do (they will run you $30k+ for the 12-18 months it takes to finish them). But as a first step you could always start taking prereq's at cuyahoga community college (Tri-C). They're affordable and credits are widely accepted by the 4 year schools. You'll want to take chem 1&2 there (Chem1010+Chem1020), Anatomy & Physiology 1 and 2, and bio 2500 (just to get you started... lots of prereq's if you don't have a science background already =). The prereq's for the ADN program at Tri-C are the same as the accelerated programs at 4 year schools (Kent State, Cleveland State, BW to name a few). The difference is Tri-C lets you apply to the nursing program sooner whereas the accelerated programs require you to have 100% of the prereq's done before you even apply.

Hope this helps. Good Luck!

-Nick