[DebbieMarie]

Hi. I'm Debbie, a prospective RN student in Oklahoma.

I'm 53 years old now.

I have a BA and MA in Social Sciences from the University of Oklahoma. I graduated in 1992.

I'm trying to decide between attending OCCC and Rose State. I'm pursing the AA degree accelerated option.

I do not want to pursue a BA or more, and I want to keep this as simply as possible because I do not have a strong science background.

I realize there will be science courses.

Please tell me which of the two schools are better for a social science major.

Why is it when I talk to ANYONE about enrolling in an RN program their eyes roll back in their heads and they approach the whole subject with a sense of enormous dread?

Can it be anymore stressful than surviving an alcohol/abusive childhood; two alcoholic/abusive marriages and near abject poverty; going to college and working full time which involved taking 36 hours of statistics to graduate with no prior math background and writing/defending a thesis to boot. And somehow living to tell about it.

Is nursing school more stressful than this? If so, I don't think I can make it through.

Despite all this, I have a heart for hurting people, and I want to anything I can to ease their emotional and physical suffering.

I work as a CNA/HHA now, and also do volunteer work as a support group facilitator for a depression/bipolar support group.


Thank you.

Debbie

[Ricu]

Originally Posted by DebbieMarie

Hi. I'm Debbie, a prospective RN student in Oklahoma.

I'm 53 years old now.

I have a BA and MA in Social Sciences from the University of Oklahoma. I graduated in 1992.

I'm trying to decide between attending OCCC and Rose State. I'm pursing the AA degree accelerated option.

I do not want to pursue a BA or more, and I want to keep this as simply as possible because I do not have a strong science background.

I realize there will be science courses.

Please tell me which of the two schools are better for a social science major.

Why is it when I talk to ANYONE about enrolling in an RN program their eyes roll back in their heads and they approach the whole subject with a sense of enormous dread?

Can it be anymore stressful than surviving an alcohol/abusive childhood; two alcoholic/abusive marriages and near abject poverty; going to college and working full time which involved taking 36 hours of statistics to graduate with no prior math background and writing/defending a thesis to boot. And somehow living to tell about it.

Is nursing school more stressful than this? If so, I don't think I can make it through.

Despite all this, I have a heart for hurting people, and I want to anything I can to ease their emotional and physical suffering.

I work as a CNA/HHA now, and also do volunteer work as a support group facilitator for a depression/bipolar support group.


Thank you.

Debbie

Hi Debbie,

It sounds like you have all the right stuff to become an excellent nurse. I'm sure your tenacity will get you through the sciences. The best nurses I know got into the field as a second or third career. As adults in the workforce they were attending classes, keeping houses and raising families. It was hard work but because they were very motivated and supported each other, they got through it. For those reasons, try to ignore the eye-rolling people because they have no real frame of reference for their dread. On the matter of which school, I recommend that you attend the one that accepts the most transfer credit and/or has the first opening. Looking toward the future, I have a feeling that from the things that you tell about yourself, you might eventually want to roll everything into a masters degree. After graduation, you will work as a clinical nurse for awhile but you really sound like someone who would like to work as a counselor in behavioral health. A masters degree will get you there.

Good luck and keep writing.

R

[piecebypiece]

I don't really don't know what to tell you about Rose or O-Trip but I can talk about taking the path that I took. I went to Rose for a couple of years pursuing something else until I started thinking about nursing. Rose has a few science courses that are just for their healthcare programs, a combined anatomy and physiology course and a microbiology course, each being a three credit class. I decided to go ahead and take the four credit physiology course and four credit anatomy course just in case I wanted to transfer to another school. Really, I knew I was a slacker and I didn't have much confidence on getting accepted into Rose's program.

After all the classes I took I just decided to go after a 4-yr program because both a 4-yr degree and a 2-yr degree would've taken me the same time to complete by that point. I figured that it wouldn't hurt me to have a BSN to stand on in case I decide to apply to an advanced practice program.

I guess just looking at all the different programs and their requirements will be the best guide for you, I'm sure you've already knocked out a few prereqs with the degrees you've already earned! Good luck with your pursuit