Just starting out!

[ileanab]

Well here is my short story, I am 28 had my 4 kids and with my 3rd one going to Grade K in September and only one left at home with Hubby I would like to go back to school and get my RN like I had intentionally planned after High School. Anyway didn't do any college and literally just starting out can anyone help me know which direction to head and what I need in terms of basic college courses before I go into the nursing part and if there are any classes I can take towards my RN at local colleges??? so its cheaper that way???? Please email me if you can help out thanksI will be moving to Atlanta area this summer 2004 so I will be going to the schools there.

Ileanathemom@hotmail.com

[traumaNERD]

One of the first things you need to do is look into taking the NURSING SCHOOL ENTRANCE EXAM. Most local community and state colleges offer it. When I went to nursing school, I was required to have ALGEBRA, BIOLOGY, and CHEMISTRY done before I could enter a nursing program. Best thing to do is visit your local college and find out what the pre-entrance requirements are. If you took those courses either in high school or college within ten yrs, you should be ok. Check out the nursing program curriculum and start chipping away at some of the required courses and the electives while you are waiting to get into the program. Get things out of the way such as english comp, anatomy, sociology, human growth/development, psychology, etc. Good luck to you in your ambitious endeavor!

[Cammer]

Not all colleges have a Nursing School Entrance Exam. What you need to do first is a little research on RN programs in your area. Discover things such as pass/fail ratios, completion rates, average grades upon program completion, NCLEX test scores, etc., basically any information that might help you differentiate between the quality of one school versus another. This information may be available online but you might have to visit the schools to find it.

Then visit the campuses. Visit the counseling offices and find out some specifics about program requirements. Other big things to consider are location, cost per credit hour, availability of counseling staff, quality of instructors, anything else you might think of. A major factor to consider is the distance that you will have to commute to class. Nursing school will temporarily take up an enormous amount of your free time and if are spending two hours a day commuting, 8 hours a day in class, hitting the books until midnight, plus taking care of 4 kids and a husband and a house, your chances of completing the program plummet.

But before you get that far you just need to worry about applying for admission, usually a simple process, and finishing your prereq courses. Then when you have those done worry about getting admitted to the RN program. What usually happens is you won't be admitted to the program until you have completed all or most of your prerequisite courses anyway. Make sure you keep up your grades as many programs use your GPA as an entrance criteria.

Be sure that your family is as committed to this as you are. It will take mommy away from them for long hours and your hubby needs to give you a LOT of support. If he's not prepared for that then it will make life hard for the whole family.

I'm not an expert but I have recently gone through this mess and jumped through a lot of hoops. I'm in my first semester of RN school and things are going really well for me so far.

Good luck to you!

[jayway]

The first step is always the hardest. Once you begin your journey, the road to completion will become quite clear. After I chose my school I wanted to attend, I contacted the Nursing Admissions Counselor. The registration process, prerequisites, necessary courses and possible scenarios for completing my nursing education were discussed. Most colleges have some similar position available. This Liasion will be critical in plotting a successful begining. Best of Luck to you!

[NursingStudent03]

The best thing to do is go to your local junior college (their cheaper) and see if they offer a nursing program. Check to see what their standards are and how well of a program it is. Once you find a good school go to their Biological/Health Sciences office or the counselors office and pickup a pamphlet on their Nursing Program. This packet should tell you what courses you need before entering the nursing program. Most programs require you to have your anatomy and physiology classes, English, math, etc.

Also, I recommend the ADN program rather then spending all your money right away on a BSN program. Most ADN programs turn out a more experienced nurse (or so I have heard from most RNs all ready in the field). An ADN (Associates Degree in Nursing) program offers more "clinical" experience, where a BSN program offers more "theory." Also is you want to get your BSN eventually the bridge program from ADN to BSN is usually only a year and a half.

Don't worry you can do it! I say this because I didn't think I would make it cause it seemed so overwhelming at first, but I only have four more days left of class and then I GRADUATE and I'm on my way to take my state board exam. YAY!

If you need anything else please feel free to send me a PM or email!

Take Care,
Brandi

[RNwannabe]

I personally appreciate all that has been said. I'm just starting out "again" after a 20 year hiatus. Everyone's advice is right on target, ileanab. I'm gearing my family up to the challenge that is before us. I really want to finish my ADN but I've been a stay-at-home mom for 12 years and they all REALLY like me being here. It's a big change for them to not have me around. Just finding quiet study time has been a challenge. Take heart, you are not alone in this journey!