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Entrance into nursing programs has been competitive for some time.
I went away to college for three years, majoring in the social sciences. I left when my mother was diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer. At the time I intended to return to complete my BA.
My contact with nurses during my mother's illness was positive. Their dedication and compassion impressed me.
I decided to look into local RN programs. As many do, I decided to investigate local community colleges, only to find that it would take 1-11/2 years to enter the nursing program. A year and a 1/2 of "pre-nursing".
Then 2 1/2 years of nursing.
A four year associate degree? That did not appeal to me at all.
I contacted a family friend for her advice and she recommended one of the remaining hospital schools of nursing. I could start studying nursing right away, and that interested me.
We took anatomy and physiology, microbiology and any other liberal arts courses at the same local community college that required "pre-nursing".
At the same time, I was "on the floor" working with patients.
I no longer am active in the profession, and not surprisingly; I drifted back to my initial interest, and worked in psychiatric nursing.
My advice for people who want to get right into a nursing program would be to do the following -
1. check to see if a two or three year diploma program that is still in existence in your area. Entrance requirements in my case was an aptitude exam and my high school and college transcripts. They are slightly more expensive, but since you graduate earlier, you quite possibly will make up for it.
Also, after a few terms, we were encouraged to sit for the NCLEX-PN , so we could work as LPNs.
2.Look into private colleges with ADN (associate degree programs) There are some smaller schools, and again, because they are more expensive, the competition is less intense.
Many of these schools have articulation agreements with BSN programs, so the college or university will accept you directly into the nursing program with a certain GPA.
3. This third option was not available (not in the 1980s in my region) to me, but LPN schools take 1 to 1 1/2 years.
(If someone was an LPN, you basically had to start from scratch.)
MOST have agreements with colleges and universities that will accept you directly into the nursing program upon graduation.
Listings of nursing schools can be found at the website of the National League for Nursing.
These are the fastest way to circumvent the community college crunch.
With the economy the way it is now, I'm thinking more and more about the possibility of nursing as a career. They get paid decently and there always seems to be jobs available. I know that opportunities for nurses have become worse in recent years, but I still know of plenty of people who have gotten jobs right out of college.
I know it can be a very stressful job and involves a lot of unpleasant things, but do you think it is worth it? If you are a nurse, do you recommend nursing? What are the positives and negatives? If you had to do it all over, would you go into nursing?
Eons ago, when there was a nursing shortage, I learned that an RN (maybe with an associated or higher degree) usually was an administrator on a ward and was saved the back-breaking labor associated with nursing. Today? I do not know. Thousands of foreign nursing graduates have been admitted into the U.S. under visas. Many of those are brought in and employed by contractors who provide this skilled labor for U.S. facilities. And compete with U.S. citizens for positions.
I know a lot of nurses. Seems like the best job out there. At least in LA. The nurses I know make about 80k on the low end, and up to 150k on the high end. These are ER, OR, ICU nurses I'm talking about.
They work three 12 hour shifts a week. 36 hours a week. Sure, you're working very hard those 3 shifts, but a lot of people work 12 hours a day, 5 days a week (60 hours a week) so it's nothing in comparison. Nurses have tons of time off to do other things during the week.
Nurses get a LOT of paid vacation leave. Most corporate jobs, you see posts on this forum where people freak out about calling in sick because they'll be penalized/seen as lazy. Well, as a nurse, call in sick all you want. You aren't penalized, questions aren't asked, and as long as you don't take too many days you don't lose pay. Of my friends who are nurses, they're the ones who suddenly get 10 days off, or can easily take a month off to travel the world, and make up for it by working a 5 day work week once or twice.
They also get great health benefits and incredible job security once you're in.
As long as you don't aspire to become rich (150k is the sky, with most earning less) nursing is a great career. I wish I had better math and science skills and had gone into it.
I know a lot of nurses. Seems like the best job out there. At least in LA. The nurses I know make about 80k on the low end, and up to 150k on the high end. These are ER, OR, ICU nurses I'm talking about.
They work three 12 hour shifts a week. 36 hours a week. Sure, you're working very hard those 3 shifts, but a lot of people work 12 hours a day, 5 days a week (60 hours a week) so it's nothing in comparison. Nurses have tons of time off to do other things during the week.
Nurses get a LOT of paid vacation leave. Most corporate jobs, you see posts on this forum where people freak out about calling in sick because they'll be penalized/seen as lazy. Well, as a nurse, call in sick all you want. You aren't penalized, questions aren't asked, and as long as you don't take too many days you don't lose pay. Of my friends who are nurses, they're the ones who suddenly get 10 days off, or can easily take a month off to travel the world, and make up for it by working a 5 day work week once or twice.
They also get great health benefits and incredible job security once you're in.
As long as you don't aspire to become rich (150k is the sky, with most earning less) nursing is a great career. I wish I had better math and science skills and had gone into it.
None of which you wrote about sick leave is true.
I only get 1 week of PTO,no sick,personal,vacation days etc.
I am in homecare,which typically doesn't pay much.
Specifically private duty,but I work under several agencies.
OP--- I'm not a nurse but I will tell you this, I would take the people who say "Don't go into nursing" with a grain of salt. That's their opinion, just because they had a bad experience does not mean you will. I suggest taking a CNA course to get your feet wet. I have been a patient in the hospital many times, and I can tell you this most nurses who cared for me loved what they do, many would tell me I have days but I couldn't imagine doing anything else. No matter what field you ask about you will always have someone say "Don't go into this field." Its what YOU WANT to do.
Entrance into nursing programs has been competitive for some time.
I went away to college for three years, majoring in the social sciences. I left when my mother was diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer. At the time I intended to return to complete my BA.
My contact with nurses during my mother's illness was positive. Their dedication and compassion impressed me.
I decided to look into local RN programs. As many do, I decided to investigate local community colleges, only to find that it would take 1-11/2 years to enter the nursing program. A year and a 1/2 of "pre-nursing".
Then 2 1/2 years of nursing.
A four year associate degree? That did not appeal to me at all.
I contacted a family friend for her advice and she recommended one of the remaining hospital schools of nursing. I could start studying nursing right away, and that interested me.
We took anatomy and physiology, microbiology and any other liberal arts courses at the same local community college that required "pre-nursing".
At the same time, I was "on the floor" working with patients.
I no longer am active in the profession, and not surprisingly; I drifted back to my initial interest, and worked in psychiatric nursing.
My advice for people who want to get right into a nursing program would be to do the following -
1. check to see if a two or three year diploma program that is still in existence in your area. Entrance requirements in my case was an aptitude exam and my high school and college transcripts. They are slightly more expensive, but since you graduate earlier, you quite possibly will make up for it.
Also, after a few terms, we were encouraged to sit for the NCLEX-PN , so we could work as LPNs.
2.Look into private colleges with ADN (associate degree programs) There are some smaller schools, and again, because they are more expensive, the competition is less intense.
Many of these schools have articulation agreements with BSN programs, so the college or university will accept you directly into the nursing program with a certain GPA.
3. This third option was not available (not in the 1980s in my region) to me, but LPN schools take 1 to 1 1/2 years.
(If someone was an LPN, you basically had to start from scratch.)
MOST have agreements with colleges and universities that will accept you directly into the nursing program upon graduation.
Listings of nursing schools can be found at the website of the National League for Nursing.
These are the fastest way to circumvent the "community college crunch".
I did a little research after posting and I was able to come up with the following ADN programs that do NOT have a waiting list. They are almost all private and several are propitiatory. However they are all accredited and seem to have many satisfied graduates. A few offer the BSN and one Chamberlain offers the MSN. I have heard good things about Chamberlain and it's been around a long time.
The community colleges and state university on this list also do not have waiting lists.
1. Bryant and Stratton (many locations around the US)
2. Chameberlain College (Cleveland, Columbus, St. Louis, Atlanta, Virginia, Florida and other locations) (also offers LPN, LPN to ADN, and MSN)
3.Rassmusen College - MN, IL, WI, FL
4. ITT Tech (many locations)
5. LaRoche College, PA (private non proprietary Catholic college ADN)
6.Everest College AZ
7. Citrus College FL
8. Virginia Western CC Roanoke, VA (no wait list)
9. Baptist Medical Center, Little Rock AR
10. U Arkansas Little Rock. (no wait list)
11.DesMoine Area CC (no wait list)
12. Grand Canyon University AZ
I also found out why many schools have long waiting lists and where a huge nursing shortage exists - Nursing education. In general, at least a BSN is required and a MSN preferred, with 3-5 years of med-surg experience or 2 of med-surg and 2-3 of a specialty.
Last edited by sheena12; 03-21-2014 at 09:18 AM..
Reason: added something.
None of which you wrote about sick leave is true.
I only get 1 week of PTO,no sick,personal,vacation days etc.
I am in homecare,which typically doesn't pay much.
Specifically private duty,but I work under several agencies.
As you said you're in the home and that's completely different. Are you a CNA or a RN?
Avoid going the CNA route and avoid working in nursing homes and private homes... if you're going to be a nurse, get the full RN degree and work in a large hospital. Then you see the perks I described.
I know a lot of nurses. Seems like the best job out there. At least in LA. The nurses I know make about 80k on the low end, and up to 150k on the high end. These are ER, OR, ICU nurses I'm talking about.
They work three 12 hour shifts a week. 36 hours a week. Sure, you're working very hard those 3 shifts, but a lot of people work 12 hours a day, 5 days a week (60 hours a week) so it's nothing in comparison. Nurses have tons of time off to do other things during the week.
Nurses get a LOT of paid vacation leave. Most corporate jobs, you see posts on this forum where people freak out about calling in sick because they'll be penalized/seen as lazy. Well, as a nurse, call in sick all you want. You aren't penalized, questions aren't asked, and as long as you don't take too many days you don't lose pay. Of my friends who are nurses, they're the ones who suddenly get 10 days off, or can easily take a month off to travel the world, and make up for it by working a 5 day work week once or twice.
They also get great health benefits and incredible job security once you're in.
As long as you don't aspire to become rich (150k is the sky, with most earning less) nursing is a great career. I wish I had better math and science skills and had gone into it.
LA must be very different from most states.. I know nurses who live in many different states who work in hospitals they only get like 3 weeks per year of vacation, Also as far as calling off sick they "Can't do it all they want" Many times that is a NO NO because they have to find someone to cover their shift, they do lose pay when they call off sick if they don't have the paid time off to take. taking a month off? I never head of that, Nursing is a great field with many perks and advancement opportunities, but a nurse can't just do whatever they want, especially when working in a hospital.
Entrance into nursing programs has been competitive for some time.
I went away to college for three years, majoring in the social sciences. I left when my mother was diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer. At the time I intended to return to complete my BA.
My contact with nurses during my mother's illness was positive. Their dedication and compassion impressed me.
I decided to look into local RN programs. As many do, I decided to investigate local community colleges, only to find that it would take 1-11/2 years to enter the nursing program. A year and a 1/2 of "pre-nursing".
Then 2 1/2 years of nursing.
A four year associate degree? That did not appeal to me at all.
I contacted a family friend for her advice and she recommended one of the remaining hospital schools of nursing. I could start studying nursing right away, and that interested me.
We took anatomy and physiology, microbiology and any other liberal arts courses at the same local community college that required "pre-nursing".
At the same time, I was "on the floor" working with patients.
I no longer am active in the profession, and not surprisingly; I drifted back to my initial interest, and worked in psychiatric nursing.
My advice for people who want to get right into a nursing program would be to do the following -
1. check to see if a two or three year diploma program that is still in existence in your area. Entrance requirements in my case was an aptitude exam and my high school and college transcripts. They are slightly more expensive, but since you graduate earlier, you quite possibly will make up for it.
Also, after a few terms, we were encouraged to sit for the NCLEX-PN , so we could work as LPNs.
2.Look into private colleges with ADN (associate degree programs) There are some smaller schools, and again, because they are more expensive, the competition is less intense.
Many of these schools have articulation agreements with BSN programs, so the college or university will accept you directly into the nursing program with a certain GPA.
3. This third option was not available (not in the 1980s in my region) to me, but LPN schools take 1 to 1 1/2 years.
(If someone was an LPN, you basically had to start from scratch.)
MOST have agreements with colleges and universities that will accept you directly into the nursing program upon graduation.
Listings of nursing schools can be found at the website of the National League for Nursing.
These are the fastest way to circumvent the community college crunch.
Many states long have ceased allowing RN students to sit for the LPN boards. New York State did so at least over a decade ago IIRC. Rationale was that with only one year or so of nursing education completed RN students had not covered all of the vital practical nurse material. IIRC geriatrics was one of the missing items. That being said there is *one* nursing school in far upstate NY that offers both a LPN and RN program. Somehow their RN students manage to complete all the required course work to sit for the LPN boards.
Diploma schools can produce excellent grads, but there is a reason why they are scarce in many areas. Many hospitals or other facilities won't hire in deference to college (ADN or BSN) prepared nurses.
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