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AquaVita posted:This really can't be stressed enough. Too many people blow off the prereqs untill they get to the "real" nursing program, but they're critical to actually knowing what you are doing. This isn't a history or english degree, this stuff really matters with regards to doing your job. I'm a non-nursing student, but my program is within the school of nursing & human health (environmental & public health) and some of my lower level requirements overlap with nursing requirements. I took A&P last semester as a junior, and probably 200 of the 250 students in the section were freshmen pre-nursing students. I thought the course was very easy (but I'm also used to harder courses like O-Chem or upper level biologies), but there were quite a few girls who struggled with the material, and were only taking 12 credits. The nursing program here is so competitive that advisers tell hopeful applicants to take only 12 credits and shoot for a 4.0 to increase their chances of getting in. I don't understand why they don't take into account courseload as well as GPA - if I were on the acceptance board, or however they decide, I'd much rather accept a student who took 18 credits and got a 3.7 than a student who took 12 credits and a 4.0. Our school has an accelerated BSN program for students who have completed pre-requisites and have completed a four-year degree, which is 58 credits over a 13 month period. I am considering applying to it after I graduate if I am not accepted into pharmacy school (which is a definite possibility, as I am expecting a weak LoR from my department's head [he's an unreliable moron], and my experience is probably marginal compared to a large percentage of applicants, but I do have a 3.81 GPA having taken 17-18 credits per semester). If I were to opt for this route, I would hope to become a nurse anesthetist (who doesn't?). My friend's uncle is one and he said it's an awesome job, he gets a lot of vacation and doesn't work too much over his 40 hours/week, but is on call a lot (he works at a smaller hospital). He is hoping to stop working full-time and work on shorter, as-needed contracts... I can't remember the exact term, but hospitals might require a nurse anesthetist for a 3-week period, so they hire someone to come in and work for that period. I'm also considering picking up the BSN as an extra degree and continuing my education elsewhere or joining the PHS. I've heard that someone with a degree in public health who also holds a nursing degree would be eligible to run a smaller city's public health department, but that doesn't really interest me. Anyways, for A&P, as mentioned, for the classwork I would recommend using flashcards, and for labwork, go over models in open lab time. I rarely used the models to study, but it's hard to point out a muscle on a model you're unfamiliar with when you have been using pictures in your lab notebook to study from. If you're considering nursing as a career and are going through college for your first time, I'd highly recommend getting a job as a CNA to judge whether or not the field is for you. It's not worth the trouble of going through all the pre-reqs only to find out you don't want to be a nurse. Of the courses you will take as pre-reqs for nursing, I would say maybe 40% will translate as coursework for a separate degree (which is a lot of wasted time). MaineMan fucked around with this message at 18:23 on Jun 14, 2009 |
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Jun 14, 2009 18:12
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| # ¿ May 7, 2024 02:25 |
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