Not related to distance learning, but I know several people here are nurses and can answer this question. Can you give me a general idea of what the schedule/course load was leading up to your RN? Thanks!
Rn My suggestion is to inquire about the curriculum from a few schools that you are interested in attending. There are so many pathways to becoming a RN. In addition, many programs have pre-requisites and the pre-reqs often vary from school to school. This is a real pain in the neck because the nursing program you may want to get accepted to tells you to get those pre-reqs only to find out that they are very competitive and eliminate you because of GPA or entrance test scores. Generally speaking, pre-reqs include Life Span Psychology, Anatomy, Physiology, Microbiology, Chemistry, Nutrition class, Math, etc. but vary from program to program. I have many friends and relatives that have taken numerous pre-reqs only to be turned down or be put on a 3 year waiting list, so do your research! Another thing to consider is that some RN programs are a Bachelor of Science program, hence 4 to 5 years to completion. You may look for programs that are 2 year associate programs if you are not interested in a BS degree at this time. Also, there are 1 year accelerated RN programs for those who already have a Bachelor of Science degree with the appropriate pre-reqs. If time and money is a concern, you may want to consider the many 1 year licensed practical nurse (LPN/LVN) programs. They are usually given by small community colleges and are considerably cheaper and less competitive. After completing your LPN you should look for employment with a healthcare institution that offers a RN program affiliated with a college or university or has excellent tuition reimbursement benefits for their employees. Also, Excelsior College allows LPN's to do a series of challenge exams to complete the RN. Unfortunately, a few states do not accept Excelsior College for licensure. It is important to check and see if the school is NLN or CCNE accredited. Some schools have state approval but are not nationally accredited and this can lead into problems transferring to other schools or seeking licensure in other states. Eventually, you have to take the NCLEX exam for RN or PN (Practical Nurse) licensure. Check the school statistics on pass rates. I believe the NCLEX pass rate is a good indicator of the caliber of the program.
Hi Jennifer: Not sure if you're asking for yourself (thinking Psych NP or not but there are many nurse routes. I've come across posts on this forum http://allnurses.com/index.php before when looking for NP and PA stuff. Also there is a forum called student doctor (but it's all kinds of health care professions, not just doctors - and of course there's a nursing section) And I know I've seen posts on this forum about the Excelsior nursing programs so hopefully someone with more input will come along shortly
Jennifer, I agree with Delta. All entry level nursing programs PN, ADN, BSN, Post-bachelors programs are different, but all will require a great deal of individual study, personal sacrifice and commitment to complete. Ultimately the PN or RN-NCLEX examination to get your license is the final step that counts. What you put into your future nursing studies will determine what type of nurse you will be (good or bad). Good luck and we at DI look forward to you starting and completing your nursing studies. Take care, Jim, RN
>> LOL sorry, not my intent to be short I was just curious and you guys had me enrolled lol. Actually, I'll tell you more, I didn't really have time when I wrote that. There is another side to me that doesn't come out over here- for a long time, I was a huge birth advocate, and a midwife in my soul. I founded a doula organization with 2 other doulas, and did a lot of volunteer work relating to childbirth ed, labor, postpartum and lactation. I was certified through Childbirth And Postpartum Professional Association for 4 years (I no longer am) and I hooked up with a Bradley teacher and started doing baby food classes, and volunteer work went into only postpartum. I did a lot of lactation support, but when I looked into lactation certification, I knew I couldn't go back to school for 4 years for a freelance job. I was pretty anti-establishment, and a huge birth junkie. Since that was when I had fewer children, it was a lot of fun to be on call for births. I attended 20 births, several in homes and birth centers. I attended births of other midwives, and even "doula-ed" for a doctor's wife. At that time, I started shadowing a lay (non nurse) midwife practice. There was a legal scare and I totally quit. I didn't want anything to do with the stress and rebellious necessity of that life. I wanted so badly to become a midwife, but I rejected CNMs in principle, and wasn't interested in breaking the law. (semi-anti-establishment LOL) By the time I was due with baby #4, I was distanced from the lay midwife practice, and I had gestational diabetes. I chose a CNM who would take me with controlled glucose. ANYWAY, I had an awesome experience. At that time, I was no longer a doula and had my hands full with a growing family...so only since 2006 have I had time to come up for air. I'm not saying that I want to be a nurse, I'm only considering that I may want to consider becoming a CNM (lol). My mom just retired from nursing in December- 40 years, 20 as an ICU charge....so I'm pretty sure "nursing" isn't for me. But, I am forever enticed by midwifery. I have 2 doula friends who did their CNMs at a distance (Frontier bridge program) following the local ADN program (like me, they had BA in other fields) and are in private practice together. <<sigh>> So, just happened to catch The Business of Being Born, and crowning still takes away my breath.... Just musing...
Well, if you decide to do the nurse thingy, don’t go the LPN route. By the time you complete the LPN program, you could have completed an ANS program. I say that because you already have a college degree(s) so therefore you have a lot of transferable college credits in subjects like: English, Social Science and your basic science courses biology, zoology, physical science etc. I had two degrees when I started and finished a LPN program. However the LPN program just didn’t give me what I needed and I still had to get my RN in order to accomplish my long-term goals. Paul S Rogers, LCSW, RN, CNS (retired)
>> Thanks Paul. The CNM programs all require RNs and bachelor's degrees for admission, so I wouldn't have a choice. I appreciate your help.
