How do I find hospitals to pay for a nursing career/tuition reimbursement?
There are all kinds of grants and scholarships in place for this kind of thing. The catch is, you are bonded to the federal or state government and MUST work for them in an underserved area for a period of time. http://www.hrsa.gov/loanscholarships/ind... has a list of them. There are also all kinds of programs for mothers returning to school. You can google scholarships for these, but remember that you should NEVER pay for scholarship information. Employers rarely do this any more. Why should they when there are so many BSN grads out there who paid for college with student loans? Sit down and talk with your community college about student loans and grants. See how much you qualify in grants and then start to worry about loans, scholarship, and debt. You may find that a grant covers much of your education and that you can handle $10k in loans.
Should I work as a nurse or go straight to grad school after I get my BSN?
I'm graduating with my BSN (bachelor's of nursing science - RN) in June, and I know I want to become a family practice or women's health Nurse Practitioner in the future. I don't know if I should work as nurse for a year or so or go straight to nursing grad school after I graduate? I also don't know if I should get a MSN or DNP. (I would prefer the least amount of schooling as possible to be a NP). I know the DNP will be the entry into practice in 2015, but will MSN degrees be grand fathered in?
Nursing. ADN - BSN How long?
Associates' degree program in nursing is two years; however, it all depends on your determination on how fast and efficient you are getting accepted to the nursing program. There are the preequisites and the nursing entrance exam and maybe a waiting list so you have to also calculate that as well. There is also the hospital based program but you didn't mention that so I won't say anything about it but those programs from what I've seen from the professors and students, they are excellent. In other words, it may take you 3-4 years to finish an ADN program. It would take another 2 years or 3 to finish your BSN program depending on the school's requirements like pathophysiology, chemistry and etc but ask directly from the nursing director himself/herself just to get your facts straight if you can. In order to be a certified nurse midwife, you may have to be trained for it since it is a specialty but like all departments in nursing they want you to have experience first after graduation, so they will put you first in med-surg but you never know, you maybe lucky due to the shortage. With a few years or so, take the test for the midwife. Honestly, once you get your RN license from the community college, the stress is off because you already a RN and you already have the experience and knowledge how to successfully complete a nursing school even in a 4 year university and a lot of nursing students from hospital based or ADN programs felt little less stressed entering those BSN programs. FYI, the ADN program has a faster pace than a BSN program because it is only two years as my sister, RN was amazed how fast my program was in just 2 years in the first semester compared to her BSN program in a 4 year college so yes an ADN program honestly is quite more challenging since a BSN program gives you more time to complete and more time for those professors to teach especially my other sister's prestigious RN university, and it was no way compared to my RN program in a community college, meaning mine was harder as stated by those students in her own class even. So don't worry about you'll get less experience if you go to a community college for nursing. You are a professional with an associates or a hospital based program RN! Good luck.
Can you get a job as a registered nurse with only a adn?
The reason you're getting both answers is because some of that depends on where you are. Some regions of the country have a terrible nursing shortage and they're happy to get their hands on anyone who's passed the NCLEX. Other areas have an abundance of nurses and employers can be much more selective. If you're in an area with more jobs than nurses, an ADN/ASN is fine . All you need is an RN license and they'll hire you. Other areas you basically have to have a BSN. Before you commit to a program you might want to spend some time looking around at the jobs that are already available in your area. If you're finding they all want BSNs -- well, you have your answer. As a PROFESSION nursing is moving away from the two-year degree. More places are moving away from hiring two-year grads. In my own hospital they stopped hiring two-year RNs last year unless they are currently enrolled in a BSN program. RNs currently working here without a BSN have five years to get their BSN or they have to find a new place to work. The profession is going that way more and more. There are even entry-level MSN programs for those with a bachelor's in something else to get a master's in nursing (I'm in one myself) -- it's getting quite competitive out there. So yes, you can probably find a job after you get your license. It is likely to be harder than with a BSN so plan on a little more pavement-pounding than you might otherwise have. And if you intend to stay in the profession more than a few years you should plan on needing to finish your BSN at some point. Otherwise you'll be hopelessly out-competed for promotions etc. by those with BSNs and MSNs. .
Can a nurse become a doctor?
Anyone who satisfies the academic and practical requirements can become a doctor.Although many nurses are now becoming nurse practitioners (the training is much shorter than to become a full-fledged doctor and they can do many of the same things), there are still a few nurses who pursue the M.D. degree. Nurses who go on to practice medicine bring a very unique skill set to their career as a physician.A brief story: Not that long ago, I was in the operating room for a C-section, which was being performed by an older OB/GYN who was a nurse when she began her career. The baby had been delivered, and it had a cyst on its nose and the mother was very concerned there was something wrong with it. While we were still operating, the mother was crying very badly. After the surgery was over and we had de-gowned, the OB doctor was consoling and talking to the sobbing mother and wiping the tears from her eyes with a tissue (the mother’s arms were still tied down while the surgical staff was finishing up).This is one of the most touching displays of spontaneous empathy that I’ve ever seen from a fellow physician in my entire career. Bedside manner is something that nurses are taught to be really good at. It’s a pillar of their field. While they say that we have to learn good bedside manner as doctors, it often gets brushed under the rug for all the academic and practical knowledge we have to cram in our brains. While we know we should have empathy (and often do in words), we are often bad at following it up in practice. It’s something I make a conscious effort to improve on every day.So yes, not only can nurses become doctors, but if they are capable and they are so inclined, they should become doctors. We need more doctors like the one I told you about.Dr. Paul