How hard is nursing school?
Nursing school is really tough, you need to be at the top of your game to make it through. Being a nurse means you always need to be alert and ready to react to whatever comes in your path to save people's lives. My mom's been an RN for more than 30 years now and she just had to take some tests to be recertified in a certain area... so the schooling really never ends, as new techniques and technologies are instated, nurses are required to adjust. If you're willing to work hard and dedicate yourself to it, I'm sure you could get through nursing school and be a good nurse. But yes, it is a LOT of work.
Nursing School?...What has your experience been?
I havent graduated yet but I am enjoying Nursing school. I got my degree in Biology first and then did this - its totally different because you're out there working. I work in trauma for the last month I've been there - and then I go back to university for a short time and then go back to the hospital in a different ward. I think it's great - but a little gruesome at times, though I can handle it!
Can I get into a nursing school without any related experience?
For what it’s worth, I would strongly recommend getting your BSN instead. For the ADN, most of the time you’ll end up spending 3.5–4 years getting all the pre-req’s done and then the nursing classes, so you’re spending the same amount of time getting half the degree. Afterwards, you may struggle to find a job as most hospitals across the country are pushing to get more BSN nurses, as the recommendation is to have up to 80% BSN prepared nurses by 2020.What nursing schools are looking for is that you really understand what you’re getting into. As an ER nurse, I deal with death on a regular basis, so they’re looking for you to have good coping mechanisms and hobbies outside of nursing. You deal with difficult personalities, and sometimes even patients who try to attack you. You’ve got to show that you’re able to keep your cool in stressful situations. When you talk about why you want to be a nurse, they’re not looking for you to say “Because I want to help people.” It’s a meaningless answer. Think hard about what drew you to nursing. If you can volunteer for the hospital or try to get a shadow day or something like that, I think it might help you out.Ultimately, though, you don’t need to have experience in the medical field to become a nurse. Write your essay about what you do know.
In nursing school, what are "clinicals?"?
To my best of knowledge "clinicals" are when you do your onsight learning, i.e. hospital, nursing facility, doctor's office. Depending on what you are studying, and who your school is affiliated with will determine where you do your clinicals. You will work directly with another RN, LPN, CNA, therapist and work with patients. Hats off to you!!!
Should one with no experience in nursing classes (e.g., anatomy) start with LVN to RN or just jump into an RN Associate's program?
Generally, programs for RN’s have many prerequisites; therefore, I don’t believe that one would ever be able to “jump in” to an RN program. The prerequisites are usually biology, chemestry, anatomy, physiology, microbiology, nutrition, and some sort of child growth and development class. One also must complete all other general education classes, yet some of them can be pushed off until one enters the formal RN program. This means that students starting an associate degree RN program have already been taking college courses for at least one and a half to two years or longer before the formal RN training begins.I was never an LVN, so I can not say what prerequisites are required for that. From your question however, it appears that you would plan to start as an LVN, then become an RN. Those prerequisites would still eventually be required then.Please keep in mind that associate degrees in nursing, at least in the US, always take longer than two years to complete because of prerequisites. They are usually much, much less expensive than BSN programs though, so student loans will be less of a problem. Once you get licensed as an RN and hired, most hospitals will offer tuition assistance for you to get your BSN. This is the route that I took, and financially it really helped me. (Hospitals now want nurses to have a BSN, so you will want to get that as soon as possible.)Going straight to a four year school for a BSN can be financially fine though, if one is able to get enough financial aid and scholarships to assist with the expenses.I wish you all the best in whatever educational choice you make.
What will help me get into nursing school?
Congrats on starting your journey toward becoming a nurse ! I feel like quora is a breeding ground for anxiety when it comes to discussing admissions. Your best bet is to call the school you're applying to. My friends in my nursing cohort had varying GPAs. Having an 4.0 science GPA is certainly not needed for admission as sooo many people have indicated and evidence being my admission! I called many admission offices while applying for nursing school and consensus is that the dynamics of admissions is changing. To be a nurse you don't have to be book smart so they are putting less emphasis on culmulative GPA and the teas exam. They weigh the last 60 semester units (90 quarter units) more heavily. I would also try to get A's in the prereqs but especially in physiology, anatomy, and microbiology. Retake these classes if you need to but again this isn't necessary. My friend was admitted with a C in microbiology. Nursing schools view the performance in these classes are indicators of how well student do in nursing school. Aside from academics What they are looking for is someone that is genuinely interested in healthcare and nursing. They call this the "hollistic" view of the applicant. Volunteering and having an extensive healthcare experience is a hidden prerequisite. Most schools won't require hours of clinical experience but they all have a point system on how they assess applicants and they allot points for clinical hours. If you are scheduled for an interview be sure to prep by googling the interview questions. I had exact questions as the ones I found online.