Warning this is a "vent" so the reader can excuse any overly negative tone to this entry. I am a bit frustrated with nursing programs and myself currently so I need to just let it out on the computer screen. The number one topic on my mind at the moment is nursing school as I have spent the last three hours looking at website after website and comparing tuitions and prerequisite requirements, to program length to probability of being accepted etc. Basically I have concluded very little about what the best next step is for me.
This intense internet search resulted from a talk with the nursing advisor at the the tech school I recently applied to. I was excited to learn that my previous certification and six months work experience as a CNA fulfilled the CNA prerequisite as long as I am currently enrolled in order to recertify (its a long story but basically an expired certificate can just retest, or a current out of state CNA can retest but there is no retest available in Minnesota for an expired out of state Certification and the CNA course had to be completed before the application deadline which was last week). Anyway my pleading letter with the appropriate documentation got me past that loophole , but alas to my horror I found out the none of my BYU college courses transferred with the exception of one english class. None of my anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, chemistry, or psychology was accepted! This is a community college not taking university credits. Because I had no credit for the courses which give points on the application there is no possible way I will get in for Fall. I can contest the course credit but who knows how much that will effect. Having a bachelors degree was only worth three points on the application...3 out of a required 67 minimum to be competitive.
I have to complain a little about this point system. GPA is given the most amount of points dropping 5 points for every few tenths of a point drop in GPA. This is okay, I did alright with my GPA score however the prereq score didn't take grade into account. As long as you passed the required class you get points for having completed. Therefore a person who received straight Cs in all of their prereqs gets full points for them, which adds up to a lot of points! Even if all my courses transfer I am still missing two of the prereqs so I miss out on ten points even if I had straight As in the classes I did take. 3 points for my bachelors is not very helpful at all.
The advisor was very helpful in giving me an honest analysis of my situation. Basically I can spend the next two semesters retaking the untransferred courses to get me those points and apply again for Fall of 2010 at which point I will have a chance of getting in or I can apply for the LPN program this fall, which I should get into and then apply for the LPN-RN transition (they leave 10 spots open specifically for the transitioners) in a year. This is not a bad option, it will just take one semester longer and cost me more money, but I have my RN one semester sooner than waiting to apply again to the RN program. There is also the option of looking at accelerated programs again. The RN program I have been talking about is an Associates Degree while the Accelerated programs are for a second BS in nursing. The main problem being they are very competitive and expensive. With the ecomony like it is I predict it is only going to get worse as professionals are changing careers. Depending on the school some are around $30,000+ for one year of intense schooling.
Anyway I just am a little frustrated that my bachelors apparently counts for almost nothing when it comes to employment and nursing school. I applied to work as a cheese processor and was turned down because I am not qualified! What?! The temp agencies in Rochester have nothing available and I don't particularly want to work at the mall as a 25 year old college graduate...LOL. Is that prideful? Probably :) Something will hopefully come up soon. Anyone have any good small business ideas they would be willing to share?
Besides the lack of good news on the nursing front and no job, life in Rochester is good. The Redlins are AMAZING! I have my own room for the second time in my life and it is somewhat organized even :) I have been welcomed as part of the family so I am included in family dinner and Julie and I have watched all of Kingdom Hospital and the first season of Pushing Daisies in between runs to temp agencies and the daily perusal of the classified ads. I have been practicing the piano quite a bit and studying my anatomy books (proving to myself that my college education was not a complete waste :) ). Desi brought over a mattress and box spring last night with a twin sheet set and helped set it up so I could put away the somewhat leaky air-mattress I have been using. So pretty much I am spoiled by everyone :) I just wish some nursing school would join the club!
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5 comments:
Oh, how frustrating! That really stinks. I'm glad that you're so welcome there and have room to yourself--I hope that things look up soon!
Wow Lees I'm sorry. There's got to be something screwy going on with nursing. At ASU they have a specific number of slots (80 which got cut to 40). In every other major I can think of they love having more people sign up because then they can petition the dean for more money/faculty. But in nursing its like the opposite, same at BYU right it was the most exclusive program on campus, why? I don't know. Seems like kind of a no brainer, and nursing faculty should probably be cheap right just hire some veteran RNs. Are the teachers legally required to be MDs or something? I don't know something is definitely weird. That crazy points system makes sense if they're just trying to find excuses to deny people, which if there's a fixed number of slots that might be exactly what they're trying to do. In the words of Barry Benson Bee "I'm going to get to the bottom of this"
Hey Lisa check this page out:
http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm#b31-0000
It's government wage data, did you know physical therapists make more than RNs?
I guess you generally need a masters degree to practice right? So same amount of school for a better (at least in money) outcome. I guess maybe there aren't cheap physical therapy schools but it looks like the cheap nursing schools are so oversubscribed that effectively there aren't cheap nursing schools either.
Thanks for the website John. PTs definitely make more money, I have just been hesitant because it is difficult to get into PT school and the cost of the programs are high ( you now need a Doctorate in PT instead of a masters which is three years instead of two). However, you are right, nursing schools seems just as difficult if not more so unless you are willing to pay the big bucks. I just want to be able to earn a living doing something I would be good at and like. See my next post.
Sorry. Colleges are dumb. Where's the standardizations?
Here is an idea. Janice's cousin became a medical transcriptionist. While she was in high school she took the course (home school course, at your own speed) and received a certificate. She was then employed by an agency transcribing digital verbal recordings from doctors. This got her by working from home, between semesters and I'm sure she is now doing it while her husband is now in dental school. http://www.spoke.com/info/c6Q9M42/MedicalTranscriptionTraining .
I realize that it isn't something final, especially since you've invrsted so much in getting a BS degree. Maybe something to keep you going while you work out the kinks in nursing certifications.
Another idea. Could you get a job in a doctors office being a receptionist or technician. It would keep your foot in the proverbial medical door while your other certification kinks are being worked out.
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