Some Help From Registered Nurses?

[lacrosse_lady72]

Hi DIS family,

I am a 22 year who has finally realized what I want to do in life, or at least I think. I guess the reason I am reaching out to you all is for you to help me make sure I am going down the right path. So I have some questions that I am not sure are necessarily easy to answer.

1. Essentially, my plan is to enroll in Portland Community College for 2 years and then complete my Bachelor's Degree in Nursing at OHSU (Oregon Health and Science University). Idealy, I would love to work as some form of nurse in a hospital but I'm uncertain if this is the way to go about that. For those of you who are in that position, is this the type of degree you obtained? And would I need any further degrees for further advancements in the nursing field?

2. I was also wondering if there is anything I needed to know ahead of time in terms of being prepared for the pursuit of this career. Was there some kind of 'ah-ha' moment that you wish you had known beforehand?

I realize these are sort of silly questions to be asking a forum about Disney but I just feel like we're always so helpful to each other I thought I could possibly snatch up some answers here.

 

[DawnCt1]

The way to go about that is exactly as you have outlined in your plan. Prepare to be a nurse. Most of your clinical experiences will be in a hospital setting. Most schools require some experience in a clinic setting, but that is for the experience of it all. You will rotate through a variety of inpatient settings, from gyn, to the critical care units, pediatrics, med/surg, etc. That should expose you to the areas of nursing that you will find interesting. As a new grad you may have difficulty getting a hospital assignment, in say, pediatrics, or the ER. Those are areas that most new grads love. Medical surgical nursing after graduation will give you a good basic experience and you can apply to those particular areas that you like, or you may find you love med/surg. Don't put the cart before the horse. Try it all. No need to pick an area of interest now.

 

[mkel34]

Not a nurse but a husband of a recently graduated nurse. When you aren't in class or clinical, you will be studying, this is not a choice it will be required to pass your exams. It is amazing the amount of information you will be required to learn. Have you talked to any students, recent grads. or nurses? The pay is great but they definetly see and do things that not everyone is cut out to see/do.

I remember when I was in college I had endless amounts of time to myself. I also have a sister in college studying nursing and nursing is 95% of her life right now. A piece of advice I can give you is get a job at the local hospital, nursing assistant would be a good job to go for. This will pay off when it comes to the job search. Not sure how the nursing market is in your area but in the Boston area it is horrible for a new grad. A big issue is that no one wants to pay for your initial training but once you have that 3-6 months experience all that studying finally pays off.

 

[npmommie]

Hi DIS family,

I am a 22 year who has finally realized what I want to do in life, or at least I think. I guess the reason I am reaching out to you all is for you to help me make sure I am going down the right path. So I have some questions that I am not sure are necessarily easy to answer.

1. Essentially, my plan is to enroll in Portland Community College for 2 years and then complete my Bachelor's Degree in Nursing at OHSU (Oregon Health and Science University). Idealy, I would love to work as some form of nurse in a hospital but I'm uncertain if this is the way to go about that. For those of you who are in that position, is this the type of degree you obtained? And would I need any further degrees for further advancements in the nursing field?

2. I was also wondering if there is anything I needed to know ahead of time in terms of being prepared for the pursuit of this career. Was there some kind of 'ah-ha' moment that you wish you had known beforehand?

I realize these are sort of silly questions to be asking a forum about Disney but I just feel like we're always so helpful to each other I thought I could possibly snatch up some answers here.

I think your plan sounds like a good one. i also agree with working as a nursing assistant while in nursing school. you will learn so much. and see so much. I think planning to get the BSN degree is good, it will open up other doors for you as well
the only ah ha moment I had was the reality of just how many patients I would have on my assignment, in nursing school, you get to spend lots of time with your 1 patient in clinical, the real world is not like that!!
but.......if you sign on with a good hospital they will orient you well and you will be prepared! The first hospital job i had after graduation had a great orientation program, so I was fully prepared by the time I was cut loose on my own!

The way to go about that is exactly as you have outlined in your plan. Prepare to be a nurse. Most of your clinical experiences will be in a hospital setting. Most schools require some experience in a clinic setting, but that is for the experience of it all. You will rotate through a variety of inpatient settings, from gyn, to the critical care units, pediatrics, med/surg, etc. That should expose you to the areas of nursing that you will find interesting. As a new grad you may have difficulty getting a hospital assignment, in say, pediatrics, or the ER. Those are areas that most new grads love. Medical surgical nursing after graduation will give you a good basic experience and you can apply to those particular areas that you like, or you may find you love med/surg. Don't put the cart before the horse. Try it all. No need to pick an area of interest now.

I agree, getting a med surg position after graduating will be good experience. and you can move on from there.
good luck!!

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

Wow, thank you all for the responses, they really do help a lot!

I really appreciate the advice on becoming a nursing assistant, what a great idea! If anything... I can get into the health care field with any job at a hospital, get some experience in the setting. I say this because I am having trouble finding any openings at the local hospitals that aren't requiring having a nursing assistant certificate. I haven't found any information at the colleges or hospitals about taking courses to become a CNA which is required Perhaps I'm looking in the wrong place.

In searching around about jobs in the healthcare industry I noticed a huge need for nurses in my area which is a very big plus. I am really glad to be seeing that. There also seem to be a lot of entry level positions and student positions available so this is making me very hopeful.

I truly appreciate the lift you all have given me, I had been worried about working while going to school but hopefully I can find something in the industry while going to school.

Thank you.

 

[minkydog]

Be prepared to give yourself totally to the study of nursing. You will study 12 hours a day, when you're not in the clinical setting. You will have virtually *no* social life during this time, and you may struggle to even go to the grocery store, feed the dog, and do your laundry. I have two degrees: an AS in nursing and a BS in education. Education was like falling off a log. Nursing was like being hit by a log truck.

However...I still highly recommend nursing. It's a great career, especially for young people. You have the energy and enthusiasm to get you through one of the toughest college programs there is. There are no short cuts to an RN license. You can't "sorta" pass. You're either in, or you're out.

I started out as a CNA while I was in nursing school. That's where I really learned what nursing meant. I fell in love with nursing while working night shift on a cancer ward(oh, man. you talk about hard!) I was able to make some money while I was still in school and the experience helped me understand my clinical experiences better.

If I were 22, and I had the money to do it, I'd go for a BSN. It is the gold standard. But if you need to get to work ASAP, the Associates degree program might be the way to go. You can work as a nurse while finishing up your BSN. And the license exam is exactly the same, whether you have a BSN or ASN.

Good luck. Nursing is hard work, but it is so rewarding.

Cathy---retired, 32 yrs