Guest post by Heather Green
A friend of mine recently graduated from college with a business degree and a few years into working for a large corporation, she decided that she wanted to start nursing school. Now, I would say she had lost her mind, but honestly, I don’t blame her one bit!
Nurses are in extremely high demand and the pay is phenomenal. Not to mention, you are helping to save and change lives everyday, how rewarding! So I asked her how she was going to transition from making great money to going back to school full time while paying her bills (including her previous school loans!). She smiled and said that she had a plan.
From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be
Step 1: Decide what type of nurse you want to be. For example, Registered Nurses make more money, but becoming an LPN is quicker. Depending on how long you want to be in school, two or four years, will determine what you are eligible for.
Step 2: Determine how much money you will need to make in order to complete your degree. If you can afford to work part time, great! If not, try taking some courses on line while you work to make life a little easier.
Step 3: Make sure you apply to several schools. Select a few schools that offer what you are looking for in a nursing program and talk to a counselor from that particular school about grants and scholarships, there are literally millions of these just waiting to be given out! Also be certain that the school is accredited and approved by the state’s Board of Nursing, otherwise you can’t work as a nurse no matter how good your grades are.
Step 4: Take it slow or speed it up! You don’t have to take on a full load each semester. One or two classes here and there add up over time or if you want to hurry it along, check to see if your school offers an Accelerated BSN.
Step 5: Register for the nursing entrance exams for the schools from which you are applying for. These are mandatory and may take time to pass, so be prepared!
Once you pass the NCLEX and complete your degree, you are ready to start looking for a job. Apply the experience you had prior to nursing school from other jobs (ex: if you were in communications, this will help tremendously with nurse/patient relationships). It may take some time, extra money and late nights, but nurses are needed everywhere and will always be in demand.
Heather Green is a Christian mom, freelance writer and the resident blogger for OnlineNursingDegrees.org, a free informational website offering tips and advice on online nursing schools.
Wonderful post its very helpful
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