Nursing Schools: Tips From The Inside

Nursing Schools are challenging, and with the nature of a nursing career and Medical Training, it is truly a trial by fire. I am enrolled in a nursing program and will graduate the LVN program in August 2007. I attend evening and weekend classes to work around my current job. Going to school and working is tiring, but sometimes magical! It would definitely be easier if you could attend school full-time and not work. However it’s not impossible to survive, you just have to forget about a life for up to 2 years.

To be in the medical field, you must have hands-on experience, and no Medical Training would be complete without the opportunity to interact with real patients. I have discovered, both by my own learning curve and by watching my fellow students, that no matter how “book smart” you are, there must be clinical practice to be an effective nurse. The mannequins we use for procedures such as injections, insertion of NG tubes, catheters, and assessments just don’t give you the feel of a real body, nor does it give you the feedback (both good or bad), depending on the procedure.

Researching the Nursing Schools you are thinking of attending and considering the nursing career paths available to you is of vital importance. Make certain that the level you aim for will satisfy you. Can you find what you want at LVN? Have you thought about which Nursing Careers would suit you best?

You must check whether the private Nursing Schools have the accreditations you require if you wish to get into different Nursing Careers later on. Can that program give you an AA or BS? Or cat it give you a state-limited licence only? Which credits may be transferred to a public college or university, shoud you choose to continue to a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree?

Another thing to think about is how much you’ll have to spend! Private Nursing Schools have broader acceptance levels, but the tuition is a great deal more than community college. I had to take the private school option as my local community college had a waiting list for the RN program that stretched out to 2011! I had to pay their higher fees to get my schooling within a sensible time frame.

There’s one more consideration I am suggesting: experience the tours and even stay in a class or two. Speak to the staff and teachers. Observe which kind of students the school attracts. You will have to stay with these people for as long as two years so it’s important to know exactly what to expect. You may or may not like it. Also find out if you like the teaching method. Is it sufficiently challenging? Too much? Do you like your teachers? And what about the staff. All of this will have a large impact on your level of satisfaction.

- Melissa G. Wells