Well, I have decided to enter the realm of blogging. Between 2007 and 2010, I hiked the Appalachian Trail and I kept an online journal of my hike. www.trailjournals.com/birch. I really enjoyed keeping the journal at the time. Didn't feel there was a need to keep blogging, so I stopped.
Well, I have decided to start a new blog because I have a lot of things going on. I am currently a pre-nursing student at a small community college in Massachusetts. I was thinking it might have been nice to read some blogs about what to expect in nursing school. I have recently found some and will start to read. But, I thought it might be interesting to post a different perspective on the whole college experience since I am quite a bit older than your typical student nurse. I am 48 years old. And currently, a Disenfranchised American Worker.
I graduated back in 1988 with a B.B.A in Business Computers. Spent 21 years working my way through the IT world. Did really well being a geek and made it up to the Director of Systems Development for a major toy retailer who then proceeded to go belly up. Lost my job in 2009. It was sad. But, I was more sad for all my co-workers than for myself. For me it was an opportunity of a lifetime. I was able to continue my hike (which I finished in August of 2010), and I was able to go back to school. I decided to go back to school for nursing.
Being that I was a computer geek I had a whole lot of science classes that I needed to take before I could actually apply to nursing school. Beginning in the fall of 2009 - I went back to school to take a whole lot of science classes. Those classes like biology, chemistry, A&P, microbiology that you need before they even let you start to think about touching anyone. All sorts of scary stuff. I was pretty nervous because I didn't do well in Bio & Chemistry back in HS. And, figured it was going to be tough. It was, but I surprised myself and have done pretty well. So, now I am at the point of applying to different nursing programs.
Basically decided to only apply to two schools. One a state university and the other a state community college. I did the private college the first time around and can't justify the expense at this point in my life.
This is where the first big decision comes in. I have two potential paths to chose from. Path one - is to stay at the community college where I am at. I have been accepted to their nursing program. This will give me an Associates in Nursing in two school years. I can then apply to their bridge program with the State University and complete the BSN in another year. Three years to get the BSN. Path two - is to go to directly to the State University. They offer a 2nd Bachelor's program where you earn the BSN in about 18 months. At this point, I haven't been accepted but should hear pretty soon.
The issue is what is the most prudent cost effective choice? The 2nd path is going to cost at least 45K including living expenses. It is hard to justify that kind of money at this point in my life. I have spoken to some nurses - some say you need the BSN, some say you don't. They say it depends on what you want to do. Honestly, at this point I have no idea. Meaning specifics. I can be like the young kids who are in my classes now who think they want to be an NP or something else. But, I am realistic. Until I actually have some kind of clinical experience I am in no position to say what I want to do.
This is where I am at right now. I am going ahead and registering for the ASN program for next fall. Once I find out for sure about whether or not I have been accepted to the BSN program I will need to make "the decision".
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