Career and School Info for RNs (Registered Nurses) in Indiana

I have the advantage of working in the field of nursing as a unit secretary and as a technician prior to entering in nursing school. I would tell new students that the program is difficult and requires a lot of time. I work full time and would not recommend that to new students if possible. I would also tell the new student to find a mentor who is a nurse and seek educational relevance. Nursing is not just applying a bandage to a wound but also finding out how you got the wound, do you have another medical condition that is the bigger picture. My instructor continually sates, think outside the box. I would also tell new students that punctuality and attendance is mandatory and not optional. If you miss one class you are far behind others. You also need to be able to work well with others, including all ethnicities and personalities. The new student needs to be able to problem solve and compromise. You need to be able to have great listening skills; this will help you in your career after school.

While I felt prepared for nursing school as a freshman in college, I wish I had known how hard it would be to transition to college life in general. Any wishes or regrets I have regarding entering nursing school mainly pertains to the transition to college life, rather than nursing school in particular.

However, I would suggest that potential nursing students pick a nursing program that prepares them very well not only to function as a competent nurse, but to successfully pass the NCLEX nursing boards in order to receive their RN license. As Indiana Wesleyan University's nursing program is particularly thorough, I feel confident that, when I graduate, I will have the training and knowledge necessary to receive my license and work competently in the health care setting.

I would also strongly recommend that anyone interested in going into nursing take human biology in their senior year of high school. When I entered the nursing program and began my Anatomy and Physiology I class, it made a huge difference that most of the class content was review. I had already become familiar with much of the information and therefore was able to focus on other area of the class or other classes entirely that needed more work.

In addition, starting college and living away from home is a big transition. Doing what you can in high school to make the first year of college easier will certainly pay back. I talked to a couple people who had not taken any human biology in high school. They mentioned how they were struggling more with the class and how they had to put in a lot more time in order to perform decently on the tests. While some sort of human biology would be the most helpful, taking a chemistry course would also be beneficial to lay a foundation for introductory nursing chemistry classes.

When you are deciding on a nursing program to apply to, it can become a very tedious, competitive process that feels overwhelming and impossible. I would let other prospective students know to not get discouraged, to apply to as many programs as possible, and to make use of the advisors at the schools. The schools want to accept you; our workforce needs more nurses, and they just do not have room for all of the students they want to accept. Use their expertise when writing your application and essays.

In retrospect I would have liked to have known that our clinical time isn’t going to provide us all the learning experience we need to fully prepare us for our roles as nurses. Our clinical experiences are great, provided that you have a patient that happens to need the one skill you were taught that week. I placed a lot of emphasis on where my clinicals were going to be, which is important, but I think I would have put less emphasis on that and more on the opportunity for career growth in that area. When you are in nursing school you make connections and build relationships with people, people who can influence and help you in your future nursing career. I think it is important to make sure that the school you decide to go to is in an area you are okay starting your career in. I moved to attend this program, and while it is nice to have the flexibility to do that, I feel at a slight disadvantage for not having the opportunity to build professional relationships in the area I plan to start my future as a nurse in, seeing that I will be moving back home after graduation.