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

It is important when looking at different programs to discover what their rate of “success” is: how many students who start the program actually graduate? How many find jobs within the first 3 months after graduation? What is the instructor to student ratio? What are the class sizes? For a student to learn the nuances of nursing, smaller class sizes are very helpful, as much of what is learned is done through discussions and interactions with fellow students and the instructors. If the classes are too large, this type of learning can’t take place as easily.

It also helps to know the school’s “bias”: are they more research focused or clinical focused? One is not better than the other, but it helps the student be prepared for what type of work will be expected of them. The last piece of information to know is what resources are available to help the student be as successful as possible: are there mentors? Advisors that meet with the students regularly? Office hours that are flexible and frequent if questions come up? The biggest strength of a nurse I have learned is that we don’t have to know everything: just know where your resources are!

I wish someone would have told me that nursing isn’t for the faint at heart. You have to be very strong to be an RN. I was expecting nursing to be more relaxed and laid back, but I have found it to be quite the opposite. Nursing takes full attention, commitment, and hard work. I wish I would have known how serious nursing is, that the nurse has power to “veto” a doctor, and that it is the nurse who is a double check on the physician to make sure that there is no mistakes. I wish I would have known that nurses save lives (that it isn’t limited to the scope of the doctor). I wish I would have known that nursing holds hundreds of career paths, from school nurse to advance practice nurse. I wish I would have known that nursing takes more time with the patient and views them as a being with a soul, not a piece of flesh with a disease. I wish I would have known that nurses are educated beyond what people would expect. I wish I would have know that it is challenging, personally rewarding, and offers an equitable wage. I wish I would have remembered that it is the nurses who take care of the sick. It is the nurses who lift people’s spirits (while taking a temperature or obtaining a history). Nurses’ job spans from the young to the old, and includes every realm of medicine imaginable, including research. I wish I would have known all along that nursing was my match.

There are two things that I wish I had know when I entered nursing school. First, I wish I had known the clear differences between becoming a registered nurse through a 2-year associate in arts degree and a 4-year registered nursing who has a bachelor’s in science. Unfortunately, I did not know what I did not know until I progressed through my education. The more holistic view of the patient, the scientific underpinnings of body systems and illness, the full discussion of health of the community all are taught with increased depth as education continues.

I would have also liked to have met with nursing mentors before entering into the doctoral program for practical issues about which classes to take in order to have the knowledge build in the most efficacious way. Also to be able to discuss with several mentors strategies for maintaining life and work balance along with a demanding program instead of learning by trial and error would have been beneficial. The wisdom of other nurses is invaluable when selecting and entering a nursing program.