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What should I do as a high schooler to study for nursing school?

I am in 9th grade and am wondering what I should do to study for nursing school. I want to go into labor and delivery.

nursing medicine healthcare nurse high-school labor-and-delivery
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Maureen’s Answer

Hey Trinity,
I glad you're asking this early in your high school years.
Here are some of the pre-requisite classes I had to take prior to university:
1. 4 years of English
2. 2-4 years of a foreign language
3. 4 years of science: Earth Science, Biology, Chemistry, Anatomy & Physiology and/or Physics.
4. 4 years of mathematics, algebra, calculus, trigonometry, statistics.
5. Computer Science courses to assist with electronic health record charting

I would recommend a meeting with a guidance counselor at school to help you with planning the next years of your curriculum.
I would recommend volunteering at a hospital or outpatient clinic to decide if nursing is really for you. That's how I knew nursing was for me.

Labor and Delivery has changed a great deal as mothers are coming to the hospital sicker with co-existing diagnoses like multiples in pregnancy, senior pregnancies, ulcerative colitis, diabetes, systemic lupus, hypertension, and many more which put them at high risk for complications during their delivery. You may want to shadow an actual Labor and Delivery registered nurse to see if it's for you. Many of my classmates got into nursing clinicals realizing nursing wasn't for them. Because nursing curriculum is so specific, it makes it difficult to transfer all your credit hours to another degree program. I bring all this up as you want to be ready for anything. I was a registered nurse in ER and ICU, got my master's in critical care nursing (first 7 years), became a head nurse (8 years in), then an assistant professor in a college of nursing (8 years in) , then back to nurse practitioner post master's to be a nurse practitioner which I have practiced in for 27 years.

You can do this Trinity, I just want to prepare you for the challenges. I did work during college on the night shift in an ER as a nursing assistant and boy did I learn a great deal!

Good luck in your next adventure. You will always have a job, you will never be bored, you can travel the world with your career!
Maureen
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Leirah’s Answer

I am not in nursing school (yet), but since middle schoo,l I have wanted to be a nurse. My advice would be to learn your studying style, and take anatomy and chemistry classes to get a better idea of how to prepare (and to obtain a bit of knowledge) for advanced college science courses. Definitely volunteer at a hospital or a skilled nursing facility and foster relationships with not only patients and/or residents, but staff also. In my experience getting into my job now (psychiatric techncian in a medically fragile classroom) was easier because I already knew someone in the district and they were able to vouch for me :) good luck and never give up!
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Robin’s Answer

My first piece of advice is to learn how to study now whilst you are still in high school. It will help you immensely when you’re in nursing school because they require top grades now. Take science courses because you will have many more in college. Never be afraid to ask questions. Research nursing schools. You can go to nursing school via community college or 4 year university, depending on your goals for your career after college graduation.
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Madison’s Answer

Hi there, I love that you have such great and early on career goals/life aspirations. You have plenty of time to study during college/nursing school. I would not necessarily say that you ever need to STUDY before college for this particularly but maybe shadow a nurse, volunteer at a hospital/nursing home/doctors office, talk to local nurses and get advice. See what healthcare classes you can take in high school that maybe will get you early college credits (AP course work etc.). See if you can become a scribe or a CNA (this is a great way to get exposure to healthcare/nursing fields, to meet mentors/get advice from people in the field, to learn more on the spot which will absolutely help when starting college/nursing schools, as well as will look great on a resume and you can earn some extra money). However, not everyone feels they can work at the same time as high school/college and that is ok. It is ok to have other outside/non-healthcare related activities/interests as well and those are important too on applications and in life!

I hope this helps!

Madison
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Courtney’s Answer

Hi,

If your school offers CNA classes, take them to kickstart your nursing career. Focus on learning how to study effectively and commit to the process. Enroll in as many science or health-related classes as possible. If there are college courses available, take them during high school to reduce the number of prerequisites needed later. Set a specific study schedule and remember to take breaks to relax. Finding a balance that suits you is key.
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