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How hard is it going in and graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)? Any advice or tips?

I am a rising senior in high school, and I recently decided to major in nursing. Everything a nurse does from a CNA to a NP really motivate me to become a nurse. I'm currently leaning more towards a neonatal nurse. However, before that I first have to become a RN. This brings me to my question: How hard is it going in and graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)? I would love to get advice and anything really to prepare me towards the path/career I want to pursue. Thank you! #career #nurse #college

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Laura’s Answer

Congratulations on your decision to major in nursing. Earning your BSN is not an easy feat by any means, but how difficult it will be is different for everyone. School is easy for some and very difficult for others. I would advise you to take any chemistry, biology, or anatomy & physiology classes available at your school. Also any college prep or advanced level classes your school might offer for college credit. Learn to prioritize and organize. College is busier than HS with more of the responsibility on the student. Time management is key. If your HS offers any opportunities to shadow a nurse for a day, try that. Or consider working as a nursing assistant. It helped me get over the nervousness of starting direct patient care the other students had early in nursing school and I was able to see a lot of what the nurses did.

Laura recommends the following next steps:

Consider an SAT prep course and keep up good grades to help with college admission and possible scholarships.
Consider working as a nursing assistant to get used to caring for patients and see some of what nurses do. Or look into volunteering or shadowing a nurse if available.
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Ken’s Answer

When considering a career area such as nursing, it is very important to make sure that this is a career area for which you are well suited and get to know people who are successfully involved in nursing to learn about the inside view of nursing.


Getting to know yourself and how your personality traits relate to people involved in various career opportunities is very important in your decision making process. During my many years in Human Resources and College Recruiting, I ran across too many students who had skipped this very important step and ended up in a job situation which for which they were not well suited. Selecting a career area is like buying a pair of shoes. First you have to be properly fitted for the correct size, and then you need to try on and walk in the various shoe options to determine which is fits the best and is most comfortable for you to wear. Following are some important steps which I developed during my career which have been helpful to many .

Ken recommends the following next steps:

The first step is to take an interest and aptitude test and have it interpreted by your school counselor to see if you share the personality traits necessary to enter the field. You might want to do this again upon entry into college, as the interpretation might differ slightly due to the course offering of the school. However, do not wait until entering college, as the information from the test will help to determine the courses that you take in high school. Too many students, due to poor planning, end up paying for courses in college which they could have taken for free in high school.
Next, when you have the results of the testing, talk to the person at your high school and college who tracks and works with graduates to arrange to talk to, visit, and possibly shadow people doing what you think that you might want to do, so that you can get know what they are doing and how they got there. Here are some tips: ## http://www.wikihow.com/Network ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/nonawkward-ways-to-start-and-end-networking-conversations ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/4-questions-to-ask-your-network-besides-can-you-get-me-a-job?ref=carousel-slide-1 ##
Locate and attend meetings of professional associations to which people who are doing what you think that you want to do belong, so that you can get their advice. These associations may offer or know of intern, coop, shadowing, and scholarship opportunities. These associations are the means whereby the professionals keep abreast of their career area following college and advance in their career. You can locate them by asking your school academic advisor, favorite teachers, and the reference librarian at your local library. Here are some tips: ## https://www.careeronestop.org/BusinessCenter/Toolkit/find-professional-associations.aspx?&frd=true ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/9-tips-for-navigating-your-first-networking-event ##
It is very important to express your appreciation to those who help you along the way to be able to continue to receive helpful information and to create important networking contacts along the way. Here are some good tips: ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-informational-interview-thank-you-note-smart-people-know-to-send?ref=recently-published-2 ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/3-tips-for-writing-a-thank-you-note-thatll-make-you-look-like-the-best-candidate-alive?bsft_eid=7e230cba-a92f-4ec7-8ca3-2f50c8fc9c3c&bsft_pid=d08b95c2-bc8f-4eae-8618-d0826841a284&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_20171020&utm_source=blueshift&utm_content=daily_20171020&bsft_clkid=edfe52ae-9e40-4d90-8e6a-e0bb76116570&bsft_uid=54658fa1-0090-41fd-b88c-20a86c513a6c&bsft_mid=214115cb-cca2-4aec-aa86-92a31d371185&bsft_pp=2 ##
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