LPN to Nursing (BSN) Undergrad - Fitting In Pre-Reqs

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DrBelle

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Hey everyone (the heart of my question in bold)

I'm about to finish an LPN (Practical Nursing) program and headed back to college to complete a BSN. I've done very well, straight A's across the board, and have a pretty good foundation in nursing on the PN level.

I know I want to go to medical school and as lovely as it would be to just study anything so that I can apply down the line, I am a non traditional student (turning 30 next year) and frankly I can't afford to graduate with most regular majors. I might need extra time applying or really anything can happen and the idea of not having a degree that will secure me financially is unfathomable. I've had a hell of a time with financial instability and college and am just climbing out of it. Thats why its just so important.

Anyway, does anyone on here know if someone comes from a nursing background and tries to fit pre-med pre-reqs in the BSN curriculum, will it be too much? Does having strong exposure to nursing classes before hand make fitting in hard sciences much more manageable?

For instance one of the first nursing classes in the junior semester is Health Assessment and Promotion. This is something I did all year in the PN program so its going to be more of a review for me. Assuming I can fit my sciences in to the schedule, would it be a bad idea to take say a Gen Chem + Lab class on top of the nursing courses?

I hear nursing classes are difficult to get A's in. I'm now very familiar with how nitpicky they can be with a million time consuming assignments and tricky questions. Still want to do it if its doable.

Thank you

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The prevailing wisdom on SDN is that adcoms wont like it if you apply straight out of nursing school, so you might want to consider that.

I'm an LPN majoring in biology. Honestly, so far undergrad has been easier than nursing school. The course work is at a higher level but the atmosphere is more nurturing and supportive instead of stressful, the schedules are less ridiculous, the tests are easier/not as strictly graded, and there are more resources (free tutoring!) than I had in nursing school.

LPN programs tend to be highly condensed and the instructors intentionally make the environment unnecessarily stressful. This makes a normal college schedule seem easier in comparison even if the material covered in class is harder. Being able to take med school prerequisites on op of an RN program depends on how that program is scheduled. I know most of the RN programs in my area aren't as condensed and ridiculous as the LPN programs, especially the LPN-to-RN bridge programs, and LPNs tend to do well in those. You might want to take your first semester of RN classes and see how you handle that before adding extra stuff. It sounds like you've already been able to take a look at a sample schedule, what is that like?
 
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@Annabell Lee

Hey thanks for the great reply!

If I'm being 100% honest, I am not really concerned about adcoms liking my nursing major or not (although a few years ago knowing this would have terrified me. Yay for angsty me calming the hell down lol) because if it is true that I may major in whatever I want to go to medical school, then it shouldn't matter. But deeper than that, I went through a whole lot over the past few years because I'm responsible for me and I did not have the financial stability I needed to do what I needed to do. I have no interest in ever going through that again especially heading into my 30s. My family doesn't come from money, parent's are getting older. I have to be realistic about my situation if I'm going to make this happen. Realistically speaking, I will need to support myself in this expensive city we live in. I appreciate what I'm learning in Nursing and if for whatever reason I need to take time or stop there, I would be ok with that. I'm going to need an undergrad degree in something so for me this is the most logical thing I can do for my money.

Totally agree with you about the atmosphere! Although the professors at my school are generally nice people, it was a deluge of information, every single day. Full blown exams just about every day. So many papers, so many projects, and I didn't LOVE my class. The mindset is just different there. I took college courses during my LPN program, nothing too heavy, and its a night and day experience

The sample schedule for my first nursing semester is 16 credits of Nursing courses. Health and Assessment (4 cr), Adult & Elder Nursing (6 cr .. wow) Professional Nursing (3 cr) and Pathphysiology (3 cr). I would need to complete 4 semesters to get my BSN.

By the time that semester starts, I'll be needing Gen Bios and Labs. 16 credits is 16 credits. But if some of this stuff that I already did in my PN program (I know some RN programs exempt you from some of the first courses if you have a PN) then I should be able to handle an extra class or two. Theoretically.

That said, you're right about the funky scheduling. From what I remember a lot of these freshman science courses are generally offered like mid morning on a weekday.

hmmm....
 
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I am a PN too with almost a decade of experience applying this upcoming cycle with a bachelors in Bio too. If I can go back in time, I would've definitely majored in something else other than bio, whether it's engineering or continue on for my BSN.

Honestly OP, give it a try and see how it goes. We really can't tell how you'll end up but worst case scenario, if you find it that you're struggling, stop and reassess the situation or hold off the on load.
 
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Thank you @toutou. I think I will do just that. Worst case scenario I drop the science course and do a long summer session version of it. I was trying to get a realistic idea about what nursing courses are like and adding basic sciences because when I think about it, even if I were to do another major, I would need to be balancing these courses out. I don't see myself pursuing a bio major so imo you're hardcore lol. I would be adding in these premed courses in any major of interest that I would do.
Also, most of my interests would land me a degree I can't rely on for job prospects.. I know how it sounds but I guess when you've been there done that with not knowing how you'll pay rent or help your evicted mom that just had surgery and that type of drama, it just feels a lot clearer. Thats just me. I also enjoy the work I've spent my year in clinicals doing. I feel like I fit and I get along so well the the patients. In fact, they have been the upside to the carnival that is nursing school the whole year lol. I am just so hungry for more.
 
I am a PN too with almost a decade of experience applying this upcoming cycle with a bachelors in Bio too. If I can go back in time, I would've definitely majored in something else other than bio, whether it's engineering or continue on for my BSN.

Honestly OP, give it a try and see how it goes. We really can't tell how you'll end up but worst case scenario, if you find it that you're struggling, stop and reassess the situation or hold off the on load.

oh yeah, by the way, BEST OF LUCK THIS CYCLE :)

never ever get to hear from other LPN's pursuing this route so this "sighting" is exciting for me. lol
 
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Thank you @toutou. I think I will do just that. Worst case scenario I drop the science course and do a long summer session version of it. I was trying to get a realistic idea about what nursing courses are like and adding basic sciences because when I think about it, even if I were to do another major, I would need to be balancing these courses out. I don't see myself pursuing a bio major so imo you're hardcore lol. I would be adding in these premed courses in any major of interest that I would do.
Also, most of my interests would land me a degree I can't rely on for job prospects.. I know how it sounds but I guess when you've been there done that with not knowing how you'll pay rent or help your evicted mom that just had surgery and that type of drama, it just feels a lot clearer. Thats just me. I also enjoy the work I've spent my year in clinicals doing. I feel like I fit and I get along so well the the patients. In fact, they have been the upside to the carnival that is nursing school the whole year lol. I am just so hungry for more.



oh yeah, by the way, BEST OF LUCK THIS CYCLE :)

never ever get to hear from other LPN's pursuing this route so this "sighting" is exciting for me. lol

Thank you!

Trust me, there's nothing hardcore about bio. I'm graduating this spring and the first two year at my university was the weed out years, things that weren't supposed to be difficult were made 10x difficult. Upper levels on the other hand was my saving grace. My GPA went a whole 180 degree. I became an LPN at 18, I went into uni when I was 21 and thought being a bio major was the right path to go, only to realize how much I love research and problem solving, took a couple bio and computer engineering electives only to realize where my skills were. Now I'm graduating this spring and has a couple of nursing research jobs that I'm interested in if the cycle turns out sour, so I guess it's not the end for me haha.
 
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