Nursing Writings

Hello anonymous,

Actually, I can give you the best advice especially when it comes to CSULB because that is where I attended for my pre-nursing classes. I do understand your fear of being a nursing major at that cal state in particularly because of it’s high impaction rate. So here is my best guidelines of advice for you that I picked up through personal experience and from other nursing students.

1. If nursing is really what you want, then set in your mind and heart to do it whole heartedly. When I say that, your emotional dedication and time should be ready to seek this major to the complete end. I’m on the 7 year graduation track. Trust me when I say that the longevity of pursing this major will take an emotional toll on you. You will have periods of ‘burn out’ where you have to self discipline yourself to keep going no matter what. Keep your eyes on the prize. Make sure you self evaluate your emotions and really determine if this is what you want.

2. I would take most of your pre-requisites at CSULB if you can. I don’t know how the impaction of the classes are now since I’ve left but I had to really jump around to different community colleges to get the classes that I needed. Keep your options open. Enroll in different community colleges to increase your likelihood to get into a science class somewhere. I know there is a course equivalence website that you can use double check that the class you may take at a community is transferable to CSULB. Just be prepared for managing your time well if you ever get split between two campuses like I was before. I suggest Compton city college for availability of science classes. But that is for you to decide if you feel comfortable going there or not.

3. When you’re taking your sciences classes together, take chemistry and microbiology alone. Mix them up with your GE classes. Anatomy and physiology are ‘okay’ to take together in my book because their information co inside with one another. Be the evaluator though of your limitations and capabilities as a student. Keep in mind you need to do well in these courses to competitive when it comes time to application for nursing programs.

4. Make a printed table of all your nursing pre-requisites that you need and keep record of your grades somewhere that you can see it at all times. It serves as a constant reminder to do well in your classes.

5. Start volunteering as soon as you can in a hospital if you haven’t already. It will expose you to the hospital early, look great on your résumé, and even possibly land you a hospital job early in the game. This can serve as your stepping stone to your first nursing job once you finish nursing school. Plus, it helps to you social network which is what 90% the job market is now in today’s economy.

That’s all I can think of right now for pre-nursing advice. If you have any more questions though, feel free to ask! Good luck in your nursing journey and remember, stay focused!! Give this dream all that you got!

Shout out to other college students who think their major is difficult. Please go to Nursing school & then I’ll consider your complaints valid. Nursing school provides the following:

1) Lack of sleep 2) Constant anxiety & stress that I believe all nursing students need to be prescribed Ativan for themselves just to sustain their sanity 3) every week is literally finals week where anything below 75% is considered failing 4) Like Mario world, we only have 2 lives to get failing grades. If we fail, we’re kicked our nursing program 5) We go through multiple steps to even get into a Nursing school which includes: a. Getting the classes we need like all other college students & getting a 4.0 to even be competitive enough which includes science classes that make you want to pull your hair out… b. to get into a nursing program that averages at least 850 applicants for only 75-90 spots. That means 1 in 40 people get into the a program c. Waiting on waiting list for different Nursing programs averaging 2 years waiting to know if we are accepted or denied and within that waiting period asking ourselves “What am I doing with my life if I don’t get?”

And…

d. Getting into a nursing program & maintaining superior academic status to stay in 6) postponing different parts of our lives for the sacrifice of a beneficial and humbling career 7) seeing more things in a hospital that are more gross than what you’ll ever see in a dirty men’s bathroom 8) dealing with the in between of life and death so frequently that we often question our own humanity of living 9) dealing with many people & personalities that I believe reading people & being a human lie detector should be part of our job description 10) Being in school will always follow us with continuing educational units (CEUs) even after we’re licensed if the board of Registered Nursing still wants us competent enough to save your life

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