Senior year is finally here and college is coming along the way. Sometimes I wonder, what will happen after high school, will I be able to pursue my career in nursing and what are college requirements? What will be the cost and expense, to answer this seemingly complex but simple question, it will have to be clarified. My personal goal is to pursuit in becoming a Registered Nurse with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). I plan to attend Fresno State University and take the prerequisite courses to be enroll in the nursing program.
Before going for a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, an Associates Degree in Nursing is required. An Associates Degree in Nursing takes up to 2 years or 3 years in total. To get the Associates Degree in Nursing, passing the NCLEX(National Council Licensure Examination) is required to move on to a Bachelor Degree in nursing. According to The NCLEX Exam Article it stated that, “the National Council Licensure Examination is a standardized exam that each state board of nursing uses to determine whether or not a candidate is prepared for entry-level nursing practice.” The NCLEX is basically an entry tickets into the nursing world.
The salary differences between an Associates Degree in Nursing and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing is that a Bachelor of Science in Nursing tends to make more than a Associates Degree in Nursing. Nurse Journal states that, “An Associates Degree in Nursing makes $61,360 and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing makes $69,697 by comparison, BSNs with the same level of experience earn $8,337 more.”
According to Truity’s article, the typical job descriptions for a Registered Nurse with a Bachelor Degree in nursing should be able to take blood pressure, take an IV, take care of nasogastric tube, give injections and many more. These are basic skills involving nursing which are mainly used everyday. A good communication skill is also one of the main common knowledge a nurse should have.
It is important that the college must be reasonable to attend which it should include classes that is needed. The three options are National University, Fresno State University, and Fresno City College. National University is my dream college, Fresno City College is a safety college and Fresno State College is a best choice as it is a 4 year college. In the article Fresno State News, it stated that “Fresno State scored third highest among public national universities for the second consecutive year and was No. 5 overall this year.” Fresno State had a good reputation to be know for third highest place in graduation rate performance.
Getting into a nursing program at Fresno State is not easy, a prerequisite is needed to get into the program of nursing. According to Fresno State’s website the prerequisite courses are Oral Communication, Written Communication, Critical Thinking, Statistics, General Chemistry, Introductory Microbiology, Anatomy & Physiology I, and Anatomy & Physiology II. Fresno State’s prerequisite courses are 26 unit in total and a unit cost $396.00 which means overall the total will be $10,296. The Fresno State websites showed that, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing courses are Bridge to Professional Nursing Concepts and Issues, Nursing Theories and Research, Concepts of Community Health Nursing, Practicum: Concepts of Community Health Nursing, Advanced Leadership, Management, & Healthcare Systems, and Applying Professional Nursing Principles. These course are 21 units in total, the overall total will be $52,535.
Financial aid and scholarships will help apply for most of the cost, also working part time is a good option to save up and use for college class. Cost and expenses will have to be paid through savings from working at Mcdonalds. I plan on living with a partner such as getting married living in a apartment. Money under 30 article states that,“$2,188 for the very first month, about $1,088 every month after. This include rent $900, electricity $50, Netflix $18, food $160, furniture 310, laundry $10 and transportation $65 per month.” Therefore based on Money Under 30’s article living alone will cost as much as 2,000 per month. Which means that our payments will be split in half whereas I pay half and my spouse pay half if we were to live on our own.
Staying on task and maintaining grade are one of the most important factors. For example working part time jobs can be difficult when there are too many classes. Taking Nursing classes are not easy but a good time management is a good way to stay organized for example make a schedule planning for the day. To stay organized an agenda is also helpful in many ways. One of the problems I’m lacking are time management, staying organized, and procrastinating. In the nursing world, staying organized and time management is the biggest factor. Overcoming these problems will evolve me staying on task and managing my time without letting work get in the way, by setting schedules on my phone and agenda.
Fresno City is cheaper and better but going to Fresno State will be easier and safer to get into the program. Instead of transferring later on why not go straight to Fresno State and get the classes you need. Going to a University it will take efforts but I’m willing to do so. My goal is to go for a registered nurse with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree and 4 year is needed in this career.
Work Cited
- Fresno State News, Fresno State ranks 3rd in U.S. News for graduation-rate performance, 10 Sept. 2018
- http://www.fresnostatenews.com/2018/09/10/fresno-state-ranks-3rd-in-u-s-news-for-grad
- uation-rate-performance-2/. Accessed 14 Dec 2018
- Dietetic Internship, Fresno State , 16 Oct. 2018
- http://www.fresnostate.edu/chhs/acdc/nursing.html. Accessed 14 Dec. 2018
- All Nursing schools, NCLEX Exam | National Council Licensure Exam, 19 Oct. 2018
- https://www.allnursingschools.com/articles/nclex-exam/. Accessed 27 Dec. 2018 Nursing.org, Bachelor Degree in Nursing, 15 Oct. 2015,
- https://www.nursing.org/degrees/bachelors/. Accessed 27 Dec. 2018
- Rinkesh Kukreja, Life Hack, 10 Practical Ways to Drastically Improve Your Time Management Skills, 30 Oct. 2018,
- https://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/10-ways-improve-your-time-management-skills.html Accessed 30 Dec. 2018
- How to Become. RN Programs & Careers | How to Become an RN, 08 July 2014,
- https://www.learnhowtobecome.org/nurse/registered-nurse/ . Accessed 30 Dec. 2018
- Registered Nurse. Rehabilitation Counselor Career Profile | Job Description, Salary, and Growth | Truity, 19 June 2018,
- https://www.truity.com/career-profile/registered-nurse. Accessed 10 Jan. 2019
- BSN Degree vs RN Differences. 2017 NurseJournal.org, 06 Step 2018,
- https://nursejournal.org/bsn-degree/bsn-degree-rn-differences/. Accessed 10 Jan. 2019
- How Much Does It Cost To Live Alone?. Money Under 30, 07 Dec 2018
- https://www.moneyunder30.com/cost-to-live-alone. Accessed 10 Jan. 2019
