Before Nursing School: Class Prerequisites
When choosing a nursing school, there will always be the practical considerations, like the location of the school, the type of accommodations available, the cost of the education and even the courses to be studied. However, with so many choices of schools, there are prerequisites that are essential for any prospective student who wants the opportunity to specialize or advance in their career long after the training days are completed.
Essentially, no matter where you live in the world, the basic requirement today to begin nursing training is a high school education. You should pay particular attention to the science focused subjects such as health sciences and biology. Maintaining good grades throughout your schooling may make the difference in being accepted into your school of choice due to the competitive nature of some school’s application processes.
A nurse typically goes through the following steps to achieve their license to practice as a Registered Nurse.
- Completing a Bachelors Degree in Nursing (BSN)
- Completing an Associate’s Degree in Nursing (ADN)
- Completing a Diploma Program conducted in a hospital.
Each type of training requires a different set of prerequisites to enter the program. Some nursing schools have other prerequisites for acceptance into their programs. For instance, they may require you to be a certain age, (some require students to be under or over a certain age), while others may require that you’re a US citizen or permanent resident.
- A Hospital Based Diploma program is conducted through a hospital and is an entry level course that prepares a student to sit for the NCLEX-RN exam and to apply for the license to practice as a Registered Nurse. Students wishing to enter a diploma course may be required to sit for an entrance examination or undergo an academic assessment, particularly if they have failed to successfully graduate from high school.
- The Associate Degree in Nursing is an entry level training course, and students can begin their studies directly from high school. Once the course is completed they will be eligible to sit for the NCLEX-RN exam and gain their license to practice as a registered nurse.
- The Bachelors Degree in Nursing is a four year program that is both for students who transfer from another course into the nursing degree program or who complete an Associate Degree in Nursing and fast track into the bridging course to complete the four year degree.
- Some students may be required to take some other studies prior to admission to a nursing school. These courses are known as “fast track prerequisites” and successful completion enables a student to fast track into a bachelor program.
By paying attention to the prerequisites required of nursing candidates, and getting them done as quickly as possible, you’ll be able to ensure a smoother transition from student to nurse.