Central Florida Nesties
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Nurses, Please Come In
Is anyone on the board a nurse (or maybe married to a nurse)?
My husband is planning to go back to school for nursing in the near future. I think he has decided to focus on getting his associate's in nursing and becoming an R.N., although he may continue his education/certifications at a later date. Do any of y'all have any opinions about the nursing programs available in the Central Florida area? Any to check out, any to avoid?
Any other career or educational advice for a prospective nurse would also be welcomed. We don't really know any nurses personally, so we're trying to figure out these plans on our own.
Thanks, in advance, ladies!
- Diane
Re: Nurses, Please Come In
Hello there,
I am a nurse and I went to a community college for my associates in nursing. (that was in N. Florida) I am currently in the RN to BSN program at UCF (which can be done totally online) I hear that SCC has a great nursing program, and they are in the process of building a new health building I believe. I know that the program at SCC is soon going to be partnered with UCF, so if you graduate from there they make it easy to continue on if you want to further your degree. I would look at SCC's website....I'm sure they can give you some more info, or at least give you a phone number or email to get in contact with someone. UCF also has a great program, and your husband would have his bachelor's if he decided to go there. UCF is more expensive obviously, and involves a few more classes since it's a bachelor's program. I'm not from Central Florida so I hope this is helpful! Good luck!
Thanks so much for the info. I had actually kind of overlooked SCC, so it will be great to have one more option to consider, especially if they have a good reputation.
I hope you don't mind if I ask you a couple more questions ...
UCF was originally one of our top choices, but due to our ages and wanting to start a family as soon as we can, I think we want to limit the amount of time DH spends as a full-time student, as much as we possibly can. Does UCF offer an associate's degree in nursing or must you complete the entire bachelor's program to graduate? (I'm assuming it's the latter).
Also, to participate in the RN to BSN program, how long do you have to have been working in the nursing field? Can you go straight from your AS into that program or do you need to have some experience, since it seems like kind of a "fast-track" program? Just curious, since that sounds like a really good option if DH decides he does want a bachelor's.
Also, I hope this doesn't sound nosy, but what factors motivated you to go back for your bachelor's? Do you feel like it's necessary to get good jobs and/or get ahead in the field or is it something you just wanted to do for personal satisfaction? Just wondering what differences there in opportunities for people with an associate's versus a bachelor's.
Thank you so much for the info. Like I said, this is all new to us, so we're so appreciative of any info. and advice we can get.
- Diane
I'm not a nurse but work for a dept that has many. Alot of then start with their MA (short quick course) and start working at the hospital. After you have been an employee for 3 months the hospital reimburses tutition so then they go back for their degrees all the while continuing to work and network for future jobs.
As far as schools I don't have much advice except to say FL Hospital college is awesome BUT VERY pricey. Alot of the nurses I know when to Valencia or SCC.
Alicia, thank you for the info. I just have one more curious question. You mentioned the option of working in the hospital while going to school. My husband was told (at least by some schools) that he would not be allowed to have any kind of job while he was going to nursing school. Do you know if they make exceptions if you're already working in healthcare or if you already have some kind of certification, like the MA?
Thanks!
Ah, ok, that makes sense. Thanks!
No, if he chooses to go to UCF, he will come out with a bachelor's degree. However, if he goes to a communtiy college, he can choose to go straight to the BSN or he can wait and go back later if he wants to. My intention was to go for my BSN very soon after graduation....however, life and it's craziness put things on hold and finally I just decided I was going to do it. You do make a *little* bit more money with the bachelor's, and the opportunites to move up usually require it. If he wants to do hospital/floor nursing or something similar, the ASN is usually sufficient. I've been told by many people that associate degree nurses are generally better clinically, b/c typically they get more hands on experience. Just a thought.
As far as working and going to school goes.... I did have a job as a nurse tech starting from my first semester. I didn't work very much...sometimes only once a week, and more during breaks from school. My school didn't prohibit us from having a job....but they strongly recommended not working too much. I thankfully lived at home while I was in school. I'm not sure if the schools here have different rules or not. Something else that I know SCC offers is night classes and I think a part time program if full time is not an option. Check the link I sent....if you click on the FAQ's I think it mentions the different options. Ok, hopefully I answered your questions but feel free to email me if you have more: alliej77@gmail.com ~Allison
Thank you sooo much for all the good info! I think that answers all my questions for now, but if I think of anything else, I'll let you know!
Thanks again--y'all are awesome!
- Diane
MA is a medical assistant. ? I think it's like a 7 month program or something. ?Basically you learn room patients, take vitals and maybe draw blood. ? ? It's the VERY bottom stepping stone in the nursing field. ?however, many doctors offices use MA's more than nurses because they can do most of what a nurse does and get paid alot less
. ?
?