How to prepare to enroll in nursing school
Earning a nursing degree allows you to be in charge of your own destiny. Nursing is an in-demand profession you can tailor to your interests, goals and personal life.
The benefits of a nursing career
There are many opportunities in nursing. While many nurses work in a hospital setting, there are also opportunities in schools, clinics, workplaces, medical offices and health departments.
If you’re interested in a specialty area, you can earn your master’s degree. If you want to become a nurse practitioner and care for a specific population, that’s an option, too. The more education you get, the more expertise you gain and the more you can move into specific areas you enjoy.
Another major benefit of a nursing career is the flexibility in the hours and days you work. For example, if you’re raising young children, you can work part-time and then return to full-time nursing later if you wish.
Nursing is also a career that makes a difference for people and communities. It’s a well-respected and trusted profession with meaningful work.
The outlook for nursing jobs is excellent. Right now, the demand for nursing jobs is the highest I’ve ever seen, and it won’t slow down anytime soon.
Who’s a good candidate for a nursing career?
If you’re considering becoming a nurse, it’s important to like all kinds of people. We care for people of all ages and backgrounds.
It’s also important that you’re willing to learn throughout your career. Health care is always evolving, so nurses are lifelong learners. After getting your degree and license, you’ll continue to learn for the rest of your life.
At Blue Ridge, we have many adult learners, so if you’re considering a career change, you’re not alone. The beautiful thing about being a community college is that we have many adult learners who come to us with life experiences that can be useful as they work on their nursing degree.
Here at Blue Ridge, we have a five-semester program. Once they graduate, students are prepared to take the national licensing exam. After they get their registered nursing license, they can work in many different settings. They can also continue their education and pursue a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), master’s degree or doctorate.
We recently expanded our nursing program and added 20 seats, allowing us to accept up to 74 students each fall. The program runs for five semesters: fall, spring, summer, fall and spring.
This October, we’ll begin taking applications for fall 2023. The deadline to apply is Feb. 1, 2023. If you’re interested in applying to the nursing program, I recommend contacting Blue Ridge and meeting with an advisor as soon as possible.
To apply for the program, you’ll need prerequisite classes in chemistry and biology (high school classes count). If you didn’t take these classes in high school, you’ll need to complete them before applying. You must also be a certified nursing assistant (CNA) in North Carolina. We have high standards to get into the program, because we believe if students can meet these benchmarks, they can succeed in a nursing career.
If you don’t currently meet these requirements, now is the perfect time to get started.
You can take standalone chemistry and biology classes and complete CNA coursework. You’ll have until July 1, 2023, to be on the CNA registry. We offer CNA courses on a rolling basis and evening and weekend classes.
While our nursing program is challenging, our faculty is invested in student success. We have wonderful instructors who help students throughout the program and support them however they can. We want our students to meet their goals and are confident that they’ll be well-prepared for a career in nursing upon completing the program.
To learn more about Blue Ridge Community College, visit www.blueridge.edu.
Deborah Henry is director of nursing at Blue Ridge Community College.
This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: How to prepare to enroll in nursing school
