Prerequisites for Nursing
If you plan on going to school to earn your degree in nursing, make sure you know what the prerequisites for nursing are at your chosen school. Each school is going to vary on what their prerequisites for nursing are and that is part of the reason you need to do your research before choosing your school.
The fact that some of the nursing prerequisites are different when attending different schools means that you may be able to substitute some of the classes for others. For example, math, economics, or psychology will usually substitute for statistics. And if you have credits from a previous school some of them may be transferable.
The best way of knowing what the prerequisites for nursing are at any given school is to simply contact the school and find out. Guidance counselors usually have all the relevant information in this regard and can really be a big help to you. You don’t want to begin your classes or choose a school without fully knowing what to expect.
One thing for sure is that you absolutely have to finish all your prerequisites before you can begin your main courses. If you lack in any of the prerequisites you will be required to make it up and possibly delay your starting time and push the date further away.
An Overview Of Basic Prerequisites For Nursing
While we know that nursing prerequisites will vary from one school to the next, we can still list some basics to give you the general idea of what you should run into:
- Anatomy & Physiology (6-8 credits)
- Statistics (3 credits)
- Sociology (3 credits)
- Nutrition (3 credits)
- Microbiology (4 credits)
- Psychology (3 credits)
- Chemistry (4 credits)
These are basic and some of them you may be allowed to replace with others as mentioned above. It will be your responsibility as the student to know which courses will satisfy the prerequisites for your chosen school.
After meeting your nursing prerequisites you can then pursue your career training for earning degrees. The first is the associate’s degree with courses in pharmacology, anatomy, and nursing skills. You will gain some clinical experience at this level as well.
Next you will advance to your bachelor’s degree which usually will take four years to complete. This training is yet more extensive as you are preparing for more challenging roles. Here you will be trained in adult health issues, pathophysiology, and patient health assessment. Clinical training is involved here as well.
As a bachelor’s degree graduate you will need to pass the NCLEX (National Council Licensure Examination) for vocational nurses. If you are trying to become a practical nurse it will be the NCLEX-PN and NCLEX-RN for the registered nurses. After you are licensed you can then enroll in a two-year program to earn your master’s degree.
Finishing Your Nursing Prerequisites And Earning Degrees
People find their time stretched very thin today so the preferred method for getting career training is through online distance education. The convenience of taking your online courses and prerequisites for nursing from home lets you keep your current job and lifestyle while earning the degrees necessary to pursue you dream career.
