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Hi everyone, my name is Sam, and I am currently in my last semester as an Associate Degree Nursing Student at Lake Region State College in Devils Lake, ND.  

A question I’ve been asked from quite a few students, whether they are in high school, college, or looking at switching their career is this: “How did you know nursing was what you wanted to do?” or “How do I go about getting into nursing school?” 

I’ve known I wanted to be a nurse since I was 5 years old. I loved taking care of people and making them feel better, but as I got older, I thought that I couldn’t do it. I struggled with math all through high school and had such a negative mindset of “I have to be perfect or at least good at math to even get in.” I became very discouraged and eventually I gave up on that dream of being a nurse and I went to college to be a teacher. After that, I went to cosmetology school for a brief time, and while I loved both I soon began to realize that those two careers allowed me to educate and make people feel good or better about themselves…something nurses do every day! 

I realized that I could do anything I put my mind to, I simply had to believe in myself, and you should too!  

How do I know if becoming a nurse/nursing school is right for me? 

I think the best way to gauge if nursing school or nursing in general is a good fit, is to get some experience. Getting your Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) License, working as an Unlicensed Assistive Personnel (UAP), volunteering at a medical facility like a nursing home, or even shadowing in a provider's office can shed some light on what to expect as a nurse.  

For me, I started this process by working as an optician and eventually moved over to a bigger medical facility where I worked as a medical secretary and worked with scheduling, insurance, and had contact with patients, nurses, and doctors every day. By getting my foot in the door and gaining experience, not only did it look good on my application, but I got to get a feel for how the medical world was and I liked it!  

So how do you go about getting into nursing school? 

1. Know why you want to be a nurse 
   Maybe you care about helping people and want to make a difference in the lives of others, or maybe you’ve been impacted first-hand by healthcare. Either way, you should have a good understanding of why you want to do this. You will be asked many times and how your answer can increase or decrease your chances of getting into the school you want.
   
2. Start looking at schools that offer programs and look into their requirements for applying.
   Every school is a little bit different with how their program is run, who they’re accredited by, their requirements for entry, and their NCLEX pass rates. These are all attributes that can determine how long you go to school, where you will have clinicals, and how your overall experience might look.
   
   Personally, I chose an accelerated 18-month program with a high NCLEX pass rate because I wanted to start working as soon as possible and I wanted to be highly prepared, but I know others have chosen a four-year BSN program because they wanted that higher degree and wanted summers off from school. It all depends on what you want and what works for you! 
   
3. Take your required pre-requisites, entrance exam, and gain experience. 
   Pre-requisites, sometimes called pre-reqs, are the classes you need before you can be considered a nursing student. In some cases, programs want these done before you apply to the specialized program, but other times schools may let you take these while you’re considered a nursing student.
   
   Some schools also require an entrance exam. These are similar to the standardized tests you take while in high school, but also assess your decision-making skills, learning style, and critical thinking skills.
   
   I chose a school that allowed the latter because I didn’t want to waste a year completing a few pre-reqs. They also did not require medical experience, but since I had some, they counted it as a bonus for me to be considered for entry.
   
4. Apply! 
   Now is the time to apply! Make sure you apply early enough so you don’t miss out on the deadlines! Oftentimes these deadlines are in place so you can also get scholarships and other opportunities set up before starting school. Remember why you started and why you wanted to be a nurse! Nursing school can be overwhelming, but I promise it goes by quickly and is SO worth it!