Everything has to start somewhere, and for those who are planning to enter the nursing industry, the first step would typically be a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. These are usually four-year programs that are versatile in the type of lessons that are taught, but unlike other four-year courses, the requirements for a Bachelors in Nursing program tend to be quite different.
Anyone who is looking to enter a Bachelors in Nursing program needs to meet their school’s admissions requirements, and these may include, but not necessarily be limited to your high school diploma or GED, and a transcript of records from your last school (usually high school).Chances of your being admitted into the program would all depend on the courses you had taken in your last school, how well you performed, the degree of difficulty involved, and the duration in which you took them.
When filling out your application, there’s a good chance that you would be required to write an essay – this would mainly be to gauge how proficient you are in the English language. And it’s also possible that colleges and universities would look at your extracurricular involvement in your previous school – did you join any clubs, and if you did, were you an officer? Were you also involved in similar activities outside of school, such as a community or civic organization? Did you complete an internship somewhere? These things might not seem too relevant to your goal to take up a BSN program, but they actually may matter a lot at the end of the day.
Successful applicants would typically start by taking general studies courses, and/or pre-nursing courses that would be important as they ensure that you are up to speed and meet all the requirements before you actually begin the nursing program. And while the above requirements may sound simple enough to achieve, the real hard work begins when applying to your school’s Department of Nursing – this is separate from your initial application, and you may need to furnish some, or all of the following requirements, depending on the school and its Nursing Department:
- Three personal references AND three professional or academic references
- High school transcript of records
- Your resume
- A copy of your immunization record
- Results of your physical examination
- Results of drug screening
- Results of your criminal background check
- An essay that explains why you want to study nursing
- Current CPR or Basic Cardiac Life Support card
Aside from all that, you will likely be charged with an application fee, so do have that ready as well.
All things considered, requirements may vary, but as long as you do your homework and have a well thought-out strategy for application, you should be all good as you prepare to take up your Undergraduate Nursing Bachelors Program.