Hi everyone I’m currently in nursing school but these are the two specialties I’m split over. If I started in NICU could I switch to oncology one day if I wanted to and vice versa? I’m scared once I get in a specialty like NICU no one will let me switch out or vice versa if I’m in oncology and wanted to switch people would not want someone with direct NICU experience. End of the day going where I get a job. Any advice is appreciated - thank you! I am in the US if that makes any difference.

I am prepping to begin applying for the 2026 school year. If your answer is yes, could you share your experience?

• Are classes mostly online, hybrid, in person? • What were your stats prior to acceptance into the program? • What are your thoughts about the program so far? I.e curriculum, professors, clinicals, etc. • How is the cost of living for you? Comparable to DC or cheaper? • Any advice, tips, regrets?

Thank you so much in advance! I appreciate your time and help!

I’m very lucky that I live in an area that has 3 ABSN programs and 1 Direct Entry MSN program. As someone with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in another field, I am trying to decide which program would be the best - ABSN or direct entry MSN? They’re all through private schools and cost roughly the same. Cost is not a deciding factor as we are able to live on just my husband’s income, meaning I could pay back the loans within 1-2 years of working as a nurse. Any thoughts on what path would be best?

Good afternoon everyone! This is going to be a tough one but I’ll give some background information. I started taking my Pre-Nursing courses 1 year ago, and decided to take an 8 week A&P 1 in my second semester. After realizing the hell I signed myself up for, I dropped the course and took a 16 week course this semester, but finished my math requirements for the BSN transfer program. Since the beginning of the semester, my professor has had some issues with communicating their expectations on the course effectively, and pretty much just rants for 1 hour about random topics without truly going into the course material, and although I know I’m biased, I still have 16 days to drop this course. I’ve already decided I’m not dropping. I will take the grade I earn. I’m studying around 25-30 hours a week, making flash cards, and revisiting PowerPoints and the book at least 3 times a week. I feel like I’m studying like an A student, but that’s clearly not the case given my 68%. On the most recent lab practical, I scored a 26%, with the average being at 20%. This isn’t only for the most recent one, however, as the class average has been around 40-50% on each exam. I also recognize that if I’m not dropping this class, but do not pass, that will absolutely kill my GPA. I’m not giving up though. I’m hunkering down and trying even harder for these last 2 exams of the semester. This class does not define my nursing career, and I know that even if I’ll need to retake it; I’ll do so in stride. I’d like everyone’s thoughts if I’m just being unrealistic and should just drop it, which I’d just end up taking it in the summer as a 6 week course, since it will mostly be refresher. Kinda want to add too, his syllabus is all over the place.. I’ll add clarifying details in the comments if anyone needs them. Thanks!!

Alrighty y’all, where are you getting cute retractable badge reels? I’ve been looking on Etsy and Amazon and I’m kinda surprised I’m not finding ones I like. Maybe I’m just picky lol.

I’m really not a fan of a lot of the funny ones for example, “IDK I just work here”, “Ask me about my AMA Forms”, “All oppies no daisies” etc. Like I want to be professional but maybe have a little more personality than a plain one. I wanted an outdoorsy one like Smokey Bear or a national park but I don’t know if those really exist from what I’ve seen.

Anyways, if you want to procrastinate school work with me give me some recommendations and help me overthink this lol!

I’m a nursing student and I’m a guy. I’m the only guy in my clinical group. Every clinical I’ve done this semester, my instructor has put me with a nurse who’s also male. There can be one male nurse on the entire unit that day, and my instructor makes sure I’m with him. I’m definitely not complaining and they’ve all been really chill, I just find it interesting. Anyone else?

I have hand tremors and sometimes it randomly goes away but other times it’s really embarrassing. Ive done a bunch of blood sugar tests and I can get them on the first try I would say about 80% of the time but a patient noticed today as I was trying to put the glucometer up to the blood and they wouldn’t let me do it because they noticed my hands shaking :(. Idk what to do, do you think I can’t do this job because of that?

I’d assume numerous people ask tips on the Kaplan exam, however i wanted to be more specific about my study habits etc. I was so nervous to branch into nursing school or even try because most of my high school years I didn’t take seriously / got bad grades, so it set me back immensely. I’m actually almost done with my medical assisting program now, i realized halfway through it that i wanted to give nursing a shot and truly believed i could do it. I spent so long selling myself short and thinking I couldn’t do it due to not being academically driven. I just started learning my core math again, however i picked it up very easily. I guess my question for you all, especially for the nursing students or nurses that didn’t have good academic upbringing, what do you recommend i focus on learning for the Kaplan exam? For example, maybe the hardest parts of the exam and the things i should focus on such as the math portion or science etc. Best way to prepare? I’m still learning my best study habits, I’ve noticed flashcards and just writing things down help me the most. I psych myself out more than anything and just need a confidence boost from you guys on how to approach this exam. So anxious 😭

I am starting a BSN program in June, I’m a single mom to my son, I work full time right now and will have to go part time when the nursing program starts, and from a financial aspect I’m nervous about it. I know in my heart that I want to do this job and that I have to do this for me and my son to get us to a better point. I know that there have been SO many nursing students and nurses that have overcome much more than this. I’d love to hear some stories of how you or someone you know overcame these obstacles and how things worked out? Thanks in advance 😊

So I was able to navigate the system just fine but it only clocked me at 41 mins.

I need it to show 1 hour time soent..spent... How do I do that? Do I just move the mouse around for another 20 mins?

I’m super stressed in my 1st semester. On the brink of getting kicked out, actually. But I think I’ll be okay and graduate eventually. I genuinely feel like shit rn in life. School is so taxing.

I know being a nurse is also super difficult. I’m wondering if I’ll feel better once I’m a nurse. I look forward to being a nurse, but if I’m always gonna feel like this, idk if this is the right choice.

My question is to all the nurses out there. How does the stress of being a student compare to being a real nurse?

I took my physical assessment exam yesterday, I studied a lot and was able to pull a 89% and I am really proud of myself for that. I worked pretty hard to get this grade and the test wasn't easy so I was thrilled to see my grade. However a few minutes after taking the exam I started to feel a little empty inside and sad lol. Is this normal?

Hii! I start my hospital orientation as a med-surge PCT Monday, and I was wondering what all that might entail. I know everywhere is different, but I’d figure I’d ask to calm my nerves and gain some perspective!! It’s over a period of 3 days in a classroom, so I won’t be on my unit (especially since orientation is at a different location about an hour away.) Any advice or tips will help, thanks!! 💗

Hi everyone, I recently got accepted into an ABSN program that starts at the end of April and costs about $66,000 total. I was so excited because this is the school I really wanted to go to — it felt like the perfect fit for me. But now I’m feeling really discouraged. I filled out FAFSA and was only granted about $2,000, which is nowhere near enough. My Parent PLUS Loan application was denied due to credit, and we’ve already been denied by Sallie Mae, College Ave, Ascent, and Funding U — even with a cosigner. I feel stuck. I know I might qualify for additional unsubsidized federal loans as a dependent student, but it still won’t be enough to cover the $20,000 I need just for the first semester. I’ve looked into public universities, but their nursing programs don’t start until January 2026, and I really don’t want to delay my education that long. Has anyone else been in this situation or found creative ways to fund nursing school after being denied loans? I would appreciate any advice, resources, or even encouragement. Thank you.

Hey y’all! I’m near the end of my first semester of my ABSN program and so far I have been doing well… except for head to toe. My midterm was basically half of the head to toe assessment (basically skin, head, neck, nose, sinuses, mouth & throat, chest & lungs, heart, peripheral vascular, and abdomen) in 10 minutes and I didn’t do too well as I ran out of time. Now we have added cranial nerves and MSK and I’m super stressed for this final. I am pretty good at remembering the steps and what to do but what really eats up my time is verbalizing everything I’m doing and my findings. I need a 75% to pass so I know if I miss or skip some things it should be okay, but doing EVERYTHING in 20 minutes feels impossible. Any tips or suggestions?

So, I’m having a really hard time right now with everything going on in my life on top of nursing school. I’m in my first semester and we just had our first day of clinical this week. Honestly, it was awful. I felt lost, I felt awkward and embarrassed, the nurses weren’t helpful, and I really just didn’t enjoy any part of it. It has me questioning if I am even in the right field. I worked in the OR for 5 years as an anesthesia tech and LOVED it, so I figured nursing was for me. But at this point i’m not so sure. Plus, my grandmother has breast cancer and stomach cancer and has maybe a few months left. My dad is also about to have a liver transplant. I feel like stress is radiating throughout my body and I’m breaking down in tears every day. I just don’t know what to do anymore, and all I want to do is lay in bed and rot.

Hi, I currently have this existential crisis if I want to apply to nursing school out of state. For context, I am taking my prerequisites in Vegas. I missed the opportunity to go to school out of state and generally just want to leave Vegas. Yet I'm thinking if I should just stay in Vegas and apply for the nursing programs here. Will my credits transfer to an out-of-state program? Is it hard, and do I have to retake certain classes again?

This is my very first Reddit post. I am a 25 yo F who lives in the middle of SETX and works as a Medical Assistant. I am utterly and completely fucking burnt out. The pay is great, don’t get me wrong, and I love my coworkers, but I just cannot keep going anymore. I work two 12-16 hour shifts a week where I have to travel an hour away from my home for one shift and work a 12 hr shift every other weekend. We get half days on Mon, Wed and Fri where we work 4 hours out of the day. But here’s the catch, my job gives me crippling anxiety. I’ve now been put on medication to help, but I still am always on edge bc the doctor is very difficult to work for. I am just trying to see if I should just stfu and work and get my money and go home or if I should just bite the bullet and start looking for something else. The job market sucks so I’m very lucky to have what I have now, I just don’t know how much longer I can sacrifice my mental health. Not to mention I have 2 babies and don’t get to see them 2 days out of the week and sometimes it’s more than that depending on if I work that weekend or not. I am just at a loss and need some second opinions. Go easy on me lmao.

Hey yall-

So I'm finishing my second semester of a two year ADN program at a community college next month. The third semester doesn't start until fall, and because I still have to maintain a full time job to pay the bills (I'm an inpatient pharm tech), I wasn't really able to find any compatible RN externships. So, I'm looking for ways to fill my time this summer besides working and saving money.

One opportunity might be a phlebotomy course? I'm interested in ICU/periop nursing after I graduate, and so I've read venipuncture is probably going to be somewhat more important. I got like a week of practice on a dummy arm in my actual program, which I know is pretty standard, but also pretty much nothing. There are phlebotomy courses near me I can complete in like 6 weeks for around $2k. Think it might be worth it to add something to my resume?

Other considerations are:

-ACLS/PALS? I have BLS from AHA (as required by my program) but maybe I could try something a little more advanced...

-Spanish class? Even an online program. The area I'm moving after I graduate has a high Spanish-speaking population, so this could really give me a level up to put something like "professional Spanish" on my resume....

Any thoughts?

Hi everyone, I'm trying to become a nurse. I'm making a career change and I'm trying to decide between two choices.

Direct entry MSN - already got admitted for this fall, it will take 2 years (6 semesters) and cost me 80k.

Community college ADN - will require 4 prerequisite classes, start next fall afterwards, and cost me about 12k total, and the program is 2 years. The whole process of taking pre reqs + ADN will be about 3 years after this fall.

Other nursing programs in my area require many more classes to enroll or will take me a longer time. I'm so surprised how easy it is to get into nursing MSN programs vs community college ADN/BSN programs. Any suggestions on what I should go with or consider? Thanks!

First-time post from a long-time lurker.

I'm in jeopardy of dismissal for the most unfounded reasons. I'm a level two student doing a clinical rotation on a neuroscience/med-surg floor. My first strike was for having a visible essential tremor in my hands that a patient noticed. That's been resolved, but I received another strike yesterday and was sent home from clinical due to "unprofessional comments to staff."

Our clinical hours are meant to be from 0630 to 1500. I understand not staying the whole day to avoid traffic, but we have been finishing progressively earlier over the last few weeks. We are only required 12 eight-hour days, but what we're actually doing is more like 5.5-6 hours. Most of my classmates in clinical have many more years of experience as LVNs, CNAs, or PCTs. While I've been a CNA, I only have LTC/SNF experience. I started asking around the lecture class for how long the other groups were at clinical and whether or not they'd practiced our newest skills, but what got back to the clinical instructor was me "snitching on us for going home early."

So, on my most recent clinical day, I mentioned to the floor nurse I was shadowing that I really wanted to do a foley or straight cath because I haven't done one yet. She asked why I hadn't done one yet when I've been here for weeks already, and I said my group keeps leaving before any of my patients get an order for one. This nurse left to "find a bladder scanner," but she actually went and told my instructor I was being disrespectful and complaining about them. 5 minutes later, my instructor came and asked, "What's gotten into you lately," to which I said I felt I was not getting enough experience for how far we were in the semester. So they sent me home. (?!?!?!)

Before emailing my counselor, I used my Google account timeline to tally the number of hours we've actually spent at the clinical site. In 9 days, we only spent 60 hours, including orientation, when the syllabus states 135 hours.

Am I wrong for wanting more time at clinical? Do you think they can or should dismiss me for unprofessionalism when I'm doing exceptionally well in the didactic and laboratory portions?

What type of remediation or education should I ask for to improve on my part? Admittedly, I do have a lot of room for improvement in the category of interprofessional communication and comportment. My own PCP wants to evaluate me for ASD, and while I'm not opposed to the possibility that I have it, I don't want to carry that around and use it as a reason to deserve exceptions.

I’m feeling defeated after being rejected from nursing school due to an arbitrary technicality the admissions department set.

I had previously been in a nursing program and had to withdraw when I became pregnant with my son - I was incredibly sick during pregnancy.

I applied to a nursing program this year. I met all requirements. Had A’s in all prerequisites. And scored a 96 on the HESI. I felt great about my application.

On March 17th I received an email that because I was in a previous nursing program I needed to get a letter of academic good standing from that school. They gave me a deadline of March 21st despite the nursing program deadline being April 1st.

Despite all odds I was able to get the letter from my old school and sent it to them. I sent follow up emails to know if the letter was acceptable because the school would modify it if needed. I never heard back despite multiple outreach attempts.

I got an email today saying I was disqualified because the letter wasn’t signed by the Dean and instead she typed her name. They also said it had to be emailed directly from her despite just saying they needed a copy of the letter.

I feel incredibly depressed. I put a lot of effort into this application. I even took the HESI two weeks after giving birth because that was the only date they administered the test, and I still got a 96.

I can’t believe after all this work the school won’t even review my application. I feel a little discriminated against for having been in a prior nursing program. Also, giving a four day deadline for the letter to be sent seemed unrealistic when that wasn’t the program deadline. Overall, I’m just sad and feel the entire process was unfair. Now I’m either looking at LPN programs or ABSN programs - both of which are more expensive than a standard RN program I spent a year getting my ducks in a row for.

Should I cut my losses or reach out to this schools President/ Dean regarding the lack of communication and support I received? I’d met with multiple advisors and no one told me about the letter requirement. I even got it in on time, but they never responded saying there was any issue with the content of the letter.

Hey everyone! A friend of mine is currently an ADN student graduating next May, and they’ve recently become really interested in working in the ICU after graduation. They’ve been studying ICU meds, watching educational videos, and plan to speak with a professor who has ICU experience soon.

They’re wondering what they can do between now and graduation to make themselves a stronger candidate for ICU residencies. Aside from networking, shadowing, or possibly reaching out to unit managers, are there other ways they can stand out?

They’ve previously worked as a CNA in a skilled nursing facility and are starting a Student RN role on a Med-Surg unit next week. They also plan to ask if they can float to the ICU later on. Additionally, they’re considering picking up a PRN CNA hospice job—so two PRN jobs, about two days a week total during school. Would this kind of varied experience be helpful for ICU applications?

Would love to hear your thoughts or advice I can pass along to them!

I know a lot of people talk about the bad side of nursing school, but I wanted to acknowledge the good. This journey has truly been a blessing in my life, and I want to thank God for guiding me to this path.

Many student nurses on this forum complain about not making friends, but I’ve had the opposite experience. I’ve grown close to nearly all of my peers and professors (I even gave one two bottles when the semester ended, lol). I’d say the only issue I’ve had is with how my school’s curriculum is structured. Aside from that, I’ve hosted study groups and helped my peers pass when they were struggling. This career is a community—it becomes what you pour into it. If you’re unapproachable, have a bad attitude, or do things that rub people the wrong way, you can end up being shunned. I don’t think most people do it intentionally, but that’s how they can be perceived. Sometimes, you just need to take a step back and re-evaluate your actions. And if you aren’t the problem, it is okay to just prioritize your degree. But remember, this career is based on connections. Nurses need EACH OTHER.

Anyways I am truly grateful to be earning my degree alongside such amazing people ❤️ Good luck fellow nurses !

If you use or have used ATI Engage, how long did you typically spend on a whole section?

-Including reading, notes, and understanding?

-It tells how many hours we spend on it and I'm wondering if I'm taking extremely long or if others spend a similar amount of time.