One of the first things you will be asked for when applying for a nursing school is if you have a high school diploma. If you don’t have it, then you should look to taking GED Classes, which help you securing admission to a nursing school.

Don’t worry about the charges of the GED Classes, as you will find them being offered mostly free of charge to you. What you should find out about these classes is the timings as most of them are held on weekends or during evening time.

Mostly, you will find that the community schools that are affiliated with nursing schools offer a standardized national test. You may find that the school staff may ask you take a slew of tests that are relevant to your nursing education program. You do not have to worry about the charges for these tests, as mostly the school sponsors these tests.

Getting some early hints will definitely help you pass the examinations, as some of them could really get tough. The other thing you need to do to avoid disappointment is to rush in with your applications. Some times, there is a mad rush for these courses, and you definitely do not want to be caught in the rat race.

These tests can get really tough on you at times, so it is best for you to prepare well for these examinations. After all, admission to a nursing school is at stake here, and you obviously want to do everything right.

Nursing is a sensitive profession, and nursing schools thus are very finicky about the references from the applicant. Some nursing schools would even like to do a background check. This is done to find out if the applicant has had some kind of criminal history.

In your application, you need to quote some references for the nursing schools to contact about your workplace conduct and social conduct. For this purpose, you will be better off quoting a couple of professional as well as personal references who can vouch for your conduct.

Here is one thing you should always do before quoting a reference – Speak to the person about whom you are writing in your application and tell them that you are quoting them as references.

You may be pleasantly surprised on how a good reference check works in your favor, and how a bad reference check can hurt you.

Timing is just as critical as anything else for you to succeed in your admission to a nursing school. If you are going to be applying with 100 of other applicants, with all of them boasting of 140+ in their IQ, your chances go down miserably.

You could still work it out to your advantage by providing some solid references and proof of your academic records. But it really gets heated up with so many applicants in fray.

Schools would love to accept more, but they are bound by student-faculty ratio requirements.

Mostly, it’s about pay. Starting faculty with master’s degrees can make $45,000 to $65,000, but out in the field the same graduates can get up to $90,000.

Still in demand

Nursing is one of the few job fields today that is still open for hiring. Some areas of nursing are seeing 10 to 20 percent of their needed positions vacant, according to a report by the Florida Center for Nursing.

There is a need for nurses locally, but Debra Hernke, chief nursing officer at Mayo Clinic, believes the need is even greater in other parts of Florida.

As baby boomers retire from the workforce in the next 10 years, a greater number of nurses will be required for the influx of patients. At the same time, baby boomers working as nurses will also be retiring.

The nursing shortage could have a huge impact on patients’ health now, too. As JU Dean of Nursing Judith Forker said, nurses aren’t just glorified assistants.

“Nurses are the ones doing tests and checking a patient’s status,” she said. “They are the ones who know when something is wrong and how to act quickly to solve problems.”

With jobs available, students are flocking to nursing programs at FCCJ, University of North Florida, St. Johns River Community College and Jacksonville University. And they have plenty of competition.

In 2006-07, 42 percent of the 25,357 qualified students applying to nursing programs statewide were turned away, according to the Florida Center for Nursing. In North Florida, 65 percent of the 4,610 qualified applicants didn’t get in.

news source:http://www.jacksonville.com/news/metro/2008-12-16/nursing_school_rejects_take_heart_its_not_you

Nursing Schools With No Waiting List