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What classes should I take as a freshman in high school if I want to become a nurse?

Freshman in high school, all honors classes, 3.6 GPA.

college nursing high-school
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Maureen’s Answer

Hey Chloe, great question.
When I was in high school, all our courses were geared toward a college track: 4 years of sciences, 2-4 years of a foreign language, 4 years of math classes, computer technology, and statistics would be my recommendations. Earth science, anatomy/physiology, biology, chemistry, microbiology, and/or physics would be great choices. I would also recommend volunteering in a hospital or clinic to decide if the healthcare arena is for you. I volunteered at a hospital for my 4 years in high school racking up over 1000 volunteer hours before I entered nursing school. This helped me make a decision to apply to colleges of nursing. Some of my colleagues in nursing school left after their first semester as nursing was not for them. They had not immersed themselves in healthcare and did not know what to expect. Exposing yourself to the healthcare environment will help you make the right decision sooner rather than later, saving you time and money in the long run.
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Mandi’s Answer

Hi Chloe!! I hope this finds you well! If you want to become a nurse I would see if your school offers health occupations classes, if so I would sign up for those. In most cases if you follow through with the classes you can obtain your CNA before you ever graduate. I would also look into taking all the science classes you can, more specifically biology, as there will be many of those in your future. Another thing to inquire about with your school is dual enrollment. This can allow you to get a head start on your college classes while also giving you high school credit. This will help tackle your core and with your GPA you would have no issues getting into this program! I hope this helps and I wish you the best!
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Michael’s Answer

Hi Chloe:

While in high school, one will need to focus on science and math classes to prepare for a nursing career. Physics, chemistry and biology will be the core science courses. For math, algebra, geometry and statistics will be needed. Both concentrations will enable you to focus and refine your analytical skills for research; complex problem solving; investigative and innovative critical thinking; attention to detail; etc.

Other skills that will need to be built upon center around team building, team work and communication. In any work culture, collaboration among team members, staff and partner departments occur on a daily basis. As a nurse, communication is essential and critical when dealing with patients, medical personnel and other hospital staff. A college course in public speaking, communications and English will help with one's communication and writing skills. While in high school, the debate team will provide the opportunity to sharpen communication skills which are backed with research and factual data and information.

Here are the Top 10 Best Nursing Schools of 2024 per www.nurse.org:

https://nurse.org/education/top-10-best-nursing-schools/

- Duke University
- Georgetown University
- Johns Hopkins University
- New York University
- University of Pennsylvania
- University of Michigan
- University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA)
- University of Washington
- Emory University
- University of Maryland

U.S. News & World Report has additional college listings for the best schools for a Master Degree in Nursing or a Doctor of Nursing Practice:

https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-nursing-schools

A Bachelor of Science (BSN) in Nursing will concentrate more on math and science courses. This will be earned at a college or university for a duration of four years. Clinical experience is gained while in nursing school at a college or university. Physiology, psychology and anatomy are some additional college courses that are required for one to take to become a Registered Nurse (RN).

When reviewing colleges and universities, it is best to check the following:

- In-State vs Out of State Tuition
- Internships
- Scholarships
- Career Placement upon graduation
- Course work and offered classes
- Post-Graduate Degrees - Master and Doctoral

There are scholarships based on need, academic performance, school activities, sports involvement and community service. So, it will be to your advantage to seek out these types of scholarships. All of the academic staff at your high school that you interact with can write letters of recommendations for you based on what was just stated above. These recommendations can greatly help when filling out college and scholarship applications.

There will be a application fee to pay for when submitting college applications. The amount of application fee will depend on the college that you are applying to. If there are questions about the college application process, please reach out to the college's Registrar Office.

College and scholarship applications can start to be submitted during your Junior year and will continue throughout your Senior year in high school. It is best to ask your Academic Advisor/School Counselor on the timeline process as well. College and scholarship applications will have specific deadlines and requirements to meet in order to be submitted for review and consideration.

You may want to start to compile your resume/portfolio since a majority of college and scholarship applications will require academic grade point average (GPA), academic accomplishments, school activities (clubs, sports, etc.), community involvement (volunteer, church, etc.), academic and personal recommendations, etc. There may be essay requirements on why you are a qualified candidate to receive the scholarship and acceptance to the applied college of choice, what your future goals are academically and professionally and other questions centering around who you are, your beliefs, etc.

Here are a couple of links for College Scholarships:

https://www.mometrix.com/blog/scholarships-for-college/

https://www.nchchonors.org/students/awards-scholarships/national-scholarships

Also, it will be best to check with the colleges and universities that you will be applying to. You can check with the School/Department of your desired major, the Campus Career Center and the Register's Office for additional information for college scholarships and grants and specific requirements for qualifications.

There should be no limit on the amount of scholarships that one can apply to. It will take time to fill out the scholarship applications and provide all of the necessary required information. Also, there should no fee and no cost to fill out and submit scholarship applications. If there is a fee or cost that is associated with a scholarship application, then please do not send this particular scholarship application in. It will be a scam and money will be lost.

According to Johnson and Johnson, here is a link for Nursing Specialties:

https://nursing.jnj.com/specialty

Here is a list of some of the High Demand Nurse Specialties:

- Cardiac Care Nurse
- Certified Nurse Midwife
- Emergency Nurse
- Perioperative Nurse
- Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA)
- Labor and Delivery Nurse (L&D)
- Home Health Nurse
- Hospice Nurse
- Neonatal Intensive Care Nurse
- Nurse Practitioner
- Obstetrics Nurse
- Oncology Nurse

Best wishes for your education and career path in Nursing!
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