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If I want to major in medicine what are some good tips for that?
I am a sophomore in high school thinking about becoming a pediatric nurse. I'd like to know more about that
#nursing #medicene
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Raquel’s Answer
Hi Chloe, nursing is a very rewarding career and it’s great that you’re thinking ahead. To become a pediatric nurse you will need to get your RN license, you can do this by going to either a community college or a university. Both will provide you with RN licensure, a university will provide you with a bachelors degree (BSN). Many hospitals are starting to require nurses to have a BSN, so that is important to consider when choosing a nursing program.
You will have to take prerequisite classes before applying to nursing school, each program has specific classes it requires but in general you will need basic math and English, chemistry, organic chemistry, microbiology, and anatomy & physiology courses. It is important that you do well in these prerequisite courses because nursing school is very competitive to get into, so you want to have a high GPA. You will also need to take a nursing school entrance exam, the main two are the ATI-TEAS exam and the HESI exam. Both exams test your reading comprehension, grammar, math, and anatomy & physiology knowledge. Scoring well on this exam is also important for getting accepted into nursing school. Once you get accepted into a program you will go through a variety of classes teaching you all about how to be a nurse. You will also attend clinicals throughout school to get hands on experience with nursing in different areas. You should have an opportunity to work with pediatric nurses while in school. After you finish school you will need to take and pass the NCLEX exam to get your RN license, you will then be able to work as a nurse! Some hospitals will hire new grads into a specialty position such as pediatric nurse, but others require a few years experience, you will have to look into hospitals near you.
As a high school student you could reach out to local hospitals and pediatricians to see if you can follow pediatric nurses in both the hospital and out-patient setting to see if it really is what you want to do.
Best of luck!
You will have to take prerequisite classes before applying to nursing school, each program has specific classes it requires but in general you will need basic math and English, chemistry, organic chemistry, microbiology, and anatomy & physiology courses. It is important that you do well in these prerequisite courses because nursing school is very competitive to get into, so you want to have a high GPA. You will also need to take a nursing school entrance exam, the main two are the ATI-TEAS exam and the HESI exam. Both exams test your reading comprehension, grammar, math, and anatomy & physiology knowledge. Scoring well on this exam is also important for getting accepted into nursing school. Once you get accepted into a program you will go through a variety of classes teaching you all about how to be a nurse. You will also attend clinicals throughout school to get hands on experience with nursing in different areas. You should have an opportunity to work with pediatric nurses while in school. After you finish school you will need to take and pass the NCLEX exam to get your RN license, you will then be able to work as a nurse! Some hospitals will hire new grads into a specialty position such as pediatric nurse, but others require a few years experience, you will have to look into hospitals near you.
As a high school student you could reach out to local hospitals and pediatricians to see if you can follow pediatric nurses in both the hospital and out-patient setting to see if it really is what you want to do.
Best of luck!
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Mary Jane’s Answer
In order to earn a nursing degree, you will need to study topics like anatomy, physiology, microbiology, psychology, and in some programs statistics. In addition, you'll study to nursing-specific skills related to patient care. As a high school student, the best thing you can do now to prepare for any career in health care is to take chemistry and biology--and psychology and statistics if your school offers them--and learn the material to the best of your ability. That will set you up to be a strong nursing or pre-health student in college.
You might also check to see if your high school offers vocational training to become a certified nursing assistant (CNA). That would give you a preview of the profession through hands-on patient care to determine if you would enjoy nursing. Even if it's not offered through your high school, community colleges will sometimes allow high school students to receive CNA training once they turn 16 so you could check for a summer CNA course at the closest community college.
Finally, I would recommend you reach out to some nurses in your community to see if they would be willing to do informational interviews with you so that you can ask them questions about what their educational track and career experience is like. When the public health conditions related to the pandemic improve, you can ask a few nurses if they'd be willing to let you shadow them during one of your school breaks. This lets you observe what the day-to-day work life of a health care professional is like so you can think about whether it's a good fit for you.
You might also check to see if your high school offers vocational training to become a certified nursing assistant (CNA). That would give you a preview of the profession through hands-on patient care to determine if you would enjoy nursing. Even if it's not offered through your high school, community colleges will sometimes allow high school students to receive CNA training once they turn 16 so you could check for a summer CNA course at the closest community college.
Finally, I would recommend you reach out to some nurses in your community to see if they would be willing to do informational interviews with you so that you can ask them questions about what their educational track and career experience is like. When the public health conditions related to the pandemic improve, you can ask a few nurses if they'd be willing to let you shadow them during one of your school breaks. This lets you observe what the day-to-day work life of a health care professional is like so you can think about whether it's a good fit for you.