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Do You Have What it Takes to Be a Nurse?

Although people considering careers in nursing come from all walks of life, many potential nurses share a surprisingly common set of questions and concerns, such as “Can I get into nursing school?” and “Am I crazy to become a nurse at my age?” Two nurses and a nursing professor address wannabe nurses’ frequently asked questions.

How difficult is it to get into nursing school?

It’s pretty tough. In many nursing programs, competition is fierce for a limited number of spots, so students need stellar grades from high school or their first few years of college to earn acceptance into a program. Nursing schools simply don’t have the capacity to accept as many students as are qualified. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing reports that US nursing schools turned away 40,285 qualified applicants in 2007-08 due to a shortage of nursing faculty, a lack of clinical placement sites and budget constraints.

Would You Pass the NCLEX?

NCLEX Review: Part I
NCLEX Review: Part II
NCLEX Review: Part III
NCLEX Review: Part IV
NCLEX Vocab Review
NCLEX Math Review

Persistence may be the key for those who are truly passionate about becoming nurses. “A lot of people I know had to [apply] more than once,” says Karen Burnett, RN, a labor and delivery nurse at Methodist Dallas Medical Center. Some of Burnett’s friends even repeated courses to improve their grades.

Although people considering careers in nursing come from all walks of life, many potential nurses share a surprisingly common set of questions and concerns, such as “Can I get into nursing school?” and “Am I crazy to become a nurse at my age?” Two nurses and a nursing professor address wannabe nurses’ frequently asked questions.