Hey Everyone,
I received another “Ask me a question” and this one comes from Melinda and here is what she asked:
” I am 41-years-old and taking my prerequisites for nursing school now. I put both of my girls through college and now it’s my turn in life to get the education/career I always wanted. I am only on my second class (Algebra) and find it so difficult! I am currently a medical transcriptionist and have been in my current field for over 15 years. My question is, math has always been a weak subject for me. Are there any tips to make it a little easier to understand and also, I work full time so I am only able to take two classes at a time… does this mean I will be going to school for the next 7 years before I graduate? I am in it for the long haul. I just don’t have a grasp on how long this is going to take me to complete at this rate.”
Melinda, thank you so much for your question. Great question! First of all, kudos to you for going back to school. That is great you already have a degree for a medical transcriptionist which will help you in nursing school. Now to your question: Point blank….math sucks lol! One of the reasons I wanted to be a nurse was because I knew I didn’t have to be a genius in math hehe. There is no algebra, geometry…etc in nursing school. Basically all you need to know is how to add, divide, multiple, and subtract with your math in nursing school. The math in nursing school will consist of figuring out how many teaspoons or milliliters you will be giving the patient…etc. Once you figure out the format of how to set-up the problems it is so easy.
I remember having to take some math courses before I entered nursing school. I too had difficulty with them. I found that getting a tutor for my math class helped out because my tutor taught me easy ways on how to solve problems…..something my professor failed to teach. Also, I think math just takes lots of practice. I suggest that you purchase or find on the internet practice problems to solve. The more you practice the problems the better you will get at them. Math isn’t easy for everyone. I personally think you have to be born with some extra genius to like or be good at math lol.
I know that you probably feeling a little down about the difficulty of the math and are probably thinking “how in the world will I get through nursing school” but I promise the math in nursing school is super easy compared to algebra. So there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Now to how long it will take you to graduate since you are doing it part-time: I’m not sure if you are getting your ADN (2 year program) or BSN (4 year program) in nursing for your Registered Nurse RN so I can only give you an estimate. If you are doing the ADN program on part-time I would say it will take you about 3-3 1/2 if you are only taking 2 courses at a time….maybe even 4 years. If you are doing the BSN I would say about 4 1/2 to 5 1/2. However, all of this depends on how many credit hours your school requires you to have in order to graduate with your degree and if you go through the summer. Don’t sweat it though! It now takes some people 5-6 years to get a bachelor degree instead of the regular 4 years. I would rather take my time and pass my classes than fail them and have to repeat them which would probably set you back even further.
Good luck Melinda with your journey. Nursing is such an awesome career and all the schooling is definitely worth it in the end. Thanks again for your question!
Sarah 😉