BSN Programs in Virginia
Nursing is one of the most rewarding jobs you could ever have. You get to experience many different aspects of working with your patients. Unfortunately, the route to becoming a nurse is not an easy one. Nursing schools have long and strenuous programs in which you have to bare a lot but the outcome is very much so worth it.
The first step to becoming a nurse is getting your BSN. The state of Virginia has many different schools with the BSN program. When you first start looking for a school to attend you must first make sure it is accredited. You can also choose a face paced specialty school or a four-year college. The college I chose to attend was Hampton University. Hampton University is said to be one of the best colleges in the United States of America.
After selecting a school that you want to attend you must then apply for financial aid. Every school has a different deadline that you must adhere to. Hampton University’s deadline is February 15th. It is essential that you apply for financial aid on January 1st of every year to make sure you get a good amount of money. Financial aid is first come first serve so if you wait too late you may not get enough money to attend the program you want.
After all the financial aid and applications are taken care of and you have gotten accepted into a program then the real work begins. You are finally making the first steps into becoming a nurse and getting your BSN. You must first take coursing ranging from Biology to Microbiology, English to Psychology, and Sociology to Oral Communications, before you even get into the real nursing classes. Those are usually started in your sophomore year of school. Nursing classes go hand and hand with clinicals. Clinicals give you the experience you need to work in a real hospital. It shows you what being a nurse is really all about.
The greatest reward of going to a nursing program is graduating. You then have the experience you need to begin internships and externships. You are able to start working in hospitals and clinics because you have all the knowledge that they are looking for. Graduating is the one thing I am looking forward to. I know that nursing programs are long, hard, and take a lot of work to complete but I am willing to take the challenge. A lot of people switch majors in the middle of nursing programs because they say the work is too hard. All you really need is time, dedication, and ambition and by working hard you can become a nurse and get your BSN in the state of Virginia.
Related Links:
Virginia Board of Nursing
6603 West Broad Street
5th Floor
Richmond, VA 23230-1712
Phone: (804)662-9909
Fax: (804) 662-9512
Virginia Nurses Association
- Virginia Department of Health