Based from the data of Bureau of Labor Statistics, chances for nursing job are still expected to increase by 22% until 2018. To become a registered nurse, an associate's degree is vital nowadays. Maricopa Community Colleges offer two-year programs. Usually the fee is about $6,650.
Some of their students are professionals who give up their jobs to undertake a bit new. One of them was Kati Wijdenes, 23, a resident of Mesa. She is a former student of economics; she left her studies to serve a local community group. She took emergency medical technician program. Then she discovered that she has eagerness to work in medical field. She’ll be finishing her program at GateWay Community College. She was asked about her expectations after finishing her chosen career.
Question: What was the biggest challenge you faced after starting the program?
Answer: I had gone from being out of school for a year to being in school full time, working 24 hours a week and studying constantly. I went from being able to enjoy myself and have fun, to having to take test after test. It was hard because it is a very rigorous program. You are expected to absorb information fast, and you have to consistently do well to keep moving forward.
Q: What do you enjoy most about the program?
A: When I'm doing my clinicals at a hospital, working with other nurses and helping patients, it's amazing to think that I'm still in school and able to do this. It's so different from any other kind of training, except for maybe medical school. It opens you up to so many diverse experiences and people. I've been able to watch all sorts of surgeries and procedures.
Q: What advice do you have for others hoping to enter a nursing program?
A: Get all of your prerequisites and co-requisites out of the way first, so you don't have anything to distract you. For me, those were English 101 and 102; microbiology; anatomy; physiology 201 and 202; chemistry and some humanities and other traditional college courses. Once you are in nursing school, you have very intense lectures and tests almost every week. If you are going through that and also doing an English class, it will be distracting. Having to do research projects and write papers on top of nursing classes is a lot.
