What degrees do you need for neonatal nursing?

What is the best path to go down in nursing?

• What schooling should I have? what degrees will I need? Just basic information that I would need if I were to decide to go into the nursing field.

• Answer:

  First, I would recommend looking into nursing programs you may be interested in. Every program has different requirements and different lengths of schooling. They should have information on their website and also offer info sessions periodically. Typical prerequisites for nursing programs include English, college algebra, statistics, psychology, sociology, nutrition, anatomy and physiology 1 and 2, chemistry, and microbio. These vary from school to school. Usually it takes about two years. For nursing programs themselves, there are associate and bachelor programs. Associates are going to be two years, so approximately 4 years including prerequisites. Bachelors are going to be 2.5-3 years plus prerequisites, so about 4.5-5 years. Again, this varies by school. You need to do the prerequisites required and then apply for the nursing program. There may also be an entrance test which would be needed before applying. Nursing programs are very competitive, so keep your GPA as high as possible. I estimate at least a 3.3 to be competitive. I would encourage you to volunteer at your local hospital. You can see what it's like to be a nurse and get a feel for the hospital environment. Also, the website below will provide additional information for you.