0: So how do you become an RN? First off, if you are in high school now, here is some things

7: that you need to do. You need to make sure that you take college prep courses. This would

13: include your maths, your sciences, your chemistries, all of those things. We would prefer that

20: you would have a foreign language, preferably four years. Foreign language is very important

25: and, as a nurse, nowadays you need to be bilingual. You need to focus on anatomy physiology, chemistry.

31: You need to focus on algebra, pre-calculus, calculus, statistics, psychology and definitely

40: English and communication. So that's the basic thing that you need for high school. You also

45: need to make sure that you have a GPA of 3.0 or higher because, depending on where you'd

51: like to go, nursing programs and nursing institutions are very competitive. So the higher the GPA,

58: the better. Now, if you're already out of high school, so if you have a high school

62: degree or if you have a GED, either of those will work fine. Here's the thing. What you

70: need to do is make sure that you research which nursing facility you'd like to go to.

76: Whether it's at a college, university or even at a community college you need to make sure,

81: before you get into anything, that it is an accredited nursing program. In order to find

87: that out, you need to do extensive research. What you also need to make sure is that you've

92: taken your SATs and your ACTs. Now these scores, if you are going to a competitive school,

99: those are going to be what's going to make or break you when you get into a program.

103: Now everyone joining into a new college will have to take a college entrance exam, and

108: this is required by all colleges and universities. That's where they're going to place you and

113: then therefore, once you are there, you can go ahead and start your courses. Now depending

118: on which school you go to and what program you want, whether it's an Associates degree

122: or a Bachelors degree, you need to know that there is a waiting list that you will need

128: to put your name on before you can get into the nursing program. So this means that once

133: you're enrolled in a college or institution, they're going to put your name on a waiting

138: list, and this varies by state, so you need to make sure whichever state that you're attending

142: with that college, you need to know how long the waiting list is, and it may vary from

146: a year to even two years. Now once your name is on the waiting list, that is when you want

152: to get your prerequisite courses completed. Now, for the Associates degree program and,

157: like I said it's going to take about two years to complete this. However, it's going to take

162: about a year and a half of prerequisite coursework in order for you to get into the nursing program.

167: So once you have your prerequisite classes completed, then once you're enrolled, you

172: can go ahead and start your core courses for your nursing program. Now, once that happens,

179: you will have theory work and you will also have clinical work. This also applies for

184: the Bachelors degree program. Once you're done with your prerequisite courses, you will

188: then be able to take your curriculum courses for that nursing program. You always want

193: to make sure that you read the fine lines before you decide to enroll in the program,

199: and this just makes sure that you know that you're on track. You always want to have an

203: academic adviser that's working with you, just to make sure that the credits that you've

207: taken, especially if you've taken at another institution, will count for credit towards

212: your degree. It is very important that you take your NCLEXT RN exam shortly after graduation,

217: because all of the knowledge that you have learned will be new and fresh. The longer

222: you wait, it may be harder to pass your exam. After you take your exam, it may take between

228: two to four weeks before you get results. If you do not pass your exam the first time,

233: there is a wait time between forty-five and ninety days, but that depends on each state.

239: Once you get your RN license, you will be required to renew your license every two years.

245: This is Andrea Graziano and I want to say thank you for listening and good luck!