Nursing is one of the most rewarding jobs in the health field. As a nurse, you will be able to interact closely with doctors and physician’s assistants, as well as the medical technicians for MRI, CAT, X-ray, and ultrasound. Nurses are very important positions in the medical field because they are often the ones that the patients frequently converse. Doctors may do diagnoses and examinations, but for the most time, the nurses are the ones that will be with the patients.
Just like the other nursing programs in other states, one option for you to consider is via community colleges. For those in North Carolina, you may consider Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, located in Asheville, NC. The program at Asheville-Buncombe allows the students to take the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-PN) upon the completion to become a Practical Nurse.
To be admitted into the nursing program at Asheville-Buncombe, the student needs to be accepted to the Asheville-Buncombe first. Then, the student will take placement tests, and send in documents like the official high school transcript, issued by the student’s high school. The admission process is rather intricate because the admission awards the student “point value” to the placement test scores, work experience in the health field (they provide a list of jobs that they consider are work experiences in health field), and completion for accredited college.
The best way for the student to really understand how this point system works is by looking at the Word document available in the Asheville-Buncombe website (http://abtech.edu/Student_Services/admissions/allied_health.asp). Also, the students accepted in the nursing programs must have received CPR certificate from American Red Cross before beginning the program. Lastly, in some cases, the student may be required to do background screening and drug tests.
Now, for the remaining portion of the article, I want to tell you a key to finding the nursing schools in North Carolina. There are many programs that have title of nursing, so you will really have to narrow down what works for you. If you are completely new to the whole idea of health field career, you might want to consider schools like Asheville-Buncombe or start as a Nurse Aide. If you have some experience in the health field, then you need to consider becoming practical nurse or registered nurse (RN), depending on your location.
There are also other similar professions like CNA (Certified Nurse Assistant) as well. CNA training takes very little time and can help a person get on the fast track to becoming an RN. In some cases, if you have adequate amount of experience, you may apply for programs with BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) as well. There are various options out there, but you just have to narrow down the one that applies for you.
Other information you might want to look into based on North Carolina is Raleigh Durham nursing schools, Winston Salem RN programs, and Charlotte LPN nursing schools.
The following schools may offer partial or full credit for a nursing course. Please check with a counselor before enrolling.
- University of North Carolina at Wilmington in Wilmington
- Winston-Salem State University
- University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem
- North Carolina State University in Raleigh
- Fayetteville State University in Fayetteville
- North Carolina Central University in Durham
- Elizabeth City State University in Elizabeth City
- East Carolina University in Greenville
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Chapel Hill
- University of North Carolina at Asheville in Asheville
- Appalachian State University in Boone
- University of North Carolina at Greensboro in Greensboro
- North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro
- University of North Carolina at Charlotte in Charlotte
- Western Carolina University in Cullowhee