<p>What are the extracurriculars that nursing school's look for? Obviously volunteer work in a hospital, but is there anything else I can do to make my application stick out?</p>
<p>Some colleges in general say they prefer that a student show serious involvement and leadership in a couple activities, instead of just being a “joiner” and listing membership in 10 different activities.</p>
<p>I can’t think of anything specific for nursing school, other than volunteer or paid work in a health care setting. Sign up early - some hospitals have limited volunteer spots for high school students, particularly during summers.</p>
<p>My D did a research/education project on a personal health challenge and presented and implemented it at 14 schools in our school district with the support of her neurologist, school nurse and school district nurse practitioner. It helped earn her Gold Award in Girl Scouts and she also won some very nice scholarships for college. Any type of health research/education you do is a plus for your resume.</p>
<p>I got into a state school top-25 2+2 nursing program. My extracurriculars really just reflected my interests. I did research in a department connected to the area of nursing I want to go into and got really involved in that. I also had a meaningful on-campus job where I basically got to tutor other students one-on-one. This experience taught me skills that will be useful in my nursing career (relating to others, educating others in an effective way, organizing my own knowledge about something so that I can present it well, working with full-time staff) - so even though the subject matter wasn’t relevant to nursing, it’s something I could talk about in my personal statement.</p>
<p>The above paragraph is a bit long-winded… really what I’m trying to say is: Do what interests you. If you’re interested in nursing, odds are you will be able to tie it in somehow. I never actually even volunteered in a hospital (during college… I did during middle school and early HS but didn’t include this at all in my NS app). I am a firm believer in just doing what interests you and marketing it as connected to nursing in your application.</p>
<p>Whatever your interests are pursue them. Colleges like when you have one thing you stick to for a long time, rather than pursuing several interests. I would say continue to volunteer, and find any work that is hospital-related.</p>
nurses have to be organized and critical thinkers. So, try to show that. My dd was a varsity athlete and so she coached youth volleyball. She pointed out in her essays how that translates to skills she needs in nursing. She was also a volunteer at nursing home but not given a lot of responsibility compared to coaching so didn’t use that as an example. You can coach a sport if you are not on varsity at your school. there are many youth org. you just have to know the sport to teach/coach others.
I didn’t try to do anything nursing related. I think it’s actually better to do things OUTSIDE of nursing to show that you are well rounded.
I got into plenty of nursing programs and didn’t without any health related extra curriculars, besides my schools health careers club. I just did what I love; pageants, viola, drama club, tutoring, and other forms of volunteering (not even at nursing homes or hospitals)
I think nursing schools like to see you do at least one thing that shows you know what nurses do (such as working or volunteering for at least a short period of time in some sort of health care setting). Too many people apply for nursing only because they want job security. However, the nursing schools want students who understand all of the crap that nurses need to deal with, and are more than willing to do the job anyway.
I know in my area, getting to be a volunteer at a hospital is in demand and done by lottery so you don’t have a choice. My dd signed up for the nursing home since she couldn’t get into the hospital. But there, you can’t do anything but visit the residents, play bingo, that kind of thing.
In our search, all the schools I called and asked if you needed to have experience in a hospital, dr office etc, they all said NO except one said its good to show why you are interested in nursing. They said some volunteered, mission trips, had a family member that was ill and helped take care of them and then felt the calling to be a nurse. But you can also relate what you do in skills (as I pointed out above) in case you don’t have that opportunity to volunteer in a medical envormoent. Even lifeguarding, or working with children at a day camp is significant IMHO.
I also read some schools (on CC) know that people have connections to get into hospitals and some don’t. My D spent time in surgery since we had connection.
My S16, who will be a nursing major this fall, began volunteering with the local EMS in town once he was old enough (16 yrs). At 17, he took the required EMT certification course and test. It helped prove to him (and to me!) that he would be able to deal with patients of different types and with different needs in a variety of situations.
thats great @RyanG1207 I didn’t know such a thing existed until recently.
I am a nurse myself with 2 ds pursuing BSN s right now.I also think it’s important to pursue some non-nursing related ECs during high school that you can continue with in college .Both of my ds have been active in the performing arts (dance,theatre, etc) and have continued to include that in their life as much as possible during college . When you are spending so much time in nursing classes with the same group of people it is also nice to have something apart from nursing as well . One of my ds manages to keep dance a part of her life and has another large group of friends from that . It helps to have something that can be an outlet from the stress of pursuing a BSN degree …it’s a great major ,but it can be very stressful at times and it really is important to incorporate some other interests in your life whether it be sports,clubs ,volunteering , religious groups, arts,etc.
There are a couple different ways to go in my town, all of which have pros and cons. The main volunteer opportunity at the hospital is the typical candy striper route - handing out bookmarks, bringing the book cart around, taking patients to appointments. It required a lot of time my daughter didn’t have, so a doctor friend recommended volunteering at a local assisted living facility. She loves it. She is a volunteer in the memory care unit, and visiting residents and playing bingo (among other things) are allowing her to develop and show compassion and empathy for patients and their families. I really believe it’s all how you portray it - at least here, you can do a lot more hands-on stuff in the smaller facilities than the hospital.
There is also a medical explorers club at the hospital which she will look into for next year, but I don’t know much about that.
Her main extra curricular is ballet, a very regimented and focused program. She also student teaches young ballet dancers, and works at a local restaurant. Any one of those shows an organized mind that is focused and disciplined. It also shows she has other interests.
@RyanG1207 This is what my daughter is doing as well – EMS in town. She is a junior right now, just turned 16 so I signed the paperwork for her. She was also a competitive figure skater for many years and now plays volleyball – and LOL she is choreographing for her school’s play (Hans Brinker) - the teachers found out she was a competitive figure skater and asked her to do it.