Customer Reviews

Majoring in Nursing: From Prerequisites to Postgraduate Study and Beyond

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(5)
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2 star:		(1)
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Majoring in Nursing helped me with deciding the steps to take to see if nursing would be a good career for me. I am currently trying to decide if I should change careers and the book covers nursing as a second career and the advantages and disadvantages to starting nursing at an older age. It also discusses steps to take before putting in all the time on a degree (such as volunteer work) to see if nursing is the kind of job you thought it would be. Details of the different educational paths to an RN are clearly discussed as well as the various types of jobs available in nursing and of course the many problems (insurance, etc).

This book is great for those considering nursing as a career. It gives an overview of many aspects of the profession from school requirements to dealing with problems. The best part of the book is the appendix which contains references to books and organizations.

This book was great reading material. I've already made up my mind to become a nurse. The book is directed to those who are considering a career in nursing. However, I enjoyed reading it just the same and the ideas presented reinforced my commitment to nursing.

One interesting point is that Janet Katz drives home the need for leadership within nursing and how nursing can be as versatile as you want it to be. This really helped me because I now realize how I can make nursing fit in my life.

One captivating chapter is named "You don't have to like blood to be a nurse" or something like that. For a brief moment, I thought that not liking blood would be detrimental to my nursing career. In her book, Janet demonstrates why this doesn't have to be the case.

Another point covered is a comparison of associate's, diploma and BSN programs and Janet does a good job doing this. She also describes education beyond the RN degree which opened up my mind to countless possibilities. I read it in a day!

Very helpful and straightforward written. I would love a new edition of this book, as the first and last edition is from 1999. Although it will be very nice to see the data updated. It gave me a wonderful clue of what nursing is all about.

I found this book to be exactly what I was looking for to explain the world of being an RN. The book very clearly states it is for those interested in becoming an RN. Janet covers what it means to be a nurse, skills, brief view of different types of nursing, education requirements, and social/patient activism. I read one of the reviews that said it was turned off by the politics in this book, but I feel that Katz appropriately addressed the need for advocacy both at the patient level as well as a policy level (health care system). If you're wondering 'should I become a nurse?' this book is a good way to help answer that question.

The first 3 chapters dispel many myths about nursing and has a lot of students and nurses give their point of view on moments that really touched them. Ms. Katz also talked about why people enter nursing, even men, and how to decide if nursing is really the career for you. I also enjoyed the part in chapter 2 entitled "The Daily Grind: Where do Nurses Work and What do The do There?" It really shows how hard and heart-wrenching nursing can be. Seeing so many personal perspectives really helped me see what I am in for. So many things can go wrong, make you cry, make you laugh, or fill you with joy.

Chapter 4 deals with finding the right school for you and includes the pros for the BSN option as well as the ADN option. The following chapter is about actually getting accepted into a nursing program, including tuition, science class, and application information.

Chapter 6 is for those who are now getting to start school. It's only 4 pages and seems like an extremely quick rundown on getting to the point where you can become an RN (the NCLEX). Chapter 7 deals with graduate school (also only 4 pages) and gives information on being a midwife, a nurse practioner, a nurse anethetist, and a clinical nurse practioner.

Chapter 8 is about finding a job and gives several ideas for doing so, which are helpful. The next chapter is "Working for a Living." This is an interesting chapter as it gives statistics on the nursing field. Chapter 10 is about job survival.. dealing with difficult people, taking care of yourself, and advancing your career.

This is a very good read, but I think Ms. Katz could have added more information. This is pretty basic stuff and a fairly slim book. I wish she would have had study tips, dealing with classmates and professors, and handling clinicals during school, but there was none of that. It's still a good buy and does have useful information, though.

An excellent book for anyone looking into a nurisng career. Very informative and easy to read. Ms. Katz works hard to give her readers an accurate description of the profession.

I quickly grew tired with the author's leftist political views, which she felt compelled to insert in nearly every chapter. And unions? She's all for them, and doesn't seem to understand that there are those that want nothing to do with them. Also, she completely negates those with ASN nursing degrees, relagating them to being slightly above NA's on the nursing food chain. No mention of LPN's at all.

Which is disappointing, since I am enrolled in an LPN program, with a goal of becoming a PRN - the care I received at two Spokane hospitals (during the birth of my children) was the turning point of my interest in nursing.