If you are living in an underserved area and you want to change your life, I recommend you become a nurse. You gain the ability to problem solve, help people, and you make a good amount of money doing it. You also have the ability to do this in many different areas around the world because nurses can work in many different places and areas of expertise!

The first thing you need in order  to make it out of an underserved area and become a Nurse is: Education

Opinion– Growing up in a underserved area may be difficult because you do not have access to the educational resources that people living in better served areas have.

Facts!- 

You will require a high school diploma or GED, College Associates degree or College Bachelor’s Degree in order to become a nurse. The college’s must have a nursing program and be accredited by the Commision on Collegiate Nursing Education or the CCNE. 

How to get it- 

1) Do not skip class 

2) Go to bed at a decent time in order to pay attention in class

3) Use your teachers and the school’s tutors for extra help. 

4) If you do not have access to school, you can not pay attention in class, or you require more help, you can use a computer in your school or at the local library and use your internet browser to search www.google.com to find the classes you need or www.youtube.com for “tutoring in the subject of your choice.” 

This site helps you get your GED for free online (https://ged.com/).

5) Utilize these internet sites to help you learn the subjects you are studying in school, in order to pass your classes. 

1) After you graduate high school with flying colors, you will need to apply to colleges that have a nursing program. 

2) Community colleges offer associate’s degree nursing programs and they require a 2.5 GPA from high school or higher to be in their nursing program. 

3) Colleges and Universities require a 3.0 or higher to be in their 4 year nursing program.    

Mike’s Psych Tips: 

1)Tell your mind you will pass your classes at all costs. 

2) Tell your mind you will not give up on learning no matter how long or how difficult it will be for you.

3) Tell your mind that you can do it regardless of other people putting you down when or if you struggle along the way! 

4) Stay connected with people in your classes who have taken classes you are taking and who are willing to help you! 

5) Ignore other people who are distractions and are not willing to help you pass your classes and become a nurse.

The second thing you need in order to make it out of underserved area and become a Nurse is: Focus

Opinion- A lack of focus in not doing the right things to become a nurse (or anything you are passionate about) can lead you down a negative path when you are growing up in an underserved area.

Facts!- Focus is a skill you can develop with healthy habits and practice. You need to set daily goals at specific times throughout your day and eliminate silly distractions that prevent you from achieving your goals to become a nurse (or anything you are passionate about)!  

How to do it- 

1) Use a calendar, assignment planner, phone or laptop to plan out the small tasks you need to complete in order to do well in your classes. 

2) Hold yourself accountable for completing these tasks and tell someone who is close to you to hold you accountable as well (Support is very helpful!).

3) If you do not complete a task at a specific time that you planned on completing it, be flexible and continue to attack your tasks as previously planned. (Sometime freaking out about not completing everything at a specific time, prevents you from doing what you have planned).

4) Just do what you planned, sometimes you complete your tasks before the allotted time and this gives you more time for other things you enjoy. 

Mike’s Psych Tips

1. Tell your mind going to class is the most important thing for you to do in order to become a nurse in the future.  
2. Listening to that music, watching that TV program, or playing that game you like can distract you from fully focusing on completing your tasks.
3. Take the time to sit down once each month and write down on your calendar what you will do every day and what time you plan on completing the task each day!
4. Doing this for a month will help you get into the habit.
5. You will eventually complete these tasks so fast that it will give you extra time to study or do something healthy and positive you enjoy (work out, read, exercise, spend time with family, cook, etc.).

The third thing you need in order to make it out of underserved area and become a Nurse is: Tuition Assistance (Money for College)

Opinion- Many people from underserved areas give up and do not go to college because they feel it is not worth the time and money.

Facts!- There are many ways that you can get help paying for nursing school if you are from an underserved area. The first method is to go into the military and have them pay for it if your military assignment has these benefits(always remember to read you’re contract before you sign it). This has risks of course. A safer method is using government assistance or local state programs that can help you pay for the tuition. The next method is getting an academic or athletic scholarship. This means that with practice you gain earn high grades or be a great athlete in order for the school to pay for your education.

How to do it-

1. You can enlist into the U.S. Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, National Guard or any military branches in your country with the hope they provide you with financial support after you serve your time. In the US, they call this financial support the GI bill. 
2. The government assistance that can be provided are grants or loans and you can get help with applying for this assistance online or with the help of your counselor in your school or the college you plan on going to. Some websites that you can use to assess the application to these opportunities are https://bhw.hrsa.gov/loansscholarships/nursecorps/scholarship or https://bhw.hrsa.gov/loansscholarships/schoolbasedloans/sds

3.  You can get an academic scholarship by applying to them from the school that you plan on attending. Many counselors of financial advisors work in the admissions office of your potential school and you can email them from the website or call them to get more information on the requirements and grades you will need to apply for their scholarships. 
4. You can get an athletic scholarship by emailing coaches from schools that you plan on attending. You can find this on the athletic page of the school’s website you plan to attend. First you need to be good at a sport that you play and have the stats to prove you are a decent athlete. From there, you can start emailing coaches from colleges with nursing programs and ask them if your stats would help you get an athletic scholarship to help pay the tuition from their college.        

Mike’s Psych Tips-

1. If you plan on enlisting in the military keep in mind you are risking your life for the goal of becoming a nurse, but you will be serving your country with the opportunity to have your school paid off after you are done. 
2. You have the opportunity to receive a scholarship and loan and this may be a better route as you do not have to worry about serving in the military.
3. When seeking an academic or athletic scholarship keep in mind there are many different areas you can be academically or athletically better than someone else is. I recommend trying many different subjects, clubs, and sports in order to find the one you are best at. This gives you more options in avoiding the negative  things going on in an underserved area and in pursuing your dreams to become a nurse in the future!  

Conclusion: I hope this helps and if anyone needs additional assistance to make it out of an underserved area and become a nurse, I will be creating a step-by-step guide for how you can take action using the how to do it sections above. 

You can just drop your name and email in the comment section below.

Thank you for reading and don’t give up!

Psych Nurse Mike BSN, RN, BA Psychology and Business