Hi friend,
If you are asking about accelerated nursing programs, I assume you already have a prior BA/BS degree. Either is required for admission to these programs. Creighton medical center in Omaha, Nebraska offers a program 12 months in length for people with a prior degree. If your experience is in Para-medicine, you may be eligible for a Paramedic to RN bridge program.
If you don't have a degree, two years is not that long, and you will find that everyone of your classmates has lots of health-care experience as well. Nursing schools have gotten so competitive, that no one gets in without experience working in a hospital environment. Hospital rotations wouldn't put you ahead of the pack, because you weren't learning nursing skills if you weren't in nursing rotations.
As far as CPR, I don't see why you would get any special treatment there. It is required for admission for all programs traditional or accelerated.
An accelerated nursing program is only for people who previously hold a bachelor's degree in some other field (does not need to be medical related). It takes two years of nursing courses and then you end up with a bachelor's degree in nursing.
If you want to be a RN, the MINIMUM you have to go to school for is one year - and that is ONLY if you are currently an LPN. Community college's offer a 1 year transition program from LPN to RN.
If you're not an LPN, the minimum for a RN degree is 2 full years - but usually more like 3 because you'll have pre-requisites to take in biology, chemistry, anatomy & physiology, and maybe more like nutrition and microbiology - all schools are different on what they require.
What kind of previous training did you have? Chances are whatever you did will NOT transfer as part of the nursing program. If you have been CPR trained, you need to be certified at the "health professional" level while in nursing school, not just the generic layman's CPR course.
There is no fast and easy way to become a nurse. There is a TON you need to learn, no matter how smart you think you are or how much experience you think you've had in a hospital environment. Many people go into nursing after years of being nursing assistants and they think they will have some big advantage - they don't. The only advantage they might have is being more comfortable caring for patients. The technical aspects of being an RN are things you can't learn from doing any other job. It's totally unique.
If you want to really be a nurse, you will get it done. It takes persistence. Admission to 2-year RN programs is competative and programs fill quickly.
Good luck to you.
