[Suesquatch]

Okay, I have a bazillion credits but not what I need for the BSN. I'm ready to take my clinical exam and have completed all of the coUrse work towards the RN. Once I pass the clinical I can take the boards about which I'm not worried.

I can't start a BSN program until I have the RN.

Now, the nursing school at SUNY Stony Brook offers an extremely highly-regarded distance program. I would have to take 9 more credits of science - which I want to do anyway - and something about social psychology. I will have trouble finding the classes on-line but they will accept them. Plus, I can start them now, while I wait for the CPNE date.

I can hang out and go right into the RN - MSN program at Excelsior. Excelsior is well regarded everywhere pretty much but California, which won't license us. Bite me. I'm nOt going to work there, anyway. I know that I can bang it out VERY quickly as most of the courses for an informatics concentration are a lot of fluff. So are a lot of nursing courses, period - lots of nonsense about "leadership in nursing" and "theories of socialization" and crap that I know no med student has ever had to take, but those geared more to clinical, which I won't be doing much of but which is what fascinated me enough to get into nursing to begin with, are far more interesting and difficult.

Anyway. The conundrum is this. DO I bang out the easier one and get the darned credentials and then take classes that interest me after, or do I bIte the bullet and forge ahead with the (real) degree?

Costs are about the same.

And remember, I'm going to be 55 this year. There IS a little less leeway at this point.

Thanks for your input.

[earle58]

all things considered, i would go the rn-msn route.
more and more employers are recognizing distance learning, as an equally viable alternative.
if this was me, i'd whip out the online (convenient), easy (much more enjoyable) and goal-worthy (a master's!!) route.

let us know!!

yay!

leslie

[Suesquatch]

Thanks, Leslie. Coasting is awfully tempting.

Distance learning is very accepted here. We are really rural and there is literally no master's program less than 60 miles away, and no RN program closer, either.

[Suesquatch]

Oh, both of the programs are on-line.

[pagandeva2000]

You KNOW I am routing for you, whatever you wish to do! I agree with earle58, personally. :0)

[Suesquatch]

I thought about this a lot last night.

I'm coasting.