2nd career nurse advice

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Jul 19, 2016

There are no 100% online nursing schools. Some have a portion of the didactic portion online, but obviously the clinical component can only be completed at a facility. Your prerequisite work (sciences in particular) will likely be considered stale and need to be repeated.

You will definitely need a BSN to enter an NP program.

RunnerNurse09, BSN, RN · Jul 19, 2016

There are no 100% online nursing schools. Some have a portion of the didactic portion online, but obviously the clinical component can only be completed at a facility. Your prerequisite work (sciences in particular) will likely be considered stale and need to be repeated.
You will definitely need a BSN to enter an NP program.

I don't think she will need to repeat classes. I did my adn in 2008 and they accepted my chemistry and biology I had from a university from the 1990s, and I am currently doing my bsn at a highly regarded university and they didn't make me repeat anything. The best thing is so call the school she is interested in and ask, but I doubt repeating would be necessary.

Pangea Reunited, ASN, RN · Jul 19, 2016

Los Angeles is overrun with new nurses and BSN is highly preferred. I have managed to find work with an ASN and a few years of experience, but I would not want to be a new grad in this market. Be prepared to move to get experience after graduation ...hopefully you won't have to, but be prepared. I'm not sure how the NP market is, but it seems like half the people I work with are planning on (and working towards) becoming one.

Like the other poster said, there are clinical components to nursing school that cannot be completed online. Maybe bridge programs (ASN to BSN) can be mostly completed online, but not initial nursing school.

AceOfHearts<3 · Jul 19, 2016

I don't think she will need to repeat classes. I did my adn in 2008 and they accepted my chemistry and biology I had from a university from the 1990s, and I am currently doing my bsn at a highly regarded university and they didn't make me repeat anything. The best thing is so call the school she is interested in and ask, but I doubt repeating would be necessary.

I did an ABSN program and when I was researching programs all of them required the core science classes- A&P I,II and Micro- to be completed within the last 5 years. Basic bio, chemistry, psych, statistics, etc. had no time limit for me, but the big core science ones did.

Pangea Reunited, ASN, RN · Jul 19, 2016

I did an ABSN program and when I was researching programs all of them required the core science classes- A&P III and Micro- to be completed within the last 5 years. Basic bio, chemistry, psych, statistics, etc. had no time limit for me, but the big core science ones did.[/quote']
My program had time limits for the sciences, as well. I wish I could remember what they were.

RNNPICU, BSN, RN · Jul 20, 2016

You need to think about what you want out of the degree. What do you want to end up doing, i.e working in a hospital, outpatient clinic, etc, what population are you passionate about.

I have hear about the direct entry MSN for someone similar to yourself. Whichever online school you pick, you would need to ask about which courses would transfer. Also, you definitely will need a plan for child care for you 7 month old, especially when you would have your clinical rotations, they can be from 8-12 hours a few times a week, depending on your school and which clinical you are taking.

elkpark · Jul 20, 2016

You will definitely need a BSN to enter an NP program.

Not true; there are tons of "direct entry" MSN programs for non-nurses to become advanced practice nurses (not saying I think that's a good idea, but the programs have been around for decades and are v. popular).

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Jul 20, 2016

Not true; there are tons of "direct entry" MSN programs for non-nurses to become advanced practice nurses (not saying I think that's a good idea, but the programs have been around for decades and are v. popular).

You are correct, of course. But I'm looking at what OP has to offer. (OP- this is not meant as a slam, just a realistic look at your current qualifications- which I think is why you posted here to begin with.)

16 year old BA degree. 'Stale' science courses. No real healthcare work experience. I think your best bet OP is to first look at becoming an RN, that will be a large enough hurdle given your location. It CAN be done- so if it's really what you want, go for it.

My suggestion to you is my suggestion to every poster like yourself. Shadow a nurse. for an entire 12 hour shift. If they don't sit/eat/pee (and it is HIGHLY likely that they won't)- then neither do you. Do this a couple of times- THEN make your decision. I wish you well.

JofAllTrades, BSN, RN · Jul 20, 2016

I don't think she will need to repeat classes. I did my adn in 2008 and they accepted my chemistry and biology I had from a university from the 1990s, and I am currently doing my bsn at a highly regarded university and they didn't make me repeat anything. The best thing is so call the school she is interested in and ask, but I doubt repeating would be necessary.

I had my Sciences (Anatomy/Physiology) completed in 2007, and as of this year (2016) I've had significant difficulty getting any one school to accept the classes. Some school will accept my Physiology but not my anatomy, other schools are the opposite. What I hear is that for an ADN program Anatomy must be less than 10 yrs old, and Physiology and Microbiology less than 7 yrs old. BSN programs are slightly different, and more forgiving IMHO - but have STILL had issues getting my older classes accepted. The rule of thumb I am told is that if you don't want any issues, make sure all classes are less than 5 yrs old.

chacha82, ADN, BSN · Jul 20, 2016

There is no initial online nursing school. You will have to do a traditional brick and mortar program for the initial RN. Subsequent degrees can be done online.

darbyspinx · Jul 21, 2016

Thank you all so much! I think it seems that I need to find an accelerated BSN ONLINE program. Does anyone have any specific school suggestions?