associates with BA

[Jamiers]

First, I wanted to say how much I LOVE this site! I found it while I was looking at nursing schools...I have been addicted to the conversations since !

I have a question for you all. I am a senior in Community Mental Health, minor Anthropology. I have a goal to be a NP. There is a three-year master program at Northwest University for students who are not RN's. However, it is 30 thousand per year, (I know, exceedingly expensive). Since this is so expensive, I was thinking of going the route of obtaining my associates RN at 2 year school (10,000 for both years) and then going to a local state school for an additional 2 years (20,000 for both years).

So here's the big Q: If I was to take a year off before I get my NP at Univeristy at Buffalo, will they(employers) look at me as an equivlant BSN or as a Associate RN?

Also, I was reading a few entries about the lack of demand for NP's, is that true for the northeast? Is the pay difference really that minimum?

[sjoe]

See the thread: https://allnurses.com/t45134.html

"Is the pay difference really that minimum?"

http://www.salary.com

[Jamiers]

I know, I know.... I sent it w/o proof reading....

"is the pay really that minimal" is what I meant to say.

[purplemania, BSN, RN]

employers will "look at you" according to the license and degree you actually possess while you are employed.

[santhony44, MSN, RN, NP]

An associate degree nurse with a BA is an associate degree nurse with a BA. *Not* the same as a BSN. Been there, done that.

That being said, my personal opinion on becoming an NP is that you need to become a nurse first. Get an associate's or bachelor's and work as a nurse before going into an NP program. I believe that you need at least a year's experience in nursing, five years or more is even better, before you become an NP. You learn so much, develop your critical thinking skills and your "gut" or intuition, working as a nurse. I'd plan to work in a variety of settings, if possible.

I went the BA-LPN-ADN-BSN-MN route, myself, and had been a nurse for 12 years before going to graduate school. Grad school really built on previous education and experience. I can't imagine not having had that.

No way would I get $90,000 in the hole to become an NP. There has to be a better way to do it.

[Jamiers]

I see what your saying in response to what I asked. It's funny, I re-read the oh-so vague question that I asked and I now have commited myself to not writing entries early in the morning.

A nurse recruiter (NY) told me that there were different pay scales for Associate RN and BSN holders. I wasn't sure if they would acknowlege my BA in determining my salary.

[llg, PhD, RN]

Only a few places offer a pay differential for Bachelor's degrees over Associate's Degrees -- and you would have to look at the policy of the individual hospital to find out how they handle that.

I think for most purposes, though, you would be considered to have an ADN (albeit one with extra education in another field.)

Before deciding about that NP route, you really should check out the salaries in your area. In some places, NP's are more scarce than others. Where they are plentiful, the salaries are low -- as one would expect. In some areas, there is such an oversupply as to make it difficult to get a good job -- but that is not true everywhere.

Good luck,

llg