Tell me why BSN now?

[Curious1alwys]

...............as opposed to later, after you become an RN through an ADN program? I was looking to go ADN and then do the employer paid route to BSN. I have seen posts from many experienced nurses on here saying that if you have the time and the money, get the BSN now. Why?:uhoh21:

I am scheduled to enter ADN program in July, but already have many community college credits. I saw an advisor at a local university and she told me that I could go BSN and graduate one semester later than if I went ADN (16 mo program). That would graduate me with a BSN instead of the two AA degrees I will have after the ADN program. Of course, university tuition is much more $$, but at this point would cost me less than $10,000.

If you think I should go bachelors now, tell me why. I can tell you that I see myself doing something other than bedside care one day, with nursing forensics, legal nursing, and nursing research all looking appealing.

I want to know the opinions of experienced nurses. What do you wish you had done or would you do anything differently?

Thank you all!

[RN4NICU, LPN, LVN]

I don't understand the previous reply about getting the BSN is one semester more than ADN? This moght be true when it comes to nursing, but the prereq's are alot longer. I had to have 60 credit hours to get into the BSN program. I will graduate nursing school with another 60 credit hours, so getting the BSN is alot more than just one more semester.

It was from the OP's post

I am scheduled to enter ADN program in July, but already have many community college credits. I saw an advisor at a local university and she told me that I could go BSN and graduate one semester later than if I went ADN (16 mo program).

OP - The areas you mention as being of interest to you (research, non-bedside nursing) DO require a BSN. My advice is to get the BSN right away. I regretted not getting the BSN in the first place through my entire BSN completion program. Yet, I needed the BSN to get away from the bedside. I, like Tweety, found it difficult to motivate myself to go back once I started working. I thought I would be happy as a staff nurse forever. By the time I figured out that was not the case, it was hard to "spin my wheels" while doing a BSN completion program.

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

Ok, well, I say only one semester longer because I already have an AA degree. Within that degree are all of the nursing pre-reqs for the bachelors, minus 7 classes. That is why I have a certain advantage over someone who was just trying to meet the ADN program pre-reqs.

When you do the RN-BSN bridge, do you still have to take classes like Into to Psych? I wonder if some of the classes I am using right now as pre reqs (into the BSN) would be lost if I waited until after I got my RN. What I am saying is I would pursue the BSN now if I know that not doing so would cause me to have to retake classes in the future.

Biggest drawback is the wait. The advisor told me best case scenario, but they do not gaurantee positions in the program. What if I never got accepted? Would I just hang out with no degree?

The only classes I have left to take are:

Human Develop

Statistics

Human Patho

Health Care Ethics

Health Care Organizations

Culture and Health

Principles of Sound Reasoning

After I complete these I can apply for the professional nursing program which is 16 months. She did give me RN-BSN information too so I will look that over again.

Seems like the best way to go for the best all-around education is to do the ADN for the good clinical training and then the RN-BSN route for the administrative skills. ????

Yes, the RN to BSN bridge has the same co-reqs as the regular BSN courses, like pysch., English, etc.. It varies widely from school to school.

I disagree with your last statement. Many people do argue as to what the "best" is. But doing ADN and then RN to BSN is not "better" than going straight to the BSN. It's a great way to do it though, just not the "best" or better.

Sounds like for your case, as you're already starting the ADN program in July, that's going to be the best way for you to go as many BSN programs have strict admission requirements and there's no guarantee you're going to get in, while you're at it pick up those extra courses you're going to need for your RN to BSN bridge. Good luck in all you do.

[Curious1alwys, BSN, RN]

Do what fits YOU best, and it is always better to initially go with what is doable for you. A sure thing is better than a big IF........so if you are sure you can get into one program regardless of which one it is, go for that one. If you have goals to reach a certain level for a certain job in nursing, you will keep going to reach those goals. If you don't, those goals weren't that important to you. :)

If I could go back with the knowledge I've gained about life at this point in my life, I would have gone to med school like I grew up saying I would do. Then, I would have joined the Armed Forces as an officer. THAT would have been the life. :)

So go for what your heart is singing. Only you will live with the end result of your choices in life. Be happy with those choices. You don't get to go back and do it over again.

I think you are wise on this. I do have a "sure thing" right now, so I am going to go with the ADN. I know that if I find out I want to do something other than bedside, I will be driven for the BSN. The advisor at ASU has it all mapped out for me, I could end nursing school May 07 and go into the RN-BSN program as early as August of that year. Maybe that is the way to make sure it gets accomplished. DON'T take a break?:) I wish I KNEW what my heart was "singing" to do. Unfortunately, no amount of soul searching seems to reveal that to me. Sadly, I think a messed up childhood blunted any passions for the future. At least, that is the only thing I can figure went wrong.. So, I will go with nursing for now and hope it is where I should be.

Another advantage right now is I am going into a part time program that may allow me to work more while in school. I hate to give that up, too.

Thank you for all your advice. I understand both sides of the argument, education is never a waste!!

[Curious1alwys, BSN, RN]

Ok, well (rethinking this) I am going to make another appt with the ASU advisor to pin down when she thinks I can realistically expect to get in if I were to do the BSN route. Then I would take the other pre reqs right now. I also want to make sure that if the pre reqs are the same, that I won't lose the classes I already have right now when I go back for my RN-BSN. If I did lose them, that would make going BSN now worth it even if it cost more and took longer. The BSN is just so much more competitive....select GPA, essays, interviews. I did not have to do any of that to get into the community college program. The advisor also said that the RN-BSN has no wait at all and is very easy to get into.

I am not hurting financially right now, so now more than ever I do have the time and money to pursue the BSN. Once my education is done I want to start a family. I am afraid somewhat that if I go ADN and start working I will then want to start a family and never get to the RN-BSN. I will be 31 when I graduate either program, best case scenario. But worst case scenario, I would never be accepted BSN and then I would have NOTHING. I also need to find out from the advisor if I would be accepted eventually (like a back list of those who did not get in previous semester).

Anyone know why it takes longer to go RN-BSN if all the classes really are the same? RN-BSN will end up taking me 3.5 years, BSN 2.5 from now.????

Well, I'll let you know. Deadline for FA is next week at my community college and I am going out of town this week!! Ahhh!!

[suzanne4, RN]

The nursing part is essentially the same other than the communtiy health part. It is the two years of the other classes that take the longest.

Other thing to take into account. You are in Arizona, University of Phoenix is based there and has one of the best bridge programs out there. They also offer MSN programs.

[Lanceman]

Every situation is unique. I have an AA degree already so if I had gone ADN it would have been 2 years, BSN is gonna be 2 years, so time didn't matter. I couldn't see any reason to go to school for 2 years and not at least get the bachelors. Starting from scratch an ADN can take about three years with prereq's, if you get in right away, while a a BSN takes four years. Thats not a lot of difference time wise. It probably varies, but in my neck of the woods ADN programs are harder to get into than BSN programs. Our local ADN program got over 600 applications last year and the BSN program got like 200.

[suzanne4, RN]

The biggest thing is that you are already accepted into the one program to beign in just a few months. You haven't even applied to the other, and have no idea of when you will be accepted. I am sure that ASU is already full for this fall.................

[sheri_u2]

I see a lot of threads about AD vs BSN but I was curious if anyone knows if once your out there in the field, how important a BSN is if you already hold a Bachelor's degree in another area? Are employers really particular about the BSN? What if your bachelors degree was in a business field and you have a few years of management in another area under your belt?

[suzanne4, RN]

I have a BS in Biology and it has never caused any problems for me. I have never been refused a position because my BS was in a different area.......actually it has helped.....

[Fraggle]

From my perspective, I had all of my prereqs finished for either the ADN or the BSN. They would both takes me four semesters (Two years.) I had attended college before, but didn't get my BS due to stress and nearly having a nervous breakdown.

I could work part time to get the ADN, but not quit work entirely to get the BSN. I didn't want to slide by in the BSN, which is what would have happened with my working even part time. I knew that I wasn't looking for the stress of the BSN, a full time course load, and possibly working. I wanted to enjoy getting my education for a career this time around. I guess it was also part fear b/c I didn't want to fail. So now I'm getting fabulous grades in the ADN, still having some free time, and it's all paid for. It was really the point in my life that determined my choice. I liked the structure of the ADN program and didn't want to do the big university thing again. After I finish this, then I'll entertain the idea of RN to MSN.

If it were 6 years ago and I was 20 w/o a mortgage, I'd be in a BSN program, though. :) Right now, I'm just glad to be able to balance school and life. There are definitely classmates of mine who are more ADN material than BSN, too. Some for reasons like me, often second career/degree types who weren't looking for a bachelor's program, and some are really just not cut out for the requirements of a BSN program.

It takes a lot more work to stay organized when you have 5 3-credit courses rather than 2 four credits, for one. Some of them could barely write a basic care plan (with instruction) coming in, let alone a scientific paper with good research. Some need to be nurtured more in order to get into the flow. Some think it's just fine to slide by with the minimum 75% on everything. And of course, a lot of them aren't with us anymore b/c that hand holding stops after the first semester. :chuckle

[grimmy, RN]

i see a lot of threads about ad vs bsn but i was curious if anyone knows if once your out there in the field, how important a bsn is if you already hold a bachelor's degree in another area? are employers really particular about the bsn? what if your bachelors degree was in a business field and you have a few years of management in another area under your belt?

when i went to nursing school for my bs, i had already had a master's in another subject. it took me 3 years because of the clinicals, but i went part-time and worked, too. i'm sure other schools with more students may do things differently, but my school had less than 20 students and there was only one class of clinicals per semester, and was sequential. you couldn't take a clinical during the summer or out of sequence. i don't know if my employer really cared so much about my having a 3rd degree, but it mattered to me. besides, since i work in what is considered a rural area, my student loans were forgiven.

[sheri_u2]

From my perspective, I had all of my prereqs finished for either the ADN or the BSN. They would both takes me four semesters (Two years.) I had attended college before, but didn't get my BS due to stress and nearly having a nervous breakdown.

I could work part time to get the ADN, but not quit work entirely to get the BSN. I didn't want to slide by in the BSN, which is what would have happened with my working even part time. I knew that I wasn't looking for the stress of the BSN, a full time course load, and possibly working. I wanted to enjoy getting my education for a career this time around. I guess it was also part fear b/c I didn't want to fail. So now I'm getting fabulous grades in the ADN, still having some free time, and it's all paid for. It was really the point in my life that determined my choice. I liked the structure of the ADN program and didn't want to do the big university thing again. After I finish this, then I'll entertain the idea of RN to MSN.

If it were 6 years ago and I was 20 w/o a mortgage, I'd be in a BSN program, though. :) Right now, I'm just glad to be able to balance school and life. There are definitely classmates of mine who are more ADN material than BSN, too. Some for reasons like me, often second career/degree types who weren't looking for a bachelor's program, and some are really just not cut out for the requirements of a BSN program.

It takes a lot more work to stay organized when you have 5 3-credit courses rather than 2 four credits, for one. Some of them could barely write a basic care plan (with instruction) coming in, let alone a scientific paper with good research. Some need to be nurtured more in order to get into the flow. Some think it's just fine to slide by with the minimum 75% on everything. And of course, a lot of them aren't with us anymore b/c that hand holding stops after the first semester. :chuckle

Fraggle, would you say that an ADN would be a little less demanding than the BSN program? The reason I ask is because I want to get through this "career change" as painlessly as humanly possible. Many people say the demands are the same (BSN vs. ADN) but after reading what you said, it sounds like that may not be the case. I don't plan to work once I enter clinicals this fall either way, but I still fear the stress of these programs and want the best chance of sucess.