better to do ASN at a community college?

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Hi,

Correct me if I wrong, but as I see it there are 3 primary players in the ASN game -- Community colleges, hospitals, and tech schools like ITT Technical Institute. I was wondering. Which type of school is best to attend in terms of post graduate hiring rates from the ASN and NCLEX pass rates? Is it ok to attend a hospital based ASN program?

Also, I'm planning on doing the nurse anesthetist program or medical school after the ASN. Will acquiring an ASN from a hospital based ASN program be looked down upon?

Thanks for your input in advance.

Why don't you go straight into med school? Or are you trying to help cover the cost by being a working RN going into med school?

That is because I do not have a bachelor's degree right now. I want to do something that is marketable after I graduate. I might change my mind later on and decide not to go to med school. That is why I would rather pursue a bachelor's that is useful like nursing rather than something like biology. I might end up doing the CRNA degree rather than med school.

I agree, but the OP stated that he/she would start with an ADN. It would be quicker to bridge to a BSN than start a completely new degree in order to apply to med school.

I can't bridge the ADN with a BSN as I don't have a bachelor's.

The thing is, none of her BSN classes will apply to a pre-med major, except maybe basic courses like Humanities or Statistics. But the 30ish credit hours of nursing classes won't. That's basically a year of full-time that could have been spent taking chemistry, physics, and advanced level math classes. She'll have to take these classes anyway if she chooses to get her BSN.

I have to take those pre-med courses with the BSN, right? So why shouldn't I pursue a BSN then. Maybe I'm confused. Sorry for the confusion.

You do not need a bachelor's degree to bridge an ADN to a BSN. Bridge programs allow nurses with 2 year degrees to take the additional classes necessary to earn a BSN without having to start from scratch.

As for the pre-med requirements, a general BSN curriculum (or it's prerequisites) will include some of the classes that are necessary to apply to med school (2 biology, 2 chemistry, and 2 English classes). You would need to add two physics classes and organic chemistry I and II to the BSN course load. However, the criteria is not standardized across medical schools so you should look into the requirements of the programs that you are interested in.

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Hospital-based programs are also known as diploma nursing programs, but are NOT ASN programs. A diploma nursing program is one that has all the clinical and classroom components required to allow a graduate to sit for the NCLEX-RN (assuming, of course, the school IS recognized by the State BoN to allow licensing. BUT it CANNOT be an ASN program because an Associate of Science in Nursing is a college degree awarded by a college, and it is first and foremost an Associate's degree, meaning that general education requirements OTHER than nursing have been met.

One can graduate from a BSN program (Bachelor's in Nursing) and sit for the NCLEX.

One can graduate from an ASN program (Associate's in Nursing) and sit for the NCLEX.

One can graduate from a diploma school, no degree involved, and sit for the NCLEX.

There can be no ASN online-only program; even those that are primarily online have a clinical component that must be satisfied. Sometimes there are options that allow for skills testing in lieu of formal clinicals, but one must still learn those clinical skills. And a degree like this is not universally accepted; actually, it can be useless if the Board of Nursing in the State in which you seek licensure does not accept it.

So, there really are three ways to go, but not quite as you had them :)

That's not true in all cases. Technically, I attend a private college that is regionally accredited, but it is hospital based. My hospital started its diploma nursing program way back. They sought regional accreditation in the 70s in order to offer ASN degrees. Recently, (in in the second class) they have transitioned to a BSN program.

So, I attend a hospital-based BSN program that was once a hospital-based ASN program.

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As for the pre-med requirements, a general BSN curriculum (or it's prerequisites) will include some of the classes that are necessary to apply to med school (2 biology, 2 chemistry, and 2 English classes). You would need to add two physics classes and organic chemistry I and II to the BSN course load. However, the criteria is not standardized across medical schools so you should look into the requirements of the programs that you are interested in.

Many BSN programs won't even require 2 chemistry classes or 2 biology classes; I know mine doesn't. That is why I don't think the OP should waste her time with a BSN if her plans are to attend medical school anyway. She should go straight for a pre-med focused bachelor's that will definitely (and not 'maybe') include the required courses.

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