Is it wise to start taking courses for BSN while in ADN program?

Sour Lemon · Dec 11, 2016

I wouldn't.

dishes, BSN, RN · Dec 11, 2016

What type of BSN program are planning to take? If you are planning to take a RN to BSN program, look at the admission requirements, if RN is required, you will need to complete the associates degree program, pass the NCLEX and become licensed first.

Double-Helix, BSN, RN · Dec 11, 2016

If you have to take extra classes anyway, absolutely choose ones that you will get credit for later on, as long as you don't think the extra work load will be too much all at once. If it seems overwhelming, maybe a less intensive "extra" course will be better while you complete your ADN.

If you complete these BSN classes early, will you then have to take additional credit hours to meet the minimum FA requirements during that program?

AnnieOaklyRN, BSN, RN, EMT-P · Dec 11, 2016

Hi,

I would wait since as a lot of RN-BSN classes are nursing based and you need to already have your RN to take them.

There are also some "gen ed" type classes that you could take, but if you are going to take them at a different school other than the one you plan on earning your RN-BSN at you may want to look into what classes are required and also how many credits have to be earned at that school in order for you to earn your BSN there. In other words University Y will require that you earn x amount of credits at University Y in order for them to award you your BSN.

Annie

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Dec 11, 2016

I concur with the respondents who suggested that you might want to wait to take the coursework for the BSN until you already have an RN license in your possession. I am a believer in taking things one step at a time.

Good luck to you!

applesxoranges, BSN, RN · Dec 11, 2016

I planned ahead but I picked classes from a list that Ohio University provided to me that were guaranteed to transfer and fulfill major requirements (the rep provided it to me). I only needed my nursing classes and a writing class when I graduated so I graduated in about 8 months from Ohio University once I started.

If your school is a partner school, it helps out a lot because you can research requirements that will transfer. Nothing is worse than finding out that the class you took doesn't fulfill the requirements.

Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN · Dec 12, 2016

If you know where you are going to get your BSN, you could seek their transfer office's advice and choose classes that would fulfill general ed requirements.

In my case I put in 2 years' work on a music degree before deciding to become a nurse. I transferred to a tech school and got my AAS in nursing, and finally finished my BSN last year. I had a lot of classes from my first school transfer -- I had taken calculus and human biology, some religion classes (it was a Lutheran college), German and Latin, history, English...plus the many music classes and private voice lessons. I ended up getting transfer credit for some of my AAS -- I didn't have to take college algebra, for example, since I had already had calculus.

When it came time to complete my BSN however, even though it was an RN-to-BSN bridge, my university still had I think 10 general ed domains with a bunch of classes that fulfill the respective domains. For example, one could take a theatre appreciation class to fulfill the oral/visual communication domain; one could take a geography class to fulfill the human diversity domain. Those religion and music classes fulfilled my humanities & fine arts requirement. My foreign language classes fulfilled my global perspectives requirement.

In the end, I only had to take 2 non-nursing classes besides the specific classes that were prerequisites for the nursing program.

So again if you know where you will be getting your BSN and you need more credits to keep your financial aid, why not find out what would actually help you achieve your end goal? :yes:

mindofmidwifery, ADN · Dec 12, 2016

It depends on what type of courses they are. Of course, you wouldn't be able to take the nursing courses in the BSN program yet. However, I will be taking classes in the summer that are required for my future BSN. These classes are organic chemistry and nutrition. If you need extra credits anyway, that's what I would go for. Good luck

SaltySarcasticSally, LPN, RN · Dec 12, 2016

I did! My associates program is part of a university though so I am going to the same place for BSN. I took all of my BSN pre-reqs while waiting for clinical to start, its at a cheaper price too because its community college price vs university price. I'm glad I did it that way, I will have 8 classes left for BSN when I graduate w/ an associates.

pinky77 · Dec 12, 2016

I think if you've done the research and know for sure what classes you need to take, do it and get them out of the way. Both of the CC's in my area require all nursing applicants to have all of the Bachelor's pre-req's complete prior to program entry. It's been a pain to get all those extra classes done but in the long run it's nice to know that once I get my ASN I can immediately apply to a bachelors program.

FolksBtrippin, BSN, RN · Dec 18, 2016

I am leaning towards take the BSN classes, but I would want to know which classes we're talking about before I give you a resounding yes.