Thoughts on Accelerated MSN for Bachelor's in another area

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Hey y'all.

I am currently having a hard time and I think that y'alls insight would be really helpful. I want to become a Nurse Practitioner . I wasn't accepted into a BSN program in my area with a 3.5 GPA so I started in a LPN program. I work at a doctors office and they suggested looking into the accelerated MSN for someone who has a degree in something other than nursing. I can graduate with a degree in Human Development and Family Studies by this summer if I drop the LPN program I am in now. I really want to do the MSN program but my extensive research has shown a variety of responses on competitiveness, difficulty, and trust of these programs.

I guess I am wondering should I take the risk and apply for the accelerated program or continue with the LPN to ADN to BSN to MSN route?

Also would it look good to be a LPN applying to the accelerated program? Or can I do other things that would be a lot cheaper and less time consuming that would still enhance my resume ?

Thanks so much !

[MidwifeAPRN219, MSN, RN, APRN, CNM]

It depends on the program, honestly, as far as the difference between going for the CNL then the FNP vs going for the DE FNP program. I've only looked at Nurse-Midwifery programs for direct entry master's and not Family Nurse Practitioner. A lot of the programs have you work towards your basic nursing part first and then have you sit for your NCLEX. They do not grant a degree at that time, but you will be licensed as a RN. Then you continue on in school to the upper level courses and you can choose to work as a RN while in school. However, the same can be said with the MSN program, and you get a degree from it and in some cases, the RN portion is actually shorter than what you would have to do for the FNP program and some of the classes would count towards the FNP classes you would have to take. I can say that the one thing nice about doing the MSN-CNL program vs a direct entry FNP program is that should you choose to do it that way, you can work for a few years as a nurse and then teach while working on your FNP.

The nice thing about GRU is that it allows the MSN-CNL students to do a seamless entry into their Advanced Practice Programs. If you qualify, you can go directly from finishing the MSN-CNL program in December and start the FNP portion in January (at GRU) without having to work 1 year like so many programs require because of the numerous clinical hours we get in the program.

I would do some research and weigh the pros and cons of the programs. The programs should have curriculum lengths laid out for you so you can decide which is best for you.