Accelerated BSN degree from a UK or other European nursing school?

merschwartz · May 22, 2006

The clinical hours are exactly the same in an accelerated program as in the regular BSN program. The only difference in the accelerated program that I went to was we didn't take one three credit elective that the regular BSN students took. Plus, I have a friend who went to a one eyar accelerated BSN program, worked in South Carolina for a year and then worked as a nurse in Australia. Other countries do in fact recognize accelerated programs, which they should.

madwife2002, BSN, RN · May 22, 2006

The clinical hours are exactly the same in an accelerated program as in the regular BSN program. The only difference in the accelerated program that I went to was we didn't take one three credit elective that the regular BSN students took. Plus, I have a friend who went to a one eyar accelerated BSN program, worked in South Carolina for a year and then worked as a nurse in Australia. Other countries do in fact recognize accelerated programs, which they should.

Why should they? Lots of Uk nurses who have trained for 3 years some who have a BSC honors degree-cant get their qualifications recognised over here. In fact nurses who have trained recently in the Uk cannot get their qualification recognised over in the US at all.

I also find it difficult to believe that a one to two year course contains as much practical experience as a 3 year course but I am always happy to be proven wrong.

I also have concerns that a nurse training for one year can possibly be ready to be a staff nurse and take charge of pts. Obviously my opinion but some nurses aren't ready to nurse after three years, so I cannot imagine a one year trained nurse.

HM2VikingRN, RN · May 23, 2006

I also find it difficult to believe that a one to two year course contains as much practical experience as a 3 year course but I am always happy to be proven wrong.
I also have concerns that a nurse training for one year can possibly be ready to be a staff nurse and take charge of pts. Obviously my opinion but some nurses aren't ready to nurse after three years, so I cannot imagine a one year trained nurse.

One of the things that I notice about my classmates in my accelerated RN program is that most of them either worked as CNA's during school for their first degree, or have worked with patient's in health care in a non-nursing role.

Before I applied to Minnesota State's program I did a grid and found that the nursing classes were the same between the traditional program and the accelerated program. At the end of the program we end up with a baccalaureate level nursing major.

I am not always sure that hours of experience equals quality of training or skill development. (Of course as a Navy Corpsman I have been trained using the see one, do one, teach one system.) :wink2: :caduceus:

I don't pretend to know the answer except that the accelerated student's that I have seen all seem to be quick learners with an aptitude for acquiring new skills.

Starting school in the fall .... :lol2:

suzanne4, RN · Jun 1, 2006

Yes, but in an accelerated program it is not as though you do anything less than in a normal BSN program. It's just done at a very quick pace. That is why if you can work as a nurse in the UK with a regular BSN the same should apply for an accelerated degree.

It doesn't, currently accelerated degrees are not accepted in other countries, only in the coubntry where you received the degree. This is per immigration as well. And you can find that a licensing board may accept a program, but immigration is very specific as to what they will accept.

There is a difference in some of the hours, plus most baed their requirements on the actual length of the program, not that is was accelerated. The US currently does not accept nurses that graduated with the accelerated degree form outside the US for immigration purposes.

The othe issue being that the UK is also facing quite a few lay-offs in nursin gat the moment. NHS is not the most stable right now. And many nurses there are being forced to work two different jobs.

suzanne4, RN · Jun 1, 2006

The clinical hours are exactly the same in an accelerated program as in the regular BSN program. The only difference in the accelerated program that I went to was we didn't take one three credit elective that the regular BSN students took. Plus, I have a friend who went to a one eyar accelerated BSN program, worked in South Carolina for a year and then worked as a nurse in Australia. Other countries do in fact recognize accelerated programs, which they should.

On a routine basis, they do not. Period. And for us to make a blanket statement that they do, would be giving false information and hope to many. You have mentioned one person, and I work in this area on a daily basis. Please check out the Australian Forum here, and you will see what I am talking about. Each program is not created equal in all schools and programs. Most are not accepted. You are new here, we are telling you from years of experience here.

sunnyjohn · Jun 7, 2006

I read the NMC site were it states that they require traning to be, "at least three -years long (or 4600 hours), all of which must be in nursing studies at a post secondary school level begun after the age of 17 years and six months."

Considering that traditional 4-year US BSN programs are usually two years of prereqs and liberal arts requirements then two years of nursing major classes, how do grads of traditional 4-year US BSN programs gain registration with the NMC?

Do they have to take an additional year of nursing classes to make up the difference in hours?

ZippyGBR, BSN, RN · Mar 12, 2007

don't think there is anything like it in the UK

well other than the PGDip programmes some schools of nursing offer for people with life sciences ar psychology type degrees - they are heard work as they compress the theory down but still have ot have the 2300 practice hours - they are generally 2 years long