Did anyone get there degree online?

Specialties NP

Published

My question is to all the NP's and those with MSN's, did any of you achieve a degree through an online program? If so how was it? Did you find it difficult or easier than traditional class work? Which online program did you go with? How long after getting your BSN did you wait? Thanks in advance for any info :)

I don't think distance ed is a problem so much as programs that don't care who precept their students and just force them to find whoever. I don't see how that's acceptable, ever.

Depends. My program had a list of preceptors you could contact but they allowed me to chose my own...with the military and VA. Guess where I just accepted a dream job...the military. The ability to find my own preceptors certainly helped in getting this job.

Specializes in NICU.

I attended a well known and reputable state school FNP program via distance learning and I don't have any regrets. All I have done for the past 2 years is studied and studied. Wait, did I mention all I've done was study..:bugeyes: I also have a husband and 2 small kids. My program was very challenging and intense to say the least. The didactic portion of the program was completed online (brick & mortar students completed program in same format) and my practicum sites were set up in my area by yours truly with contracts provided/approved by the school. Yes, I had to find my own preceptors, but guess what, so did the brick and mortar students. Secondly, a good friend of mine attends the state medical college in our home state and all the PNP students had to find their own preceptors as well. They meet once or twice a semester (tests and projects are submitted online). She is in fact is going to use one of the preceptors I used for my program.

My preceptors were doctors and NP's and I had quality practicum experiences. No one EVER seemed concerned about my educational choices. So in my humble opinion, as long as NP programs, which offer distance learning are held to the SAME accreditation/standardizationn/rigor as ground campuses, then I state it's a matter of choice.

I have a second interview next week with a well respected internal medicine doc and my route of educational attainment didn't seem to bother him one bit. Oh by the way, I passed my AANP on the first try yesterday, so I am quite thankful! Just wanted to share some of my experiences with distance education...

Congrats.....MSPRN01!!!!!!

My program is hybrid. We still have to go to class every month. We have to meet in virtual classroom during specific time/date each week, just like on-site class. So I do not consider it online like some other schools. I am opinionated but I think this is the way online DNP/MSN supposed to be delivered ("real-time online environment").

To those who think online schools are destroying credibility: Could you please explain the difference between listening to a lecture 20 + feet away in an uncomfortable stadium style chair and listening / watching a lecture from the comfort of your own home where you can pause and rewind and review again, the entire lecture. Answers to any questions are only an email (or in some cases a phone call) away. The clinical are in-person either way. The Physician / PA attack on online MSN programs is just a mixture of hate / fear / turf protection.

To those who think online schools are destroying credibility: Could you please explain the difference between listening to a lecture 20 + feet away in an uncomfortable stadium style chair and listening / watching a lecture from the comfort of your own home where you can pause and rewind and review again, the entire lecture. Answers to any questions are only an email (or in some cases a phone call) away. The clinical are in-person either way. The Physician / PA attack on online MSN programs is just a mixture of hate / fear / turf protection.

Not really for those reasons. Trust me, no physician is "fearful" of midlevel incursion. We still know we have the highest level of training in our fields, by far.

It's mostly the bad associations with online degrees. When someone says they got a degree online, for me personally, I immediately think of all those UofP and Devry commercials on TV -- and these programs in general do have a bad rep of taking in anybody with a pulse (as long as they can pay tuition). So, there's that strong negative connotation there. Additionally, my own opinion is that it's harder to communicate/problem-solve with colleagues and teachers via online communication vs. real-life interactions. I can speak out a question much more clearly and quickly than type it out, wait for a response, then respond back to them with follow-up questions, etc. Combine that negative stereotype involving for-profit schools, along with lack of convincing evidence showing that online education is at least equivalent to classroom learning, you can see why some people are hesitant of online degrees. Online programs are their own worst enemies. They're popping up left-and-right at a ridiculous rate, which further pushes the stereotype that they're just out for making money rather than ensuring quality.

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