Entry into RN Practice (Part 1): Associate Degree Nursing (ADN)

This was a great informational blog post. Thank you! I am always looking for more information about ASN vs BSN vs accel. BSN, etc. I have a bachelor's field in totally unrelated field (interior design) so in many ways I am starting from scratch (had no science courses before, and have no healthcare experience) and it is scary and confusing. Currently I'm taking pre- and co-reqs for an ASN program at a community college, and will apply in the next month to hopefully start nursing classes in January. However I am also still investigating an accel. BSN program, but it is just so much more expensive and that is what is hard to get past, since I don't want loans and would not be eligible for need-based aid. It seems like it would certainly be more cost-effective to get the ASN and then have the employer pay for a lot of the additional costs of an RN-BSN program. That, however, assumes I could even GET a job as a new grad AND that the hospital would still have their tuition reimbursement programs available 2 yrs from now, considering the economy and the cost cutting that hospitals are doing these days.

I think that if they were to turn ADN programs into ABSN programs, there wouldn't be an initiative to apply to a traditional BSN program because you'd basically be getting the exact same degree but at a much lower price...I know I'd opt for the CC ABSN program vs a traditional 4 yr BSN program.

Ms. Vicky I'm sorry I probably should've read all of posts before posting my previous reply...You've covered my comment.

Vicky-
As you are a nursing instructor & graduate student I thought I'd ask your opinion...I graduated with a BSN in 1980, worked 8 years in neonatal & some peds, received an MSN in perinatal nursing, subspecialty in developmental disabilities, worked at least 4 more years...moved, then didn't work for a while, ...took an RN refresher course that included the theory & skills component.
In the past 2 years I worked in a rural hospital & was unprepared for the pace- & left after 3 months (I was given a choice to leave or chance getting fired). I just left a position as a family practice RN after a year, again, being told I was too slow to keep up with the documentation & non-nursing components- that the patients really liked me & my clinical skills were solid- but, again, I was asked to resign or risk being terminated for breaking a couple policies.
So now I don't know what to do- it really seems a new grad is much more appealing to hire than me-
do I take yet another refresher course in another state? Go through nursing school- diploma program or something? (don't even know if I'd be admitted if I'm already an RN).
I may end up moving back to my home state in a big city- thinking maybe the orientation would be better- review more than just the basics required by the state (safety stuff)-
what do you think would be my options?

Thanks for your article I can testify to everything you have mentioned. I have been in a Technical college since 2006 taking classes while working full time and finally in August I will be starting the ADN program it's been a long time coming. Unfortunantly, I still have what around five semesters of nursing classes to take before finishing school. In the beginning what I thought was only a few years has become much longer. Your article has made me realize my outcome may have some restrictions I didn't plan for.

Certainly it's possible -- but fewer and fewer hospitals are willing to do that as time goes on. With an Associate's degree, you have to hope you're in one of those facilities, or try to find one, if you want to "move up." With a BSN, you have that option/potential anywhere you go.

Great article. I can attest to a lot of what you've written. I have been going to school now for about two and a half years, taking prereqs and coreqs. I will, if all goes OK, be starting in Block 1 of nursing school in the Fall of 2010. This is after a year and a half wait. So for my ADN to become an RN, I will have spent about a total of four and a half years in school. For what is called a "two year degree". If you add in the wait time to get into NS that we have at the community college system I'm in, it's a total of over five years.......

Thank you!

I have another question. How can we, as pre-nursing students, better prepare ourselves for the "real world" of nursing once we graduate?

The best way that I can think of is to become a CNA and work in a hospital...especially if you're on the float team because then you go everywhere and can get a feel for what services you enjoy more than others. I also try to be a sponge and observe/ask questions whenever I can. Even if it's something as simple as taking out a foley, putting in an IV, or doing an ABG...I always ask my nurses if I can watch.

Most importantly, I think the most valuable thing is the amount of patient interaction you get. The real thing sure beats any simulated clinical setting, in my opinion.