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I guess this is just a general question for anyone who can answer. I am currently a sophomore at the university of vermont. Currently, I am a history major, but I am thinking of possibly becoming an RN. UVM (my college) has a bridging program for people with a bachelors degree in something other than nursing (they also offer a nursing bachelors degree) however, the program is intended to have you take the classes through the bridge program, take the RN exam, then go on and get a masters and become a nurse practicioner. What should I do? Should I look for another school with just an accelerated RN program, or should I go for this program? It seems (from what I've been told) NP's don't have the hands on aspect of work that I want to get into. What about transfering into the nursing major?

Thanks in advance !

anyone have any idea? Anything would be appreciated

Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

hydr0gen,

Your post indicates that you are pretty young - I would recommend just transferring into a nursing major. Accelerated programs are definitely serving a purpose, but there are plenty of problems with them. The most common issue is that graduates do not feel really prepared for the clinical setting. Because they are so short, graduates of these programs frequently do not feel as though they 'belong' to the nursing profession.

Nursing (clinical) masters programs are not designed for new graduates - the curriculum is designed to build on the skills of an already competent practitioner. You need to have achieved at least minimal competency prior to entering a masters program. This also provides you with an opportunity to determine exactly what clinical area you would like to specialize in.

You sound like an intelligent and thoughful person - and will be a terrific asset to our profession.

thanks for your reply- it does sound like I would need to switch but I hear nursing is one of the hardest colleges (within my college) to switch into, but I will give it a shot I guess. Any general advice?

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