Would I Have a Better Chance With My BSN?

Nurses Career Support

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Tele, Dialysis, Hospice.

I have been an RN for 21 years, with experience in Med/Surg inpatient nursing, home hospice nursing, and LTC nursing. I am currently working as a Med/Surg float on a contingent basis. Lately, I have been thinking about getting my BSN through an accredited online program of a local university. I only need to take the core nursing courses to finish, which amounts to 40 credit hours and would take me 1 1/2 to 2 years to complete. I have been accepted and will begin in mid-August if I decide to pursue it. I am concerned about the cost of going back to school, especially since we will also have two kids in college at the same time. My ultimate career goal is to work in either patient education or utilization review for an insurance company. My question here is, do you think it would be worth my time and money to go back to get my BSN if I want to transition out of floor nursing into one of those two fields in the next couple of years? I just saw an ad in today's local paper for a utilization review nurse and it didn't say anything about a BSN, they just wanted 2+ years of recent Med/Surg experience, a background in acute care nursing, and computer proficiency. If I hadn't just started at my current job and had 2+ years of recent Med/Surg experience, I would go for it, but I took time off to be home with our kids and haven't worked Med/Surg since the early 2000s so I need to stick with this job for a while.

So, does anyone know if most utilization review positions require a BSN? If not, then I really don't want to spend the money at this mid- to late point in my career. Any thoughts?

Thanks.

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Hi there. I am very pro-education, but that being said...I have a BSN and 10+ years acute experience it has not seemed to carry much weight lately. I tried breaking into several new specialties, but it seems what employers want is previous experience in specific specialties, so that they don't have to re-train you. The job market where I live is super competative for RNs. In the past (maybe 10+ years ago) I would have thought the BSN was helpful, but now I am thinking MSN is needed (especially if you want to go the patient education route). But I certainly don't see how getting a BSN would hurt you! It *might* help, but you may also need even more. Good luck whatever you decide! I have seen UR jobs that did not require BSN, but virtually all wanted at least a year or two of previous UR experience. Maybe you could network with some nurse educators or UR review nurses while you head back to school? Good for you for thinking of heading back to school! I wish you much success!

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Westieluv,

You may want to do a little research on 'patient education' jobs first... since this is generally really reimbursable, most inpatient facilities do not have any of these jobs any more. UR/Case Management is going to become even hotter as ICD10 comes into play in 2013, so that is a great direction - particularly for someone like you with the valuable knowledge that comes from your varied experiences.

On another note -- you may not have considered. The more family members that are in college, the more college financial aid your kids will be eligible for. So, there's a chance that any $ spent on your tuition would actually be compensated by additional financial aid for your kids. Something to check out . . .

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Tele, Dialysis, Hospice.

Thanks so much for your thoughtful and encouraging replies.

I know that I definitely don't want to go on to get my MSN. Not at my age (46) and I really don't aspire to climb the ladder in nursing all that much, I basically just want to be able to transition to a desk type job in a couple of years, since floor nursing, especially doing twelve hour shifts, gets harder as I get older.

I know that it seems like we should be entitled to some kind of financial aid, but the reality is that we own rental property that makes it appear on a FAFSA form like we have a much bigger income than we actually realize. Our gross rental income is around $72,000/year on top of what we make at our jobs, but the reality is that by the time we pay our mortgage on the property, real estate taxes, utilities, etc., we only realize around $20,000/year from that. Our son, who has been in college for two years now, has never been able to qualify for any financial aid other than federal student loans, and our daughter, who starts this year, won't either. They both attend a state university that is very close to our home, so the cost of their college isn't astronomical, but it's enough that to pay for mine also would be a financial stressor, because we would end up putting it on our home equity loan.

Anyway, the hospital system that I work for does occasionally have openings from UR nurses, so I'm wondering if I just hang in there with my RN diploma and do a great job at what I'm doing now, hopefully, I can bid on one of those jobs when it becomes available and they will allow me to switch to that department without worrying if I have my BSN or not. I was mainly thinking that I would need a BSN if I ever sought a position with a different company. Two things I know for certain: I don't want to be 50 and doing what I'm doing now, and I don't have the money, drive, or desire to pursue my MSN.

Thanks again. Your replies are very helpful. :)

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Specializes in Leadership, Psych, HomeCare, Amb. Care.

A BSN will definitely enhance your employ-ability

And regarding your age, I completed my masters in 2010, and all I can say is I wish I was only 46 when I finished.

Even if I use it for "only" 10 years, that's 10 years with more choices & where I'm more likely to do what I like in that time.

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