RN to BSN or RN to MSN..decisions, decisions

Nursing Students Post Graduate

Published

I am an RN with a little over a year experience. I have a bachelor degree in business from a previous university and an ADN from a technical school. I was looking into programs for further education bc my job reimburses tuition upon completion. My question is the pros and cons of going into a BSN or MSN program and which may help in future endeavors of my career. Does my business bachelors help in any way? Any good programs online that anyone could recommend would be helpful as well. Thank you for any advice or insight!

Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.

You have lots of options, that's the good news. You do need to think about what role you want to have in the future: staff nurse, nurse manager, nurse researcher, nurse educator, APRN/CRNA/CNM/NP, etc. The education is dependent, at least in part, on the role your see yourself in.

There are BA/BS to MSN, BA/BS to BSN, ADN to BSN, and ADN to MSN bridge programs now available that would all work for you.

Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

I agree with de213. Before you committ to any educational path, you need to figure out what type of work you want to do after you graduate. Graduate school is not like undergraduate school. As an undergraduate (ADN or BSN), the student learns general information about the discipline as a whole in preparation for an entry level job. At the graduate level, the course of study focuses on a specific specialty in preparation for an advanced role in the person's chosen field.

Until you know what your specialty will be, you can't know what type of Master's program would be right for you -- and whether or not you are ready to enter into a program of advanced study in that area.

Do you know what type of work you want to do long term? What specialty? What role? etc. That should guide your choices, not the other way around.

Specializes in Psych.

I have a BS in Biochemistry, minor Mathematics Education and an ADN in Nursing. I recommend a RN-BSN bridge because 1. it's cheaper, 2. it's faster, and 3. if you quit after seven classes of an RN-MSN bridge, you have nothing. 7 classes of an RN-BSN bridge, you have a BSN - which here means a little more money.

+ Add a Comment