Associates or Bachelors?

salzburg · Jul 12, 2011

Hi Everybody,

can somebody to help me?

Because of my family situation I would need to know how many

1. theoretical hours

2. practical hours

3. individual preparationhours the following educational programs consist: BSc. nursing, Associate degree in Nursing and hospital nursing diplom. It's no important whitch educational program is it, only the USA, and the exact hours. Unfortunatelly the home pages of the programs give information only about the credits, but i need the hours.

thank you for your help in advance!!!

Have a nice day :

salzburg

xtxrn, ASN, RN · Jul 14, 2011

Depending on what part of the country you live/work in, there are a LOT of opportunities for ADNs to move beyond bedside nursing. I spent very little time doing only bedside nursing, and most of my 19 years (before being disabled, but still having my license active) in charge or management....hospital charge (acute care, not SNF), and management in nursing homes.

The only people limiting ADNs are the hospitals that refuse to realize there's room for all of us. We all take the same boards, and patients never ask about nursing theory. :)

BrandonB779 · Jul 14, 2011

Salzburg,

I originally was going to a 4 year university Bachelors program, but because of money issues, I withdrew and found myself in a hospital Diploma program that gave me so much more experience and lecture on it. Diploma are usually 2 years (if you have your pre-reqs/co-requesites already done, but some allow you to do them both at the same time, however not recommended lol) As for bachelors and associates degrees, they usually take a little longer and they broaden the spectrum for us the only reason no degree out of our hospital based program was because we didnt totally touch on community resourcing/nursing management but other than that it was the same old program you find everywhere else. It also depends on where you want to go with your career, if you really want clinical experience/management check out the clinical hours, some places dont give more than the bare minimum where as others do somewhere to 1 1/2 to 2x the required amount. Just be wary of that because you want to be able to have as much experience as possible during school, it really builds on it.

xtxrn, ASN, RN · Jul 14, 2011

My associates program was a 2 year program. I did my pre-reqs ahead of the nursing classes to be able to focus more.

PMFB-RN, RN · Jul 14, 2011

My associates program was a 2 year program. I did my pre-reqs ahead of the nursing classes to be able to focus more.

The community college where I did my associates degree is a two year program from start to finish. There are no college class pre-reqs. Some people strech it out longer for personal reasons but many people finish in 4 semesters.

xtxrn, ASN, RN · Jul 14, 2011

I'm sure it's possible, but with clinical hours, and needing to work 40 hours between Fri-Sun (3-11 & 11-7 doubles on Fri & Sat, and 3-11 on Sun), I needed to get pre-reqs done ahead of time. A lot of my classmates ended up doing it in 3 years because of family issues. I'm sure it's all been done in 2 years for those who had the time to combine nursing with science/English/sociology/psych classes.... kudos to you for getting it all done quickly :)

Yiggs · Jul 16, 2011

It's good to get the bachelor's but if money is tight or you want to start working sooner, get the associate's, it's cheaper and you can always go back for the BSN, and most hospitals offer tuition reimbursement so you can pursue your BSN. The shortage is so bad you will not have a problem getting a job as an ADN.

I had an Associate Degree in Nursing and worked as a bedside nurse for many years and still do. However, I later obtained my BSN partially at the expence of the hospitaal I work for. I started my MSN but stopped after a couple credits. My intentions was to become a distant learning professor, but I am reconsidering this because I would have to pay quite a bit out of pocket for my MSN and the salary after i graduate is not much more than I am getting now, it may even be less! I am thinking of using my nursing degree and experience to transition into a new career in which I can use my nursing knowledge later on in life.

ICU, RN, BSN, B.S. · Jul 17, 2011

Can anyone tell me the major differences between an associates degree and a bachelors degree? I realize the bachelors requires more schooling and more job opportunities.
Jobwise is what I mean. Can you still aquire a job at a hospital with an associates? Is it better to continue education and earn your bachelors?

If you live in Massachusetts, many of the hospitals require you to have a BSN or else they won't even consider interviewing you. Having a BSN looks better on your resume and will open the door for you to move on in other educational areas and more opportunities.

Comparing cirriculum, BSN goes into much more depth with nursing overall....some ADN programs do not have specific patho & pharm classes either.

Go for the BSN