A.D.N. want to diversify.

[Constellation101]

i am getting ready to graduate with my a.d.n. and i need some sound advice on what areas would be best to pursue an undergraduate degree in. i don't want to get my bsn, instead i want to become more attractive to the political/business side of the profession. any ideas on what area would be best to pursue my undergrad in? i have talked to several different educational counselors and they seem to be clueless. some say with a nursing background health administration would be good and would give me vast opportunities outside of the traditional rn advancement roles. please help! i'm trying to format my 3 year plan and need other point of views.

[PurpleLVN]

i am getting ready to graduate with my a.d.n. and i need some sound advice on what areas would be best to pursue an undergraduate degree in. i don't want to get my bsn, instead i want to become more attractive to the political/business side of the profession. any ideas on what area would be best to pursue my undergrad in? i have talked to several different educational counselors and they seem to be clueless. some say with a nursing background health administration would be good and would give me vast opportunities outside of the traditional rn advancement roles. please help! i'm trying to format my 3 year plan and need other point of views.

i googled "political and business side of nursing" and a lot of info came up. i saw a book at barnes and noble titled "nursing today" by jo carol claborn, seems very interesting abt the subject. hope this helps.

thanks for the question b/c i'm applying to an adn program and want to know about different options for myself as well!!! good luck!!

[llg, PhD, RN]

What type of career path interests you exactly? The "political and business side" is pretty vague. You might want to think that through a bit before making a decision. If you want jobs in which you will be thought of as a "representative" of the nursing profession, you might need at least a BSN in nursing rather than swithing to another discipline at that level. If you really want to pursue another discipline, you might want to wait until the graduate level -- or double-major at the bachelor's level.

If you are interested in an administration job -- such as director of unit, etc. remember that the new Magnet guidelines call for all nurse managers to have at least a BSN -- and say that they are moving towards requiring a master's degree (but not necessarily and MSN) in the future. So ... if administrative jobs in nursing interest you, you should be getting that BSN.

If you want to be a hospital administrator, then that is a different career path -- and a degree in Health Services Administration or something like that would be valuable. If you want to run your own business, then you might want to look into business degrees. etc. etc. etc.

I think the first step for you is to clarify your career goals a bit before you committ a lot of resources into additional academic preparation.

[elkpark]

There are v. few non-nursing degrees that will benefit you within nursing more than additional nursing degrees will.

[SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN]

the above posters are correct. if you wish to get an advanced degree that is non-nursing go for an mba! this will help you to move into business management after some years of experience. also, get at least a bsn to compliment your mba. if you want to move into politics as a nurse, you may wish to join nursing organizations and work your way up the food chain. it is not hard if you are a good volunteer. gl!