AAS to BSN?

madwife2002, BSN, RN · Feb 14, 2015

Welcome to allnurses!

Ambitious24 · Feb 14, 2015

Thanks for the warm welcome

Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN · Feb 15, 2015

Welcome to AN! The best thing to do is to check with the university you're applying to. It's possible that some will transfer, but probably not all.

My background--I put 2 years into a music degree at a liberal arts college before transferring to a tech school to get my AAS in nursing (my first school was WAY too expensive for a nursing degree! I chose it solely for its music program.) Now many years later, I'm almost finished with my RN-to-BSN completion program at a state university.

I had many music classes, some history, English, religion, a couple semesters of Latin and higher math, etc. that transferred, satisfying most of my general ed requirements. My current school has requirements about how many credits must be 300-level classes and above, but altogether I only had to take 3 specific classes which were prerequisites for the nursing program, and 3 general ed classes. The intro psych, developmental, and soc classes, as well as the science classes required for my AAS transferred also.

And then my tech school waived the basic nursing skills lab because I was already a CNA at the time; and I was able to test out of the medical terminology class (yay for those two semesters of Latin!! lol)

I still had to complete 100% of my RN-to-BSN classes right along with my cohort though, despite a couple of them--health assessment and pathophysiology--being part of my AAS program. My guess is that your classes specifically for medical assisting (vs. general eds taken by all students) will not satisfy requirements for a nursing program, since the content is different.

That's just my experience, though. Someone with academic advising at the university should be able to help you.

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Feb 16, 2015

It depends - on the type of educational program you were in. If you were in a 'clock hour' program like most vocational programs, it is unlikely that any of the 'credits' will transfer because the school did not have regional accreditation. Even if this is the case, you may be able to CLEP some courses you've taken and receive college credit for them. An admissions advisor can tell you for sure.

Don't let this get you down. If you do have to repeat some of your courses, you'll probably make very good grades & a high GPA will give you many more options for your nursing education. Wishing you the best of luck!

estrellaCR, BSN, RN · Feb 25, 2015

Your credits should transfer as long as your school is accredited and the classes from the medical assisting program match the classes that are offered in the Bachelor's degree program.. Also you mention your main interest is being an ultrasound technician. Its a good field and if that's what you are passionate about that, then go for it. If you dont really like nursing but think is easy to get hired, think again. Depends on where in the US you are located...it is very difficult for a new RN with no experience to get hired. Google "Ultrasound Technician" and your city and/or state to locate programs. Usually public universities or tech institutes offer this major and you may be able to get financial aid.

An ultrasound tech is not a nurse and nursing school education will not qualify you for an ultrasound tech job. You would have to go to a program for Ultrasound Technicians.

I say its best to go for the field you are most passionate about. If you do something you love, you will never feel like you are working a day in your life. How nice is that? Liking what you AND getting paid at the same time.

bdaitch · Jan 22, 2016

I completed my AAS in Medical Assisting 5 years ago. After entering the field, I knew that I wanted to continue my education. Unfortunately, some of your core classes will transfer but none of the field specific labs or classes from Medical Assisting are applicable to a BSN. I took a 8 hour/wk A & P class and had to redo that in the form of A&P 1 and 2 which were 4 hours/week. Even some of the classes that seemed very comparable were unable to transfer. Because of the core classes I had it will only take me 2.5 years to finish my BSN. Make sure you do a BSN and not AAS or ADN in nursing because most hospitals are no longer hiring 2 year RN's. There is a hospital status called MAGNET and it requires that they phase out all 2 year RN's. If you strictly want to do a clinical office setting then 2 year RN may suffice... Do it while you are young! haha I am almost 30 and had to work through all of this on my own. Granted I was able to work with some great physicians and surgeons along the way but I wish I had started at your age!