ABSN 1 year v.s. 2 Years

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Hi!,

I am trying to decide one which ABSN program I want to go to. One school is 1 year and other is 2 years. I really like both schools, but my only concern is that I'm afraid 1 year would be too short and I wouldn't feel fully prepared for the real world. Has anyone graduated from a 1 year ABSN program feeling confident that they were prepared to start working as an RN? I know this may sound silly, but I want to make sure I will feel confident enough to be the best nurse I can be.

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Specializes in Rehab, Ortho-Spine, Med-Surg, & Psych.

Hello,

Which schools are these? I'd like to take a look at their curriculum before offering an opinion.

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Specializes in NICU.

I did a 15 month ABSN program and had a 135 hour senior practicum in NICU. It gave me a head start when I got my first job in the NICU. So, in my case I felt that the ABSN program prepared me for my first job. It definitely prepared me for the NCLEX. 15/29 of my cohort passed NCLEX at 75 questions with a 100% pass rate for the cohort.

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Specializes in mental health / psychiatic nursing.

I also did a 15 month ABSN program with a 280 hour practicum/capstone (this was min hours, some students had well over 300 hours). To my knowledge all students passed the NCLEX on first attempt, and everyone received job offers with in a few months of graduation. Those that I've kept in touch with seem to be doing well as new nurses, though being a new nurse is still a steep learning curve and all of us feel like we struggle more some days than others. This is something we were warned about and it a common feature of being a new nurse no matter what program you go to.

I don't see a huge advantage to completing a 2 year ABSN because going to a regular BSN program as a post-bacc student is typically 2 years so you aren't saving time and are potentially spending quite a bit more money.

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Specializes in Critical care.

I completed an ABSN program that was less than 1 year. I didn't have a capstone, but that didn't cause me any issues. I passed the NCLEX in less than hour with 75 questions about a week after graduation. Many of my classmates did the same. I spent 1.5 years on a tele unit, which I was hired onto within a month of graduating, then moved on to ICU.

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Thank you everyone for your advise! I feel confident about the 1 year program now :)

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