1) Did you feel prepared to work as an RN after graduating?
2) Would you do an accelerated BSN again if you were to do it over again?
3) Will it be possible to work at least one day during the weekends?
4) How many days of clinicals do you have?
5) Did you have any time for social life?
1. I felt well prepared to work as an RN after my Accelerated BSN program. I've been out for 21 years. My program was one of the first in the nation and has now been around for 30 years!
2. I'd do the program I went to again (Creighton). They took excellent care of me and made sure I had the best possible clinical experiences. It was very hard work but I was self supporting and there was no way I could go more than 1 year without working.
3. I'd strongly advise not working during an accelerated program. At least at my school, everyone who tried to work and do the program either dropped out or quit the job.
4. During some of my program, I had clinicals 5 days a week. The beginning 6 weeks was more classroom intensive.
5. During my 12 month program, I got married and we traveled to Wyoming on a break. Otherwise, my social life consisted of small gatherings with fellow students. We were all far from home.
I have to emphasize what was told to me....accelerated programs are not for the faint of heart....they are "no stumbles" environments. There really is no time to make up for a loss of participation. People who had small children and sketchy day care really struggled. The 2 women in my class who got pregnant dropped out.
My class was hyper competitive grade-wise. Much more so than the traditional students. We had 4.0 people not make the honor society (admission is much easier now....rule changes).
Bets wishes to the OP and all who take this route. It can be very rewarding.
This thread is from 2004, but is probably still relevant to anyone considering an ABSN so I'll answer anyways. First of all, I suggest thorough research before you even apply anywhere, especially if you are willing/able to move for school. I wouldn't attend my current program again if I had a choice, but I would move back to my previous program in an instant (my first school flooded in Katrina, then my husband got transferred for work). The problem I have with my current program: I signed up for an accelerated program, and didn't get one. After we completed summer semester, supposedly our first of four - and many students had turned down acceptances to other schools - we get an e-mail saying that the faculty has decided that we will divide the last semester in half - take 7 credits next summer and 8 next fall. There is a lot of restructuring going on in our program, and we get to be the ones to suffer. Now we attend for the same 5 semesters that the regular students do, but they don't have class next summer, and our spring semester is really intense. Too late to do anything about it now though, I've already gone through the arduous process of establishing residency in this state.
To answer the OP's questions:
1) While I haven't begun to practice as an RN, I know that my school has the best reputation in my area as well as the highest NCLEX pass rate (only one person didn't pass on his/her first try out of the last graduating class). Since we have exactly the same curriculum as the regular students, there should be no stigma attached to being "accelerated."
2) Yes, and probably even at this school, since I will still graduate more quickly than I would have at any other program in my area - including ADN. If I had a choice however, I would get the curriculum in WRITING and confirm it with someone else in administration/advising - I wouldn't have wanted to pack up and move here just for the program only to have it change on me.
3) I work most Fridays and Saturday days at a bar, and it hasn't been a problem yet. I am planning on quitting soon, but I might try to find something I can do PRN at a hospital instead.
4) We don't do clinicals our first semester. This semester we have them once a week, next semester twice, and summer was supposed to be 3 days. Now that they've extended it, it's probably just 1-2 for the last two semesters.
5) My husband and I go out and do something fun at least one night/week, often twice. Again, my program is only barely accelerated. However, if I can work two days and go out two nights, all while making As, you should be able to sacrifice only one of those things in a real accelerated program and still do OK. I wouldn't plan on working 40 hours, partying 5 nights a week, keeping up with all the reality shows, and still passing, but you don't have to give up everything.
Quickbeam, BSN, RN
1,011 Posts
1. I felt well prepared to work as an RN after my Accelerated BSN program. I've been out for 21 years. My program was one of the first in the nation and has now been around for 30 years!
2. I'd do the program I went to again (Creighton). They took excellent care of me and made sure I had the best possible clinical experiences. It was very hard work but I was self supporting and there was no way I could go more than 1 year without working.
3. I'd strongly advise not working during an accelerated program. At least at my school, everyone who tried to work and do the program either dropped out or quit the job.
4. During some of my program, I had clinicals 5 days a week. The beginning 6 weeks was more classroom intensive.
5. During my 12 month program, I got married and we traveled to Wyoming on a break. Otherwise, my social life consisted of small gatherings with fellow students. We were all far from home.
I have to emphasize what was told to me....accelerated programs are not for the faint of heart....they are "no stumbles" environments. There really is no time to make up for a loss of participation. People who had small children and sketchy day care really struggled. The 2 women in my class who got pregnant dropped out.
My class was hyper competitive grade-wise. Much more so than the traditional students. We had 4.0 people not make the honor society (admission is much easier now....rule changes).
Bets wishes to the OP and all who take this route. It can be very rewarding.