Accelerated BSN vs traditional BSN?

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Hello, I have my BS in biology and plan on applying for accelerated BSN programs this summer. I was curious if CRNA schools prefer students who went directly into a four year BSN over ones who chose the accelerated BSN program? How many of you did not take the traditional BSN route, and if so what was your previous undergrad major? Thanks in advance for any responses I greatly appreciate it!

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I can't speak for all programs, only mine. There are a significant percentage of people in my class who have accelerated BSN's. Comments I have heard--on one hand, if you can handle an accelerated BSN and get a good GPA, you show them you can perform academically in a very fast-paced program. On the other hand, some admissions committees aren't always too keen on people who go in to nursing just to become CRNA's, and they're the ones more likely to go thru an accelerated BSN program.

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Thank you for replying, I thought nobody would! I understand both sides of what youre saying, I was just hoping they would look at GPA, experience, etc.. as far as admissions goes and not just write you off because you didnt go straight to nursing to school. It sounds like in your program they might not always look too highly upon it, but you said there are significant people with accelerated BSNs so its not like theyre completely against either. Thank you again!

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The ABSN is the best choice for students with previous degrees who are able to immerse themselves in nursing for 12-14 months. Choose a program that has a high NCLEX pass rate, high student satisfaction ratings-- and most importantly-- one that meets your needs.

Western Carolina University has an accelerated program -- we are accepting our third class now. We offer small class sizes, committmet to student success, and a 100% NCLEX pass rate for our first class. Visit our website for more information. If you are a student with a previous baccalaureate degree with a GPA of 3.0 or above and are interested in nursing as a career, you may consider WCU as an option.

While we are very competitive (1:5 acceptance ratio), a new grant will allow us to accept more students next year. If you feel you are among the "best and the brightest" and want a career in nursing-- check out our website.

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They don't really look down on it in my program. But I guess I'd say they look a little harder at people's motivations to become a CRNA. If you're doing it mainly for the money, you might hate working in the ICU and you are not likely to be motivated enough through school to do what it takes to succeed. You have to love it to spend every waking moment thinking about anesthesia and give up sleep to have enough time for classes, studying and clinicals.

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Specializes in CRNA.

I don't think you are at an advantage or disadvantage with an accelerated BSN. It's a nonissue.

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Specializes in ICU, CRNA.

I was an accelerated BSN student who fielded some close questioning about my motivation and lack of clinical experience when I went in for my interview. As nurselizk mentioned, the strength of my academic acheivement before and through the BSN program made up for the lack of experience, as did clarity about my passion for anesthesia. This is just one of those gray areas that don't have an obvious right answer. Whatever path you take, do the best you can and remain clear about your motivation, and you should do fine.

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The ABSN is the best choice for students with previous degrees who are able to immerse themselves in nursing for 12-14 months. Choose a program that has a high NCLEX pass rate, high student satisfaction ratings-- and most importantly-- one that meets your needs.

Western Carolina University has an accelerated program -- we are accepting our third class now. We offer small class sizes, committmet to student success, and a 100% NCLEX pass rate for our first class. Visit our website for more information. If you are a student with a previous baccalaureate degree with a GPA of 3.0 or above and are interested in nursing as a career, you may consider WCU as an option.

While we are very competitive (1:5 acceptance ratio), a new grant will allow us to accept more students next year. If you feel you are among the "best and the brightest" and want a career in nursing-- check out our website.

I am very interested in this program and wanted to know if you had class profile information, ie avg GPA, test scores etc. I graduated from UNC Chapel Hill with a BA in Psychology and my GPA combined with my community college credits is a 3.3 and my Pre req's are a 4.0. Any extra information would be great!

Thanks,

Charles

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in an answer to one of the above posts above, also try and find the 'blog site' of the NUMEROUS unanswered or addressed problems students are having in the Western Carolina accelerated program. do your research.

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i also have a question about the absn program if anyone can help; is it true that you must have a ba to apply to western's absn program? the site states that the program is designed for bachelor’s prepared or post-baccalaureate individuals. also, the recent newsletter from western (http://www.wcu.edu/webfiles/pdfs/fall_2011_son_newsletter.pdf) noted that many (meaning not all) of the students in the graduating class had ba's.

"students in wcu’s absn program, many

of whom already hold a degree in another

field, complete a bachelor of science

degree in nursing in one year,"

i would gather from this statement that a ba is not required.

is this requirement in stone or are there exceptions? does anyone know?

the absn is the best program that would meet my needs, a shorter more condensed schedule since i won't be working, classes in town rather than an hour away, and a clinical assignment at the veteran's center, where i already have close contact with several nurses and administration.

since it's a bachelor’s program, i'm not sure why there's the prereq of having one already. at the start of the 2013 program i will have about 90 applicable credits. does anyone know what the curriculum difference in the absn program is as compared to the standard bsn? i cannot find the curriculum online and i'd like to make a comparison.

once i complete the bsn program i'll be moving on to my master's with a goal of a career as a family nurse practitioner. i'd love to be able to begin the master's program in 2014, but that would only happen with the accelerated program.

am i spinning my wheels trying to get into a program only available with a bach degree or do i have a chance?

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