Accelerated Programs

Grumble88 · Sep 9, 2016

Accelerated RN programs? I suppose it depends on the individual, but I don't see any point to spending extra time in school. Nursing school prepares you to take the NCLEX and be minimally competent, you learn how to be a real nurse your first year in the job.

Meeshie · Sep 9, 2016

Depends on the school, the cost, and your own personal learning style. Can you do most of your learning on your own? Cramming 16 weeks worth of information into 8 weeks requires you to do a lot of the work on your own. There's no other way it's possible.

**NICU Guy, BSN, RN** · Sep 9, 2016

I just want to know for a backup plan, if going into an accredited accelerated program would be a good idea.

I am confused. How is an accelerated program a back-up plan? Do you have a Bachelor's degree in a non-nursing field? Accelerated programs are just as competitive as traditional ASN/BSN nursing programs.

Is an accelerated BSN worth it? Yes, it shaved off 9 months of nursing school (15 months vs 24 months).

crazydoglady89 · Sep 9, 2016

Unless your only ABSN option in the area is private/very expensive, I can't see why you WOULDN'T take this route.

My friend with 2 children (already a BS degree holder in another field) DID end up getting her AS first because it was easier with her children (the AS programs can often be found part time, flexible or lower credits per semester, at least around here). It took her longer to get her BSN of course, but that was her trade off and it worked out fine. She's still a nurse.

gypsierose · Sep 9, 2016

Most of the accelerated programs where I am are very expensive. I chose an ADN program to save money. If you're even a little poor, there are funding programs (here anyway in WA state). It adds another year to my BSN hopes, though, so its a bit of a wash in the long run. I believe there is no wrong way to do it!

**NICU Guy, BSN, RN** · Sep 9, 2016

Most of the accelerated programs where I am are very expensive.

That could be true. I was fortunate to go to a state university's ABSN program. It cost me $20k $5k/semester) plus books/supplies/scrubs.

J Friday · Sep 10, 2016

I just completed the Accelerated BSN @ CSULB. There are pros and cons. Always remember that your GPA will be hurt dramatically by a B or C in a 6-unit class... so be able to handle a lot, and be comfortable in your anatomy/physio/patho knowledge if you want to try and complete some of these courses successfully in 10-12 weeks.

PRO: FINISH FAST !!! Everyone that chose the Semester (regular) program is still in school for another year, and I just took my NCLEX. You cannot beat that feeling. They are also taking classes that could only take a few weeks, but are now stretched out for an entire 16-17 weeks.

CON: SPEND GRANTS/LOAN PAYMENTS CAREFULLY!!! The worst thing that I found was not getting student loans for summer sessions. The money dispersed yearly for grants/loans is supposed to be for Fall and Spring, so you have to cover Summer with that same amount. This means you have to make sure to not spend the "extra money," or risk paying out of pocket during the summer. I ended up paying for my final semester out of pocket because I had used up all my grants/loans and didn't realize it. I was given enough to pay for summer, but I spent it thinking I could get more...

The good thing is that I won't have that amount added to my principle loan balance.

Also, you do not have summers off (you do get winter break)... which is hard for some people, but I'd rather be done and move on than say I got a long summer break.

Axgrinder · Sep 12, 2016

My husband just completed an accelerated COTA program, so I'm just going off of accelerated programs in general: from my perspective it was like watching someone eat a whole turkey in one bite. Because it was faster, there was an awful lot of content squeezed in. He worked extra, extra hard, but it paid off.

carolinapooh, BSN, RN · Sep 13, 2016

Depends on the school, the cost, and your own personal learning style. Can you do most of your learning on your own? Cramming 16 weeks worth of information into 8 weeks requires you to do a lot of the work on your own. There's no other way it's possible.

Not quite. In some cases "accelerated" is almost a misnomer.

The actual core of nursing school for a BSN is about 18-24 months. I did it in 16 by going all year round with only six weeks off over three regular semesters and two summer sessions.

The time in class was pretty much the same. I actually had more clinical hours, though, than the "traditional" four year BSNs down the road (nursing school is really only the last two years!) did when they graduated.

I already had a bachelor's degree and therefore didn't need the first two years of general classes. I took four prereqs at a community college and then went to the ABSN program.

I didn't do a lot of the work on my own - I was in class pretty much five days a week. I had no night classes. I was home by four PM every day unless I had a clinical at night - and I only had that once during the first summer session. And my community health clinical was in Barbados at the polyclinics (an option I picked and was able to choose, yes, and the regular option also existed).

Every ABSN is a bit different.

carolinapooh, BSN, RN · Sep 13, 2016

Wanted to add that when I was looking at ABSNs vs. the "traditional" BSN in my area, I noticed that the only thing stopping someone from doing "regular" RN school by the "accelerated" method was a structured order of classes that, to me, needed no structured order. I don't mean classes that obviously have to be in order (like a Med-Surg I and II), I mean like forcing you to take Nursing Research after a cross-cultural class, or Peds after OB. So what? The order for that stuff really isn't relevant.

J Friday · Sep 16, 2016

I think the order, in my case, was structured well. And the last classes being (easier) Leadership and Research were great because it allowed us to focus on our Preceptorship and preparing for the NCLEX. Classes like OB and Peds were earlier because they were part of the core nursing lecture/clinical path. I do not think Leadership and Research HAD to be after other courses, but it was a much BETTER choice for the final semester students because you had bigger fish to fry at the end.

And about the overall length of traditional vs accelerated....

I already took my NCLEX, and the people who started the same semester have another YEAR to go,,,, so ,,,, much faster!

We also finished the same 14-16 unit semesters in 10 weeks as opposed to 17 weeks, and we were not given any breaks on workload--as it was our choice to challenge ourselves and finish MUCH faster. This meant we were in SINGLE lectures from 4-6 hours per day along with other daily classes/clinicals/preceptorship. This caused a few people to fail classes and have to be switched over to the traditional program because they couldn't hang. (not they they were bad students, but the pressure, heavy workload, and no breaks got to them)

Everyone had the exact same amount of clinical hours because those are non-negotiable and have minimum hour requirements regardless of the program in which you enrolled.