Last year I graduate with a Bachelor of Social Work degree (it will be 1 year in August) & I have yet to secure employment. Medical social work the niche I found through my undergraduate internship in a medical center & working as the SW intern for the inpatient rehabilitation unit. During this time I witnessed:
SWs being replaced by RN case managers
How much patient contact nurses have compared to SWs
The diversity of the nursing profession
Nurses run the hospital!
I see myself as an advocate for health care & patients. I love working with the underserved populations (elderly, poor, minorities, etc.) and am interested in health promotion, preventative health, transplantation, patient education, working in primary care or community settings. I don't think that SW or having an MSW will provide the best foundation for pursuing my interests & the passions of my heart (to serve others) and am considering bypassing the graduate program in SW to pursue an Associate's Degree in Nursing--even though I was accepted into the 1 year advanced standing MSW program & the ADN would take 2 years. I would have to finance the ADN on my own.
QUESTIONS:
Since I have a 4 yr degree is the ADN a good option?
How are RNs with BAs in other fields viewed in the workplace?
I don't know if anyone is still following this thread! But I decided to pursue the MSW thinking that it would broaden my prospects (beyond that available to those with undergraduate degrees). I graduate in May '09 after doing an internship at a large urban hospital in Washington, DC on the oncology unit I knew that I had chosen the wrong path. So here I am nearly 2 years later preparing to pursue a career in nursing! In some ways I think, "Darn what a waste of time!" but without experience as an oncology social worker (in which I felt I had very limited impact on patient care aside from connecting them to resources in the community that may or may not meet their needs, arranging hospice care, and filling out paper work that other professional's should have been doing). Moreover, I crave more patient contact and want to provide more hands on care. In case someone comes across this thread considering similar changes (i.e. leaving one field for nursing) I want to say DO IT! I have thought about nursing too many times & for various reasons (people telling me to do something else, fear of embarrassment (I already have undergraduate degree I should be advancing to a graduate degree not a second degree BSN or ADN/ASN. . .). Ironically, at 18 beginning in junior college it was my major but I changed it to pursue a 4 year degree. . .here I am two degrees later & at age 26 pursuing a degree in nursing (Ultimately going for the DSN so that I can teach as clinical faculty).
Thanks everyone for all the advice & encouragement posted here. I have been looking it over as I begin what I started in '08! Cannot wait to join the ranks of nurses & to mentor others in the future!
I have BSW from many years ago. I completed a second Bachelors degree in nursing. Many colleges and universities have specific programs for second degree candidates. There are also several accelerated programs that require a Bachelors in something else. Personally, I chose a second Bachelors over a ADN because in the same amount of time I could received my BSN as a ADN. It depends on what your career goals are. I want my MSN and probably my DNP, so the second Bachelors was the correct route for me.
There is a lot of social work in nursing and it is a great pairing. You could do both in a hospital and kick butt.
Best of luck to you in your decision. I hope to see you in the world of nurses (if nmedical social work is your calling).
Womanonajourney1983
7 Posts
I don't know if anyone is still following this thread! But I decided to pursue the MSW thinking that it would broaden my prospects (beyond that available to those with undergraduate degrees). I graduate in May '09 after doing an internship at a large urban hospital in Washington, DC on the oncology unit I knew that I had chosen the wrong path. So here I am nearly 2 years later preparing to pursue a career in nursing! In some ways I think, "Darn what a waste of time!" but without experience as an oncology social worker (in which I felt I had very limited impact on patient care aside from connecting them to resources in the community that may or may not meet their needs, arranging hospice care, and filling out paper work that other professional's should have been doing). Moreover, I crave more patient contact and want to provide more hands on care. In case someone comes across this thread considering similar changes (i.e. leaving one field for nursing) I want to say DO IT! I have thought about nursing too many times & for various reasons (people telling me to do something else, fear of embarrassment (I already have undergraduate degree I should be advancing to a graduate degree not a second degree BSN or ADN/ASN. . .). Ironically, at 18 beginning in junior college it was my major but I changed it to pursue a 4 year degree. . .here I am two degrees later & at age 26 pursuing a degree in nursing (Ultimately going for the DSN so that I can teach as clinical faculty).
Thanks everyone for all the advice & encouragement posted here. I have been looking it over as I begin what I started in '08! Cannot wait to join the ranks of nurses & to mentor others in the future!