ADN or ABSN or Direct Entry MSN (with prior bachelors)

[jaye927]

Hello everyone!

I need as much help as possible as soon as possible. I am currently in my last semester to graduate in with a Bachelors of Science in University Studies with an emphasis in Biology. I graduate next month. I originally wanted to go to medical school, but I don't think that lifestyle is exactly what I want. I would have to sacrifice a lot from my personal life and finances in order to reach that. My ultimate goal is to become a Family Nurse Practitioner, but I am unsure what is the best cost opportunity for myself with my current debt. I'm 22 and I'm married, so we still have to pay for two more semesters of my wife's schooling online (around $2,500 each semester). I also have $25,000 in student loan debt for my entire bachelors degree. I want the quickest way possible to become an FNP, but I also want to pay the least amount that I can. I have all the pre-reqs for any kind of nursing school and will end my bachelors with a 3.4 GPA. I have not taken the HESI yet and will be taking it soon. I've been looking into 3 kinds of programs ADN, ABSN, or Direct-Entry MSN. I will be living in rural town in AZ with my wife and this area is popular for hiring nurses with ADN's, so that won't be an issue finding a job. I am going to be doing a CNA program starting in January and ends in March. After that I plan on working as a CNA until I get into one of the programs.

Pros:

ADN: cost is $8000 total, can work during the program, is a local community college to where we will be living at

ABSN: faster than ADN, 12-15 months, finish with Bachelors

Direct-Entry MSN: Will end up with a Masters as a CNL after 15 months and can practice as an RN and then simply get a certificate as FNP (15 months); probably the fastest to reach final goal

Cons:

ADN: 2 year program (longer than other two)

ABSN: much more expensive than ADN (cost anywhere between $50,000-70,000), have to move to new location, cannot work during program

Direct-Entry MSN: Just as expensive as ABSN if not even more, end up as Clinical Nurse Leader (which I'm not interested at all in doing), cannot work during program, have to move to new location

**With all 3 I'll need to practice as an RN at least for a year after graduation to get experience and then move on to either NP school or get an NP certificate.

So far the best option that I think is the ADN because I save in expenses, save time from moving and having to live off of student loans. Unfortunately it is longer than all the other options, when I could be done sooner and start working as an RN quicker. After practicing for a year I can do an online RN to MSN program which will cost around $35,000 and that will get me my MSN (FNP). I really would love to hear your opinions on what you guys would do in my situation. Thanks!!

[llg, PhD, RN]

I had trouble deciding between the ADN and the Direct entry MSN option. Both seem good to me, depending on the quality of the schools involved. If the schools for one option are of better quality than the other, I would choose the path with the better quality schools.

You didn't mention quality in your original post -- but I think that is more important than a lot of students think.

[JBMmom, MSN, NP]

Good luck finding what's best for you (I don't think other people can really assess that best), but be prepared for some backlash on your statement "I want the quickest way possible to become an FNP, but I also want to pay the least amount that I can". As someone that obviously doesn't have any nursing experience yet, your motivation to bypass the entry level nursing stuff and move right to the advanced part, will be questioned by many. Good luck.

[dishes, BSN, RN]

You're only twenty two, you have plenty of time to reach your ultimate goal. Going the route that will incur the least debt, working and paying down the debt as you go, will be the less stressful than miring yourself in debt. There have been posters who found out after the fact that some employers will not hire them as NPs because did not have previous nursing experience. Also some employers would not hire them as RNs because they were overqualified and would leave the staff nurse position at the first opportunity.

[BCgradnurse, MSN, RN, NP]

You're only twenty two, you have plenty of time to reach your ultimate goal. Going the route that will incur the least debt, working and paying down the debt as you go, will be the less stressful than miring yourself in debt. There have been posters who found out after the fact that some employers will not hire them as NPs because did not have previous nursing experience. Also some employers would not hire them as RNs because they were overqualified and would leave the staff nurse position at the first opportunity.

I agree that incurring as little debt as possible is the right thing to do. You're very young and you don't want to cripple yourself with massive student loans. I went the Direct Entry route, but did a NP program. If you want to be a NP, I wouldn't even bother with the CNL MSN. Find a MSN-NP program so you don't have to do an extra 15 months. I had no trouble finding a job after graduating. Employers didn't care about my lack of RN experience. They were only concerned about my status as a new grad NP and lack of NP experience.

I was 45 when I went back to nursing school. I had a lot of work and life experience that helped me be successful. I'm not sure I would advise any 22 year old to jump straight into a grad program of any type. Take a year or two off, work and save some money. Then either look into a Direct Entry NP program or start working on your ADN. There are programs that will bridge you from ADN to MSN.

Whatever you decide, choose a quality program. Quality does not necessarily mean the most expensive.

Best of luck to you.