ADN or BSN?

brainkandy87 · Mar 15, 2012

I was in the same boat as you. I had a B.A. prior to starting nursing school. I ended up going the ADN route because I was accepted to a program I had been accepted into a few years earlier, prior to getting a B.A. One of my friends I graduated nursing school with and ended up working with is currently doing her ADN-BSN program and honestly, I'll never do it for a few reasons, one of them being that I've been through the process of getting a Bachelor's. In my opinion, there's no point in getting a BSN unless you plan on moving on to NP, CRNA, or wanting to get into administration.

If you get into a straight up BSN program, great. I think that's a great track for someone who doesn't already hold a degree. For you, I think an ADN program would be better. It will be cheaper and you will get to your goal much faster.

ginaw623 · Mar 15, 2012

thanks :) good to know others have been in my situation

ginaw623 · Mar 16, 2012

How long did that ADN take you with a previous bachelor's?

hiddencatRN, BSN, RN · Mar 16, 2012

Are you sure the ADN would take you a year or less to complete? Does that school offer an accelerated option?

I was a second degree student and the ADN would have taken me longer to complete than the accelerated BSN. My area also has a strong hiring preference for BSNs so I went that route.

brainkandy87 · Mar 16, 2012

ADN was still a two year program, there's no cutting down the time on nursing classes unless it's an accelerated program (which I'd rather commit suicide than do, lol).

sbostonRN · Mar 16, 2012

I was in the same boat and went with the ADN program. It took me about 3 years part-time because I worked through it. The good thing about my choice is that I was able to work full-time throughout school and got a really great education at a decent price. The bad is that I was severely limited to unappealing job options after graduating. There are many days where I wish I had gone the BSN route. If you live in an area with a lot of other nursing schools, you may want to get the BSN to be more competitive. People in more rural areas have a better chance of getting a good job with an ADN.

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Mar 17, 2012

I'm unaware of a nursing program (RN) that would take less than two years of clinical time. Do you have knowledge of a specific program that would cram 2 years into one? And if that's the case....CAN you still do all the nursing curriculum AND the clinicals in only one year for the ADN?

brainkandy87 · Mar 17, 2012

Worked with a nurse that did a one year RN program in Kansas City. Can't remember the name. But it was 8 hours a day, every day. No way I'd ever subject anyone to that kind of punishment.

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Mar 17, 2012

Worked with a nurse that did a one year RN program in Kansas City. Can't remember the name. But it was 8 hours a day, every day. No way I'd ever subject anyone to that kind of punishment.

Ouch. I imagine the eight hours would be a combination of clinical time some days, labs and lectures other days...and somewhere in there have to put in the out-of-class, out-of-lab skills time? Not pretty. I appreciate the desire to do it in less calendar time, but that just seems insane. But hey, maybe if you're in your early twenties, don't have spouse and kids, it might be a better plan than for others. With a family....can't see it.

hiddencatRN, BSN, RN · Mar 17, 2012

Well, everyone is different. My BSN program was 12 months and there were many folks with families in each cohort. I actually thought being married without kids made it a lot easier in some ways because my husband could provide income for that year.

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN · Mar 17, 2012

consider looking into a bachelor's-in-anything-to-mn program. i don't know if you can do a np program like that, but there are a number of those around. ask.

you could also go over to the advanced practice nurse board and ask around there.(see "apn" in the top margin above)