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Discussion

ADN to BSN?

I'm currently an ADN with 4 years hospital experience. Recently changed jobs to a neuro unit that I love working on. I have a full time night nurses job, two kids in teenage years (one is two years from college), husband, house, dishes, laundry - life in general. This is my second career and I love floor nursing but as I get older I may try to transition to Dr. office nursing work (I'm 43 and still have a lot of energy for the floor right now, don't plan to change that soon). Right now I'm taking one class toward prerequisites to the BSN program. I already felt like my work schedule and homelife were exhausting, now with one added class I feel stressed and almost paralysed, like I'm not able to focus on any thing as there are too many different directions. I don't know how so many other people do it with a full time job and kids and a full class load - I feel like I'm taking away from my family with just one class. I also would like to pursue nursing CE's that directly improve my effectiveness on my unit, not a history class just so I can get into a BSN program. I guess my question is this - Is my ADN going to become obsolete even with years of experience. I have no desire to pursue a management career, been there and done that in my last career. I became a nurse for the patient care, not the career ladder. Will I find myself out of work, downgraded and pushed out of hospital nursing like so many of the good LVN's I know simply because I do not have a BSN? At the rate I am going with classes I will be in my 50's before I get a BSN anyway and I really need to know if sacrificing my time to exercise is worth the degree. Please advise.

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    Yes, it's possible that you may regret your decision if you don't go back to school. Not having the BSN will limit your career options in the future. Should you ever want to change jobs -- even to another entry level staff nurse position -- you may not be considered an attractive applicant without it. At the moment, my hospital will only hire ADN's (even experienced ones) if they promise to go back to school for their BSN within a set period of time.

    On the other hand, you may be working in a region of the country where there will be less competition for jobs and/or less emphasis on nursing education. You might be content in keeping the same job you have now for the rest of your life -- and they may never require you to go back to school.

    No one can know that for sure. No one can predict the future. But certainly, the trend over the decades has been for increased levels of nursing education to keep pace with the demands of the profession. No one is predicting that trend reversing in the foreseeable future. Your career options will probably become increasingly limited with time. But no one guarantee that will be the case.

    If you choose NOT to go to school right now, I strongly suggest that you save up money to do it later. I work with several people now who said all the same things in her 40's that you are saying now. Now in their mid-50's, they HAVING to go back to school to keep their jobs and struggling financially to do it quickly and efficiently. They now regret not incorporating school into their financial plans and saving up for it.

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    I am 49 years old and just graduated from University of Phoenix with a BSN. I went back to school a little less than two years ago. I am so glad that I went back. I am so much more knowledgeable that I was with just my ADN. So much of this is skipped over in ADN school or touched on lightly. I attended online and went fulltime. In this program you take one class at a time. Most of the classes last for 5 or 6 weeks. You can even do your prereqs through them. All textbooks are electronic reading which means you can read them online. You ma purchase them if you like. Some of the books I purchased. They are very friendly and the advisors are very helpful and very interested in you and your learning. In fact, when you need that peptalk and maybe a little push they are there if you call on them. You have three advisors: student advisor, enrollment advisor, and financial advisor, and towards the end and, alumni advisor. They are all there to see that you graduate and help you in any way. I have recently enrolled at Georgetown University for their full time MSN FNP program. Although at UOP I was able to work full time and go to school fulltime , I am not sure if I will be able to remain working full time. The master's classes are a little harder than the BSN classes. Good luck to you!

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    Llg is right, it just depends on where you live. My hospital will only hire ADN's with the stipulation that they have their BSN completed within 24 months of hire. Even then, all positions are BSN preferred, and the new grad residencies are BSN required. It certainly seems to be the way things are going. Might be better to start sooner rather than later, unless you intend to retire at the facility you currently work at.

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    My hospital is now starting the process of becoming a magnet facility so they are encouraging all current RNs to get a BSN degree. They are offering scholarships at least

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