ADN students that already hold a bachelor's

kimtab · May 18, 2004

I just graduated Thursday with an ADN and I had a job offer on Friday. Finding a job with an ADN isn't a problem. Nursing administration might be a different issue but if you want to be on the floor working with patients they will be happy to take you with your ADN.

Kim

agent · May 18, 2004

Thanks John,

and thanks to all you guys.

John and I must work for a similar company :)

chiliwings · May 18, 2004

Hi.. I took will be jumping ship from IT to nursing.. I just started with my pre-reqs this quarter. I would really appreciate if I can have of your opinions in this thread that I started as I am gathering opinions from ex-computer people who decided to pursue nursing.

Thanks!

https://allnurses.com/forums/showthread.php?t=61843

Agent:
- I currently hold BS-Applied Math, BS-Comp Sci, and MS-Comp Sci. Yes, 8 yrs of college.

Paleobug · May 18, 2004

I have a BS and a MBA. Where I live, a person who has an ADN has just as many job opportunities and the pay is the same as someone with a BSN. Eventually, I would like to do a bridge to a MSN.

redwinggirlie · May 18, 2004

Who cares? Don't mean anything mean about that, but ADN or BSN means NADA if you don't give the stuff people need. That's what it is all about. Good luck to you.

ChrisA · May 18, 2004

Sheesh. So I've been sort of planning this whole time that I'd go for a Direct Entry Masters, but if the accel. BSN is as stressful as you're all making it sound, can the direct entry MSN be much off that mark? My girlfriend quite likes seeing my face, and she's planning to move with me to whereever I get in. I'd hate to have her move all that way only to see me for 4 minutes a week!

Hmm... back to the Peterson's guide.

chris_at_lucas_RN, RN · May 18, 2004

I had a BA and an MA and was (still am) a licensed professional in an "allied health care" field.

I didn't have the option of moving, didn't want to even if I could have. I opted for the ADN program because that was what was available and because I figured, how difficult can it be? After all, the ADN program is (or should be) designed for people without other degrees.

The material was very manageable, the headaches came from the personality disorders of the administrators. From what I have read, my program was not at all unique. How very unfortunate! I watched some competent people go down on technicalities!

As far as whether the accelerated program will be "too much," I would not accept the word of anyone who is not in the specific program in which you are interested. Find one (or more) of those, preferably recent graduates--they know what it takes to succeed, and sit down with them, look at the material they covered in a set period of time, and find out just what their lives were like.

You still won't know how you will react and respond! When I transferred to my nontrad program, I heard a lot of moans (online, of course) about how hard everything was, and how long it all took. That was enough to scare me! (I tend to be a bit of a wuss at times.) I finally pulled myself together, prepared for and aced my first exam the end of January and finished the last of 7 the end of April. (But I had dickey-doo'ed around from August to January, panicking!)

My point is, you don't know what you will have to put in. If it was me, I'd include your girlfriend in the research--you will have to eat and sleep sometime, and the odds are good that she will see you more than 4 minutes a week, but she might not have your complete and undivided attention as often or for as long as she might like.

If the accelerated program fits in with your (plural) long range goals, then I wouldn't let anyone else's experience keep you from doing that.

Good luck!

AmyLiz · May 18, 2004

Sounds like I've got the same plans as John.

I've got a Bachelors in Psychology and started working toward an ADN a year ago. My current gameplan is to graduate from the community college that I am attending, then transfer to a nursing job from my current dialysis technician job and continue on with an RN-BSN completion program. After I complete that & have that BSN in my hot little hand, I'll look toward graduate school. I've been leaning toward anesthesia since I started this journey, but am keeping my options open. I do know that I want to have an advanced degree of some sort, though.

TLC RN · May 18, 2004

I have to agree with chris_at_lucas. Check with people in the programs you are looking at. I talked to many people that went to Drexel and Creighton and they were all honest about the time constraints. I have a 4 year old son and am a single parent and they said it was possible for me to do it. I currently am deciding between a program in my home state which is a 16 month long accelerated BSN program. The schedule is pretty light the first semester and we only go to class or clinical 4 days a week the first term. The advisors said they do not recommend people working but if we talked to current students we would find some that say you can work and others who say they could not work.

Check with people each of the programs.

Havin' A Party!, ASN, RN · May 18, 2004

Absolutely no plans to do the "BSN thang."

Have a BS in engineering and a master's in administrative management. Also tons of continuing education and other informal training in several non-nursing, though technical areas.

Agree with the previous posters that the BSN isn't the only way, especially if you've got another technical degree.

Moreover, non-traditional, professional backgrounds bring to nursing something special that most others don't.

HillaryC, RN, CRNA · May 19, 2004

I got my B.A. in Psychology and Education in '99, and I've just finished my A.S. in Nursing at my local community college. I'm so happy I went the route I did. This program has enabled me to start working as an RN at least a year earlier than I could have if I'd tried to do a second degree program. I would have had to do at least a year of prerequisites before I could have even applied to a second degree BSN program, and even then there wasn't any guarantee I would have gotten in (my grades for my first degree were mediocre). This program has been a great bargain compared to the local universities ($20K+/year); I spent enough money on my first degree -- I really wasn't interested in spending tens of thousands again. I am applying to go straight into an RN to MS program in the fall (part-time), and I expect to get much of it reimbursed by my employer (by the way, I had no problem getting a great job). When all is said and done, I expect to have my Master's in Nursing, while having spent a lot less money on my tuition, and with an extra year of RN experience. I'm just grateful I got into this program. Because it's such a great deal and has a good reputation, it's become extremely competitive.

Take care,

Hillary

If you already hold a bachelor's and are working to become an RN, are you concerned about getting hired without a BSN?
What are your plans going forward in your nursing studies?
I'd love to hear your thoughts.

PHM · May 19, 2004

MA in Poli Sci, BS in Business, AA in Mgt, and AS in aircraft electronics and just finished my ADN.

Numerous programs out there to make the ADN (RN) to MSN jump without a BSN. I initially wondered if the BSN bypass would be a handicap in employment, consideration for promotions, etc., but ALL of my MSN instructors (who have BSNs) assured me that was absolutely NOT the case. They actually encouraged me to go for it and would like me to consider teaching at a later date (retired USAF officer with at least a decade in training development, teaching, etc). I feel pretty good about the approach now and have contacted a few schools for info despite having no plans to do it for at least a year.

Good luck in your pursuit,

Phil

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