ADN Students Whom Already Hold a Bachelors in Another Field

Nursing Students General Students

Published

I just wanted to share some info with you. I am currently a student going for my ADN at MCI and I already have a Bachelors in Management from DeVry. I was just on the phone with the University of Phoenix because I was interested in getting my BSN online after I graduate since I have lots of prior online college experience and know it will work better with a busy RN's schedule. Well I just found out that since I already have a Bachelors I can go straight into the Masters of Nursing program. This I did not know, I thought to get a Masters in Nursing you had to have a BSN, but apparently not the case. Some of you may say Duh, but I am totally shocked.

I figured I would share the good news with everyone since I see that a lot of people hold Bachelors degrees in different fields. I of course do not know how it works with other schools, but this is how it works with University of Phoenix. I am prior military and a lot of my friends have attended this school and speak highly of it.

I also wanted to see if anyone had any feedback on this.

Edit: I forgot to mention that you have to take 3 BSN classes before you start the MSN, it is called a "Bridge Program" for students who hold a Bachelors in something other then Nursing.

:nurse:

And, speaking as a BSN (2004) and MSN (2005) grad from UofP, I've never had any issues with employment. I went back after the MSN and got two post-MSN certificates and never looked back.

I have gotten job offers with just about every interview I've gone on and no one has ever questioned the UofP education.

You can hear a lot of rumors but for me, that's just what they are: rumors and untruths.

Very true! Big untruths! Glad to see a U of P success story here! :yeah:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
The problem I have with direct entry MSN programs is that typically you will not be certified for advanced practice afterward. You'll be at the same point from a clinical and professional standpoint as a BSN. The difference is you'll have paid twice as much as a BSN. I hold a BA in English Lit and will (hopefully) be starting a BSN program in the fall. Because I'm a post-bacc student I will only have to complete the core nursing courses. Then after a few years as an RN I will consider going on to an NP program (maybe DNP depending on how things go). The only advantage I see to a direct entry MSN program is if you can find a way to add and educator's certificate to it later. Then you can at least teach at the CC level after some clinical experience.

Just my opinion. I'm sure for some it's a good route to go. My schooling will be coming out of my personal checking account so I can't justify the expense.

Well I guess a good way to look at is is I am young, so though I may not qualify for advance practice afterwards I won't have to go back to college later in life when I have kids and a busy family. I am not going for the MSN and then thinking I am the God of nursing, please don't get me wrong. But it will make me more marketable, competitive, open dorrs I wouldn't have with the ADN and bring in more cash.

So overall I think it is a very wise investment! :up:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
I thought to get a Masters in Nursing you had to have a BSN, but apparently not the case. Some of you may say Duh, but I am totally shocked.:nurse:

*** I will shock even more. One doesn't need a bachelors degree in ANYTHING to get a masters in nursing. There are dozens of RN to MSN programs that go from ADN to MSN with no bachelors required or earned.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
*** I will shock even more. One doesn't need a bachelors degree in ANYTHING to get a masters in nursing. There are dozens of RN to MSN programs that go from ADN to MSN with no bachelors required or earned.

That is kind of nuts! Going straight from an associates to a Masters. I did not know anything like that existed. At least with this program you need a prior Bachelors. There must be a reason for it though, not sure what it would be. :confused:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
You still have to do the BSN coursework - it's just incorporated into the longer and more expensive "master's" program. And buyer beware - University of Pheonix is for-profit and charges WAY more than a state school or even a private non-profit will charge for that MSN, and you can't be certain the employer will consider a degree from UoP worth the paper it's written on.

A resume with a degree from UoP goes straight to the trash

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Well, I definately don't think I'll be the "god of nursing" should I choose to pursue an advanced degree.

Your smart to think about getting as much schooling under your belt while your young. I just don't see the point of a MSN for the sake of having a master's if it isn't going to prepare you for advanced practice.

There is a program in my area that is "selling" a direct entry MS degree for those with a BA/ BS in another field. It costs almost three times as much as a BSN and there is no advanced certification. Graduates of the program start out at the same point career wise as an ADN or BSN nurse. It could be argued that employers might like the idea of the master's but that's debatable because they will have no more (actually less) clinical experience than the ADN or BSN prepared nurse. If they want to pursue advanced practice opportunities later on they will have to start at the same place academically as the BSN prepared nurse.

I'm sure not all of the programs that take an individual straight through to the master's is like this but I have seen several that do. Again, just my concerns regarding some of the direct entry programs.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Well, I definately don't think I'll be the "god of nursing" should I choose to pursue an advanced degree.

Your smart to think about getting as much schooling under your belt while your young. I just don't see the point of a MSN for the sake of having a master's if it isn't going to prepare you for advanced practice.

There is a program in my area that is "selling" a direct entry MS degree for those with a BA/ BS in another field. It costs almost three times as much as a BSN and there is no advanced certification. Graduates of the program start out at the same point career wise as an ADN or BSN nurse. It could be argued that employers might like the idea of the master's but that's debatable because they will have no more (actually less) clinical experience than the ADN or BSN prepared nurse. If they want to pursue advanced practice opportunities later on they will have to start at the same place academically as the BSN prepared nurse.

I'm sure not all of the programs that take an individual straight through to the master's is like this but I have seen several that do. Again, just my concerns regarding some of the direct entry programs.

I see your point and thank you for your tactful feedback! I was talking with my professor today and she pointed me in the direction of two other colleges here in the VA Beach area that do a bridge type MSN program and they are Old Dominion University and Vanderbuilt. She said they both have outstanding reputations and too look into them as well. She also said you can take the courses online. But she also said our DON and Director of the program as well as several of our professors have the MSN from UoP but of course they all have 15+ years of experience.

My professor went to college for Psych and later decided she wanted to be a nurse. So like me she went back to school for her Nursing degree with a prior Bachelors. She attened VCU and went through a program that took her all the way to her Master's and she said it was accelerated. Difference from UoP is that she got a BSN, extremely quickly and then an MSN versus her other Bachelors and going straight to a Masters like UoP does.

So a lot of people knock online or private schools for their programs but they are basically the same, she said, at VCU and ODU. She said it is strange to hold an advanced degree and to be entry level, but her one piece of advice was to do it while you are young and let the experience come as it would if you held a ADN and were entry level. I have to agree with her on that, just like any regular kid who graduates college at 24 with no work experience and goes straight into the work field at entry level. To me that makes a lot of sense.

Thanks again!:yeah:

Up Vote Up Vote ×

basically if you wanna go from adn to msn and you have a bachelors they make you do a bridge program and add some extra classes but hey still pretty awesome

Up Vote Up Vote ×
*** I will shock even more. One doesn't need a bachelors degree in ANYTHING to get a masters in nursing. There are dozens of RN to MSN programs that go from ADN to MSN with no bachelors required or earned.

Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Practice Nursing in Kentucky offers both CNM and CFNP (that's "Community" family nurse practitioner) via an ADN to MSN distance program. From what I understand, you have to spend something like ten days per semester actually on campus. Entry seems competitive. I emailed their recruiter, specifying that I was investigating the possibility of a masters after my current program, and was surprised to get a response that said, basically, "Get your ADN. Then email me back." :o

Up Vote Up Vote ×
basically if you wanna go from adn to msn and you have a bachelors they make you do a bridge program and add some extra classes but hey still pretty awesome

I agree Kenpochic! :yeah:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Practice Nursing in Kentucky offers both CNM and CFNP (that's "Community" family nurse practitioner) via an ADN to MSN distance program. From what I understand, you have to spend something like ten days per semester actually on campus. Entry seems competitive. I emailed their recruiter, specifying that I was investigating the possibility of a masters after my current program, and was surprised to get a response that said, basically, "Get your ADN. Then email me back." :o

Good luck with the program, I hope you get in! :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I get so annoyed when people down online programs. I think it's some residual Boomer ideology creeping into the present (NOT claiming all Boomers believe this, I'm just thinking that's where it originated...retract flame guns) Anyway, I've been an online student for a while now. My school also offers a traditional track program, and we share lab time. I generally find that the students in the traditional track need significantly more time with the instructor, and often ask questions that make me wonder if they read the book. Did they? I don't know. I'm in an online program, so I don't get spoon fed lectures. I have to read the book. My first degree was traditional, I'm not hating on that method of education, it has it's place and time. But online students are resourceful and come with an entirely unique set of skills. We have those skills due to the nature of the program. We have minimal contact with other teachers and students. I only see a teacher/students at clinical, and I'm spending most of that time with patients. I just think that the idea that an online degree is worthless just because you didn't "put in the time" or whatever people think is narrow minded.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment