My daughter has taken, with the exception of A&P I&2, her prereqs. She is taking both this summer. She will be eligible to enter the ADN program this fall. I am so excited about her getting her uniform, white shoes, stethescope, nursing care plan sheets, and clinically rotating this fall! She is contemplating going to a BSN program instead. The BSN program at the university is $455.00 per credit hr as opposed to $81.00 at the Jr college. Obviously money is an issue for us, and I do not want her to go into debt. I told her that it is best to take her NCLEX asap and not to put unnecessary time and info between that time. I also feel that she will get more nursing experience by doing it what I call the 2+1 way, which is the bridge program rather than the 3+0 way, not to mention that the hospital will probably pay for the bridged year. I do not like (4) yr colleges b/c I have never had as great an exp. at any of them as at the community colleges. I have gone to (4) diff (4) yr colleges, and (2) diff community colleges. I am currently enrolled in an ADN community college program and I love my instructors! She will be going to a different community college in a different state. I am very familiar with the community college that she will, God willin', go to this fall, b/c I graduated from there with an AS degree and she has taken all her prereqs except Micro there. We disagree every night about this decision b/c I do not feel that more general education classes will make her a better nurse, and it will cost her a year of work. She plans to meet with the (4) colleges and find out if she can enter with sophomore status. I have looked at some of the (4) yr curriculums and they are absurd. They require pathophysiology (4) cr, pharmacology (3) cr, foundations (5) cr, nutrition (3) cr, and sociology (3) cr this is a ttl of (18) cr which is inhumane, as opposed to (8) cr at the Jr college. I really feel that (18) cr is a recipe for failure. She tells me that she wants to be challenged, live on campus, she is convinced that she can have a social life while going to nursing school, and has long range plans to go to med school. I tell her lets make small successes, and then progress to bigger ones.
Edited by Nurse Ratched: exciting update to original poster's story on post #75! Congrats to daughter! :) Adding this because I don't want folks new to the thread to miss it.
Well all I can say is around here...we have three major hospitals and about 4-5 nursing colleges in the immediate area. What I noticed is that...and please do not take this the wrong way (other readers)...hospitals and nurses seem to really like the ADN graduates better because they are able NOW to work on the floor~ clinically better prepared for the real world!! Just a thought! :)
Another bit of advice although I doubt you will take it.. Don't get so caught up in "teaching lessons." You seem to keep posting how you want her to learn this lesson or the value of this or that.. Just be a parent and take it day by day. If you get caught up in teaching lessons, I garauntee you are going to LOSE her. I am sure she is not interested in life's lessons at 17 years old.. I certainly wasnt...
I wish someone would say this to my mother! AAUUGGHH!!! LOL :rotfl:
She thrives on giving me lectures. My sister was telling me this morning that Mom worries about me and she senses fear in her voice. I'm 27, for goodness sake. Little wonder that Mom has passed her worrywart tendencies to me. Now I'm terrified of making any changes in my life because if she disapproves or gets a bad feeling about it, that MUST mean I'm making a mistake...right? My relationship with her has taught me this lesson: She does not need to know EVERYTHING about my comings and goings. In fact, this results in more lectures for me and more worries for her. Then I'm second-guessing myself once again.
I had a BS degree and still opted to do the ADN first because I felt it was a better program and also had more clinical time. I went back a year later for my BSN at another college and had very little trouble since I was familiar with the routine. I am now finishing my MSN. I think if she wants to be a nurse it doesn't really matter what avenue she takes, because she has to do what she believes is best for her. Speaking as a veteran parent, if you really can't afford for her to do the BSN, encourage her to do it and tell her that your program would probably be too tough for her...she'll be in your program the next week!
Yes, it is her life and ultimately her decision. Having said that, I am an ADN student and chose that path for myself due to economic reasons and because it is faster knowing that I will go back for my BSN later, but will be making more money and doing something that I enjoy in the mean time. If you can't stress the financial issue to her enough to get her to see your point of view, there is always financial aid and other programs that can help you with the money part of the equation. But if she truly wants the BSN now instead of later, it is probably good to let her make that decision herself and support her in the mean time. Either way, if she is committed enough to follow through, the outcome will be the same. Take care. And remember your support for her will be the best thing you can do for her.
:balloons: It's time for nurses (all nurses) to quit fighting as to what type of a degree or non-degree is best. This is what has made room for PA's and MA's in the medical field. We as nurses have to have a unified front. Mom I can empathize with you for your goals for your daughter and I can see your point as well as the points of many of the responses. The patient doesn't care what type of degree is taking care of them. I have worked with many APRN's - LPN's and if you are a true NURSE there is little difference in your care to the patient. The major difference is in knowing what to report to who. I have come up in the ranks from an Aide to LPN to ASN and am in the process of getting my MSN. Too many of us get NURSEitis and get caught in the trap of what type of educational background we come from instead of what kind of care we deliver.
Mom take heart, and be there for your daughter. Remember that she will be your daughter for the rest of her life, but a student (hopefully) just for a few more years.
My daughter has taken, with the exception of A&P I&2, her prereqs. She is taking both this summer. She will be eligible to enter the ADN program this fall. I am so excited about her getting her uniform, white shoes, stethescope, nursing care plan sheets, and clinically rotating this fall! She is contemplating going to a BSN program instead. The BSN program at the university is $455.00 per credit hr as opposed to $81.00 at the Jr college. Obviously money is an issue for us, and I do not want her to go into debt. I told her that it is best to take her NCLEX asap and not to put unnecessary time and info between that time. I also feel that she will get more nursing experience by doing it what I call the 2+1 way, which is the bridge program rather than the 3+0 way, not to mention that the hospital will probably pay for the bridged year. I do not like (4) yr colleges b/c I have never had as great an exp. at any of them as at the community colleges. I have gone to (4) diff (4) yr colleges, and (2) diff community colleges. I am currently enrolled in an ADN community college program and I love my instructors! She will be going to a different community college in a different state. I am very familiar with the community college that she will, God willin', go to this fall, b/c I graduated from there with an AS degree and she has taken all her prereqs except Micro there. We disagree every night about this decision b/c I do not feel that more general education classes will make her a better nurse, and it will cost her a year of work. She plans to meet with the (4) colleges and find out if she can enter with sophomore status. I have looked at some of the (4) yr curriculums and they are absurd. They require pathophysiology (4) cr, pharmacology (3) cr, foundations (5) cr, nutrition (3) cr, and sociology (3) cr this is a ttl of (18) cr which is inhumane, as opposed to (8) cr at the Jr college. I really feel that (18) cr is a recipe for failure. She tells me that she wants to be challenged, live on campus, she is convinced that she can have a social life while going to nursing school, and has long range plans to go to med school. I tell her lets make small successes, and then progress to bigger ones.
Edited by Nurse Ratched: exciting update to original poster's story on post #75! Congrats to daughter! :) Adding this because I don't want folks new to the thread to miss it.
I had a BS degree and still opted to do the ADN first because I felt it was a better program and also had more clinical time. I went back a year later for my BSN at another college and had very little trouble since I was familiar with the routine. I am now finishing my MSN. I think if she wants to be a nurse it doesn't really matter what avenue she takes, because she has to do what she believes is best for her. Speaking as a veteran parent, if you really can't afford for her to do the BSN, encourage her to do it and tell her that your program would probably be too tough for her...she'll be in your program the next week!
Yes, that was the real crux of the matter. I do remember those days. Well now she has a (4) yr scholarship so she can do whatever she wants to do. I am not going to encourage her to do something that she does not want to do. My brother is currently advising her to go into engineering??? I told her that I refuse to play "tug of war". This escalated into my brother promoting engineering, and my promoting nursing. I told her "this is my stop, this is where I get off"! All of her college credits thus far are the pre-requisites for nursing. She tells me that she now feels like she has wasted her time b/c she wants to be a medical doctor. Yes, I have told her that this requires at least (8) years of non-stop study. Yes, I told her that she can not do anything w/ a neuroscience degree. She will not be trained to work in the work-world w/ a neuroscience degree, and what if she has to/or choses to exit education at the bs neuroscience level, or before??? I am just going to focus on my studies, and I'll be here if she needs me.
Yes, that was the real crux of the matter. I do remember those days. Well now she has a (4) yr scholarship so she can do whatever she wants to do. I am not going to encourage her to do something that she does not want to do. My brother is currently advising her to go into engineering??? I told her that I refuse to play "tug of war". This escalated into my brother promoting engineering, and my promoting nursing. I told her "this is my stop, this is where I get off"! All of her college credits thus far are the pre-requisites for nursing. She tells me that she now feels like she has wasted her time b/c she wants to be a medical doctor. Yes, I have told her that this requires at least (8) years of non-stop study. Yes, I told her that she can not do anything w/ a neuroscience degree. She will not be trained to work in the work-world w/ a neuroscience degree, and what if she has to/or choses to exit education at the bs neuroscience level, or before??? I am just going to focus on my studies, and I'll be here if she needs me.
I usually try to edit out the stuff I'm not responding to directly, but ya know, it's all pertinent to what I have to say.
1) You must be a spectacular mother to have raised a child who can not only get a four year scholarship, but who has so many choices and cares enough about herself and her life to put so much thought into it. Well done!!!
2) It's so hard not to get pulled in when you have something in your heart you want to give to your child, isn't it? I think, now that my children are past that part (as am I!), that it has something to do with letting go of them once the job is done.
3) Tell your child that nothing done well is ever wasted, whether it is schooling, work, raising a child, or whatever, even if it appears to have delayed an important goal. Everything can be a positive contribution on the ultimate end--who we are and what we do.
If in ten years she is a nurse or a physician or an engineer, she'll be great at what she does and she may wind up changing courses and that's fine too.
I am so glad that she got the scholarship. I know money was an issue (geez, for whom is it not?). I am happy for you both!
Your daughter is at the perfect age and in the perfect set of circumstances to pursue a degree in medicine if that is truly her desire. What i would do as a mom is arrange for her to shadow a couple of doctors and shadow a couple of nurses. See if any Med students are available for an interview (if you live near a teaching hospital or med school.) If there is a lag time between starting college, perhaps she can get a 6 week emt or CNA cert and work with these people to see what they actually do. If she wants medicine as a career, there is no better time for her to pursue it, and for her to win a 4 yr scholarship tells me that she is a motivated, intelligent and capable young lady. If she already has her nursing prereqs done, then she already has another plan in place, if she decides she wants nursing instead.
Yes, that was the real crux of the matter. I do remember those days. Well now she has a (4) yr scholarship so she can do whatever she wants to do. I am not going to encourage her to do something that she does not want to do. My brother is currently advising her to go into engineering??? I told her that I refuse to play "tug of war". This escalated into my brother promoting engineering, and my promoting nursing. I told her "this is my stop, this is where I get off"! All of her college credits thus far are the pre-requisites for nursing. She tells me that she now feels like she has wasted her time b/c she wants to be a medical doctor. Yes, I have told her that this requires at least (8) years of non-stop study. Yes, I told her that she can not do anything w/ a neuroscience degree. She will not be trained to work in the work-world w/ a neuroscience degree, and what if she has to/or choses to exit education at the bs neuroscience level, or before??? I am just going to focus on my studies, and I'll be here if she needs me.
Perhaps as a graduate of a liberal arts school I'm more than a little biased, but it is NOT necessary to major in an easily identifiable "trade" in order to be successful in the work world. I myself currently work for a mutual fund company with people who have majored in history, philosophy, math (me), psychology, etc. We don't automatically screen out resumes if they don't list "accounting" or "business management" as a major. A neuroscience major, or any other major for that matter, is not going to be the career kiss of death should she decide not go directly on to medical school. I have college friends who were bio and/or neuroscience majors and went on to become doctors and nurses, but more went on to become researchers, biotech and pharmaceutical QC analysts, technical consultants, business analysts, to name a few. And it is not requisite that she major in neuroscience if she does think she wants to go to med school. You can complete the med school science pre-reqs but be a German major if that's what really gets you going (I know a current med student who did just that!). There's a lot to be said for being "well-rounded," as cliched as that sounds, in all industries. She should explore her options and choose what feels best for HER.
You have obviously raised a very intelligent and motivated young lady who is entirely capable of making up her own mind. I'd encourage you to simply be supportive and try to keep your judgements to yourself (unless she is planning to do something that could seriously harm herself or others, of course). The world is her oyster and she will have many experiences to learn and grow from during her college career and they will not all center around the classroom. She'll probably change her mind a few times and the end result may not be what you, or even she, pictures right now, but she will do just fine. Allow yourself to just be proud of her, you deserve it!
Specializes in Postpartum, Antepartum, Psych., SDS, OR.
Let her go Mom. She is doing the right thing. Those classes are what many of us took to get in an ADN program or are trying to get in one! Encourage her and praise her for her goals and be proud and supportative of her. Sounds like you have a great daughter.
It's her life and her decision. She might change her mind, she might not; but in the end, it's her choice to make. You pushing is only going to convince her to follow her own path.
My mom always thought I'd be a great nurse, but when it came time to go to college, I chose to study spanish and international studies. She didn't hassle me at all. Now, I'm going back for another degree and she's being my cheerleader.
Even if it is the wrong choice, it's hers to make and the experience of being away from home and in the dorms and trying to make it on her own might be very good for her. The experience and maturity she could get from that are potentially very valuable to any career, including nursing.
I am totallyfor the BSN path. YOur daughter is RIGHT. The fast way is not the best way. We are trying to work in a profession that is increasingly complex and needs the best minds. If she is going to succeed she has to start with the baccalaureate degree in nursing.
linkay77
10 Posts
Well all I can say is around here...we have three major hospitals and about 4-5 nursing colleges in the immediate area. What I noticed is that...and please do not take this the wrong way (other readers)...hospitals and nurses seem to really like the ADN graduates better because they are able NOW to work on the floor~ clinically better prepared for the real world!! Just a thought! :)