Are accelerated programs fair?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I hope this question doesn't seem too juvenile or simplistic...

Do you all think accelerated BSN programs are fair? :imbar I'm in a traditional BSN program and was complaining about how long summers were, and how we could have completed a semester of school in that time. Out of curiosity, I did a search for accelerated BSN programs (not all are second degree programs as I previously thought), and I found some as short as 12 months. I'm sure it is an intense 12 months, but for some reason I don't think this is fair. I was looking at a school that had both a traditional and an accelerated BSN program, and the traditional program had extra pre-requisites and extra classes in the actual BSN program. I would post the website, but I don't want this to look like an attack on any particular school. Will someone please tell me why they think this is fair/not fair?

Specializes in being a Credible Source.

The reality is that all students are not created equal and some are able to learn much faster and much more independently than others. We all know that. It doesn't make anybody better or worse, we're just different in terms of aptitude, circumstances, motivation, education, and experience. Some students are simply able to handle a faster-paced education than others.

I think it's wonderful that there are programs that are tailored for more experienced students. It's quite fair that people with demonstrated success in academic and professional endeavors have the opportunity to learn at a faster pace than other folks who lack that demonstrated success.

For my program, the admissions committee was very focused on evaluating the likelihood that a candidate would complete the program on schedule. They only admit every 2 years and therefore don't want to have slots go to waste by admitting students who can't handle it.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I think part of the sense of "unfairness" is that the accelerated programs have only recently blossomed (there may have been a few out there before, but they have been multiplying recently). So there may be folks out there who would've loved that opportunity as well but didn't have it. Which would be especially frustrating for those who are still in the process of earning their degree but are already too invested in a different track to change and are now watching others seem to leapfrog ahead of them because of the increased availability of accel programs.

So in the sense that some didn't have that same opportunity to take advantage of an accelerated program, that IS unfair. It can make one stop and wonder as to why if it's possible to structure programs that way, why haven't they been doing it already for years and why wasn't it an option before? But as another noted, life IS unfair sometimes and it sucks and we move on.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in being a Credible Source.
I think part of the sense of "unfairness" is that the accelerated programs have only recently blossomed (there may have been a few out there before, but they have been multiplying recently). So there may be folks out there who would've loved that opportunity as well but didn't have it. Which would be especially frustrating for those who are still in the process of earning their degree but are already too invested in a different track to change and are now watching others seem to leapfrog ahead of them because of the increased availability of accel programs.

So in the sense that some didn't have that same opportunity to take advantage of an accelerated program, that IS unfair. It can make one stop and wonder as to why if it's possible to structure programs that way, why haven't they been doing it already for years and why wasn't it an option before? But as another noted, life IS unfair sometimes and it sucks and we move on.

The reason why the programs didn't exist before a certain point is because there was not a sufficient educational market for them. Ten years ago you didn't see the large numbers of 2nd-degree students migrating to nursing degrees.

It's not a matter of fairness. It's simply the educational marketplace at work seeking the satisfy the needs of their customers (the students).

Besides, to the OP's point: S/he could have applied to an accelerated program but simply didn't realize that they existed.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
oh good grief :uhoh3:

do pardon me.

oh my goodness - one whole two-credit class difference!! how unfair!!!

is that what you wanted to hear?

i stand by what i said before - one 2-credit class is no big deal - certainly not enough of a disparity to warrant being called "unfair"

what are you talking about? have you read anything i posted?

you are way off base (and surprisingly rude). i did not say that is why i felt it was unfair. i actually said i was just jealous because it only took a year. i have said more than once that it was not the curriculum that i was questioning. (i was only pointing out that the curriculum is not identical, and it is more than one two hour class difference).

rudeness is a weak man's imitation of strength. i apologize if this is a sensitive subject for you. i truly pitty people who get bent out of shape so easily. good luck!

is this what you wanted to hear?

edit: if someone actually thought that one less class was "unfair" (apparently, you beleive this is what i thought, you also felt the need to "scream it"), it is not up to anyone else to to tell them that that they are wrong. to some, it might be enough of a disparity to be considered unfair. you can disagree respectfully, and keep it moving.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
I'm in an accelerated BSN program right now. It's interesting to repeatedly hear from our instructors that accelerated students, typically being older & more mature than traditional nursing students, are "more of a joy" to teach. They say that we're more emotionally mature, more driven, and don't have to be "babysat" as much as the traditional students. I'm doing my best to dispel them of that notion, but we'll see! The profs also say that the "downside" to teaching accelerated students is that we tend to be VERY driven, competitive, and not shy at all about questioning them. As a group, we all tend to want to be "the best", and are very unhappy with anything less than an "A".

I think it's true that not everybody can handle the pace & demands of an accelerated program. I'm 46 y/o, and doubt that I could have even done as well on the nursing prereq courses (such as pharm & pathophys) back when I was 18-19 y/o.

Here's something interesting I learned....for last year's accelerated group, about 28-30 out of 37 passed the HESI test on their first attempt. For the traditional nursing program students at the same university, only about 18/100 passed on the first attempt.

I don't think I'd be "bored" with a traditional program. I went the accelerated route since I couldn't bear the thought of waiting...waiting 2.5-3 years to get into my local ADN program, waiting 2.5 years to get my ADN, waiting another 2+ years to finish my BSN. That's a lot of time.

"Accelerated" describes the pace of our program. It's nothing to cover 1-3 chapters per class session, which is about 100 PowerPoint slides, plus 30-40 pages per chapter from the textbook. Our midterm exam in Nursing Interventions (~2.5 weeks after the course started) covered ~600 pages from the 4 textbooks used in that course. One thing I'm realizing is that the subject material itself isn't all that difficult to understand, but THERE'S SOOOOO MUCH OF IT! The main challenge is prioritizing work to be done (& filtering out important stuff from the less critical), plus retaining the huge amount of material covered each class.

My class has 48 students in it, coming from a wide range of backgrounds. We've got folks who were teachers, police officers, engineers (me + a lady who was an electrical engr for 10 years), microbiologists (MS & PhD), and even a lawyer with 20+ years experience..... There's folks with degrees in interpretive dance, political science, Spanish, Germanic Studies, philosophy, psychology, engineering, criminal justice, microbiology, health sciences, biology, divinity, plus who knows what all else! It's a big group, with ages running ~24-57 years. There are even a few people with doctorate degrees. Not quite your average nursing school crowd.

One thing that was hard for many of us (including yours truly) to realize is that we're no longer at the top of our classes. In most of my prereq courses, I was at the top of my class. This was also common for my fellow classmates. Now, we're among a bunch of fellow over-achievers.

"Accelerated" does not mean exceptional or better or....It is just another path to the goal.:lol2:

The students in your ABSN program sound a lot like the students in my tradional program. :) There are more non-traditional students than traditional students in my program.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ICU.

For my program, the admissions committee was very focused on evaluating the likelihood that a candidate would complete the program on schedule. They only admit every 2 years and therefore don't want to have slots go to waste by admitting students who can't handle it.

Only every 2 years?!?!? I'd hate to be just one prereq course short when it's time to apply. And I thought it was bad that my program (University of Cincinnati) only had one cohort a year, starting in June. At least the admissions committee met almost every month, so you at least knew whether or not you were accepted.

UC is expanding their program even further. Last year, they expanded it from a cohort of ~40 to one of 48 students. Starting next year (?June?), they are going to 2 cohorts a year, each containing 32 students. This should really cut down on the wait list.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in being a Credible Source.

Yeah, it's kind of rough if you're a tweener. I was fortunate that once I decided to become a nurse, I *only* had to take physiology, microbiology, statistics, and human development in one semester in order to finish my prerequisites.

I'm an engineer, too, so statistics was a piece of cake. Otherwise, that would've been one brutal semester.

Those months between application submission in April and acceptance notices in July were pretty stressful.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in OBSTERTICS-POSTPARTUM,L/D AND HIGH-RISK.

I start my accelerated program this coming Wednesday. I do not finish until the spring of 2010. I don't think that's unfair.:up:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in OBSTERTICS-POSTPARTUM,L/D AND HIGH-RISK.

I have my ADN already.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
what are you talking about? have you read anything i posted?

you are way off base (and surprisingly rude). i did not say that is why i felt it was unfair. i actually said i was just jealous because it only took a year. i have said more than once that it was not the curriculum that i was questioning. (i was only pointing out that the curriculum is not identical, and it is more than one two hour class difference).

rudeness is a weak man's imitation of strength. i apologize if this is a sensitive subject for you. i truly pitty people who get bent out of shape so easily. good luck!

is this what you wanted to hear?

edit: if someone actually thought that one less class was "unfair" (apparently, you beleive this is what i thought, you also felt the need to "scream it"), it is not up to anyone else to to tell them that that they are wrong. to some, it might be enough of a disparity to be considered unfair. you can disagree respectfully, and keep it moving.

well, if you had researched all your options more carefully, you would have known about the accelerated program, and if that is unfair, you have no one but yourself to blame for that one.

and, yes, there was only one class difference. i don't understand why you can't get that. the elective hours in the traditional program are included in the hours required for admission into the accelerated program. it is not an additional requirement. that is a very simple concept.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Yikes!! Inorganic Chem?!? Physics?!? What kind of nursing program is this? I take online classes (RN-BSN) at FHSU, those are not required, costs are about $145/credit, classes can be taken year round and school is accredited. You need the discipline to study but it isn't difficult. They seem to use the same curriculum as the oncampus students. It is possible to do the program in 12 months but if you work, my guess the stress level would be VERY high. I work and decided 18-24 months is much more do-able with a lot less stress! Good luck!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ED, Cardiac-step down, tele, med surg.

I'm going to start an accelerated 2nd degree BSN program that is only 12months. I had to do a bunch of prerequisites before hand including pharmacology and pahtophysiology. I did the latter online and felt like I didn't learn that much. I hope that I will be able to fill any gaps in my prerequisite work during the program. I kind of nervous about the program though. My first degree was very tough, but I have never had to cram in so much information all at once. Does anyone in an accelerated program have any suggestions for succeeding in the program?

As far as cutting corners, I think in my program they are hoping that we can fill in the gaps if our prerequisites are a little flimsy.

J

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment