Are ADN/ASN worth it?

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Hi guys,

Short version: Are ASN programs worth the cost and effort?

Long version: I'm an EMT-B right now. My long term goal is to be a PA. In the mean time, I need something more than working as an ER tech to support my family and get experience. I had initially considered becoming a Paramedic, but in my area there aren't a lot of acute care paramedic jobs (and to work on an EMS service I would need to be a firefighter, and I don't want to do that). So I'm considering going the nursing route. I'm kind of eyeing an ASN program, but I've been told you can't do a whole lot with an ASN (I've been warned I might not even be able to work in acute care in this area).

So I guess what I'm asking is getting an ASN worth the cost and time to have a better job, while I focus on the whole PA thing?

Specializes in Aesthetics, Med/Surg, Outpatient.

Short answer. No.

Sent from my iPad using allnurses.com

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
I actually had a related question. I'm looking into nursing right now and I was wondering if by 2017 would ASN become obsolete. I know, it's a random question but I was curious if anyone had an answer.[/quote']

My question to you is, why would you think that an ASN would be obsolete...and why that year?

I'm just curious, since your question has been answered...the answer is NO...but I'm really interested. :yes:

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My question to you is, why would you think that an ASN would be obsolete...and why that year?

I'm just curious, since your question has been answered...the answer is NO...but I'm really interested. :yes:

Well, I'm considering nursing. I want to get into a profession where I feel I impact people's lives positively. I ask because I'm taking a year off my education to work and find what I want to do with my life. If I start my prereqs next fall, between completing those and the ASN program at my local CC I would be done around 2017. The next question I have is then, how long does it usually take an ASN to find work after graduation? I'd be living in the Houston, Texas area at the time of my graduation so nurses from around that area if you have anything to contribute feel free. Also, I'm a dude. Any male nurses out there that care to say what it's like? I'm not embarrassed for breaking concepts about typical gender roles so I don't care about how people will see me.

I'm also in the process of becoming a volunteer at my local hospital just to get a general feel of the work environment. Obviously, having a title of consequence such as "nurse" is vastly different than just running around and doing favors for people but I still just want a small peek inside the industry. If you have anything to add, as in questions I should be asking myself and others, I love input.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.

My answer to your question regarding nursing school: 2-3 years of pre-req's-it depends on how many hours of coursework you choose to take in a semester, if you choose to not take off in the summer, then 2 years of nursing courses, so a total of 4 years.

As far as looking for work after graduation, I do not have a crystal ball in terms where the economy and healthcare is going; what I do know is that our profession is not going anywhere, so it's too soon to know how the market is going to be; each area is different. The best suggestion I can give you is to keep watching your nursing job market, stay plugged into All Nurses-there is a Men in Nursing forum-and while you are volunteering, if possible, shadow a nurse. Best wishes.

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Sorry, I just thought of another question. If one does an ASN to BSN program, does the program care how old your sciences are? Or, do they assume, f you've been working for a few years, that you already have the necessary knowledge?

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Specializes in ICU, CM, Geriatrics, Management.
If one does an ASN to BSN program, does the program care how old your sciences are?

Think they would care of the vintage of your coursework.

That applies however to any coursework and any academic institution, not just that from / by an ADN program.

Eg, if I completed a microbiology course 20 years ago, and now applied for an ADN, bachelor's, masters, or other program that included it as a mandatory prereq, certainly they'd care.

Further, some of us academia cynics here have a natural suspicion of institutions of learning often getting students to spend more of their hard-earned (or loaned) moolah in their "industry." :yes:

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