Become a nurse in just 12 months!!!

soliant12 · Dec 9, 2005

These programs have existed for several years now and I don't see a problem with it all they are focusing on is nursing since they have a bachelor's in another field.

BeenThereDoneThat74, MSN, RN · Dec 9, 2005

i'm not a fan of this. especially after getting through my first semester (as an instructor) with first semester students. it is not enough time to prepare to become a nurse, regardless of a prior degree.

nurse4theplanet, RN · Dec 9, 2005

I just don't see how a year is enough time either. Heck, I am going twice that long and still feel like I am merely scraping the surface. Hopefully these programs are structured a little more differently than a traditional program with more of the 'meat & potatoes' of nursing and lots and lots of supervised, hands-on experience. Plus, students who already possess a four year degree are usually more serious about their education than your typical college student straight from highschool.

BeenThereDoneThat74, MSN, RN · Dec 9, 2005

plus, students who already possess a four year degree are usually more serious about their education than your typical college student straight from highschool.

that's quite an assumption. also, how many traditional, start-from-scratch nursing programs are full of 'typical college students straight from high school'? many have some college, if not another degree already. and it doesn't matter how serious you are, when considering the length of the program :twocents:

suzanne4, RN · Dec 9, 2005

It doesn't matter what type of program that you go thru, you still must pass the NCLEX to practice as an nurse. Clinical time for the fast track programs are much more intense that what is out there for most programs right now.

The accelerated programs are not for everyone. They are also not accepted in most other countries if the nurse decides to work overseas later on.

dorselm · Dec 9, 2005

I live in Pittsburgh and I applied to the Duquesne School of Nursing for the fall of 2006. I pray that I am accepted. This is a 2nd Degree Bachelors program. You have to have a Bachelor's Degree to be accepted and your QPA has to be at least 3.2. I interviewed recently for the school and they said that initially, the program was 18 months. However, the students are so stressed because the program is very rigorous so they scaled the program down to 1 yr because the students said they would rather get it done and over with as opposed to having it drag out. I know two people who have completed the program. They praise the program and are doing very well. The bad part is that it costs $30K for 1 yr. I already have student loans and really did not want to go this route. I was going to take nursing at Community College but just found out that I have all of the required requisites except for Chemistry and without it, I can't enroll in the nursing program until the Spring of 06. I have 50/50 shot at getting accepted into the program at Duquesne and I won't know if I'm accepted until the end of Feb beg of Mar 06. In Duquesne's nursing program, you get one on one focus because the classes are not too large and 1000 hrs of clinical. Please pray for me that I get accepted because I'm an accountant and I hate this. I love learning about the body and I also love taking care of people which is why I chose nursing.

L&D_2b · Dec 9, 2005

I live in Pittsburgh and I applied to the Duquesne School of Nursing for the fall of 2006. I pray that I am accepted. This is a 2nd Degree Bachelors program. You have to have a Bachelor's Degree to be accepted and your QPA has to be at least 3.2. I interviewed recently for the school and they said that initially, the program was 18 months. However, the students are so stressed because the program is very rigorous so they scaled the program down to 1 yr because the students said they would rather get it done and over with as opposed to having it drag out. I know two people who have completed the program. They praise the program and are doing very well. The bad part is that it costs $30K for 1 yr. I already have student loans and really did not want to go this route. I was going to take nursing at Community College but just found out that I have all of the required requisites except for Chemistry and without it, I can't enroll in the nursing program until the Spring of 06. I have 50/50 shot at getting accepted into the program at Duquesne and I won't know if I'm accepted until the end of Feb beg of Mar 06. In Duquesne's nursing program, you get one on one focus because the classes are not too large and 1000 hrs of clinical. Please pray for me that I get accepted because I'm an accountant and I hate this. I love learning about the body and I also love taking care of people which is why I chose nursing.

I also have a bachelors degree in a non-nursing field and live near Pittsburgh also. Did you look at the programs at Robert Morris and Waynesburg College? I believe their programs are a little over a year, but still a BS to BSn program. I thought about going that route, but I can't handle 60 credits in one year with four small kids at home. Good luck to you!

danu3 · Dec 9, 2005

How do you feel about the nursing shortage being relieved by "fast track" nursing programs?
A program that only takes 12 months. Read this article:
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http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051209/BIZ/512090380/1026/SCHOOLS

It depends how it is structure. In UCSF for example, they have a 3 year master programs for people with a second Bach. If you look at the program in detail, they basically do your normal nursing in 1 year and you take the board exam to get an RN. The next two years are for master program. If you look at the pass rate for UCSF, they are extremely high.

Or another example at another university that I know of, they have an accelerated program that lasts 1 1/2 year (for a BSN). If you look at the details, it is exactly the same as their regular 3 years nursing program. What they did was they squeezed out or the "down" time. What you do is there are absolutely no breaks, no summer breaks and no winter break. The summer sessions tends to be killer as you are not taking one or two classes, but a full load. Also during regular semester, you usually have one extra nursing class than a regular nursing program. This school also require the person in the program to sign and promise certain things like "will not work", and it is advised that one has minimum relational commitment because you are not going to have a life period. Last, it requires the student to finish EVERYTHING already except nursing courses. So all your upper and lower GEs are done. In a regular nursing program, sometimes you can sneak in a nonnursing class here and there to get rid of other non-nursing requirements. With these accelerated programs, that is not possible, you have to get them all done first.

Last example, another college I know of also does it in one year (BSN). But the prereqs is a bit more like it require you to have pharm already. Their pass rate is decent (this is Samuel Merrit in California; cost an arm an a leg for one year, something like over $40,000).

If you think about it, say a typical ADN nursing program that lasts 2 years (4 semesters). If the program start in Summer and ends in the following Summer, you would have roughly 4 semester worth of works (2 regular semester, 2 summers, 1 winter break sessiion). Now summer is going to be a killer since it is a full load plus it is going at a accelerated pace. This can work especially if you push a few courses like pharm or even patho into the nursing prereq category instead.

What else, when one see it advistise that one can be a nurse in 1 year, it is misleading. Because they don't count all the years that you need just to get the prereq done (especially the ones that pushes a few courses into the prereqs).

So in my opion, you have to look at how it is structure and also the pass rate. Not everyone is right for these kind of progroms. Probably the ideal person for these kind of program is a single person who is not in any relationships and is not currently looking for any relationships for the duration of the program; do not have to work at all for the duration of the program; have demonstrated prior academic achievments; has a huge passion for nursing (huge motivation); willing to not have a life period for the duration of the program; and a few other things I can't think off.

-Dan

mollysn · Dec 9, 2005

I am a fast tracker- I have a BA in psychology. The program I attend is 18 months. We started last May and we graduate December 2007. Over 10 weeks this summer we took the basic Sophmore classes 3 basic nursing classes. Now we are in the same classes the normal Juniors are taking and this summer and next fall will be our senior year. We take the same cirriculum as the regular students but we are going the summers. It is pretty intense but I feel as well prepared as the other students. There is also an accelerated program from students to go during the summer and achieve their BSN in 3 years.

This is a way to attract other students into nursing but we are not being pushed through. I feel we are more serious than some of the students because we have already been through college once and most of my class has jobs and family responsibilities.

12 months may not be enough time but I don't think 18 months is too short because we are taking the same cirriculum as the other students but we already have our pre-reqs completed.

I never thought about nursing because but I love it and I am so blessed for this opportunity.

mollysn · Dec 9, 2005

I also wanted to add that I have a son and family responsibilities and a job. Many in my class work and have other things out side of school. Sometimes it gets overwhelming but we are no more overwhelmed than the other students because we are taking the same classes.

nurse4theplanet, RN · Dec 9, 2005

that's quite an assumption. also, how many traditional, start-from-scratch nursing programs are full of 'typical college students straight from high school'? many have some college, if not another degree already. and it doesn't matter how serious you are, when considering the length of the program

having a few college hours under your belt and having a completed four year degree are not the same, imo. we had a heated discussion about this in my nursing class which is a traditional program. two of our instructors teach at accelerated programs for students who alread possess a ba or higher in another feild. they too agree that the students are more prepared and the drop out rate is not as high. just from our class alone, there are 4 students who have a bachelor's and one a master's and they are at the top of our class and highly dedicated. from my own perspective, i started college right out of highschool didn't take it nearly as seriously as i now do. those who have already attained one degree and found that it just isn't cutting the mustard feel they have more to lose if they do not make it. this came from both a 25 y/o accountant and a 50 y/o veterinary science graduate. i can only imagine the frustration of putting in four years + of hard work, sweat, and tears only to have your job outsourced, phased out, or unfulfilling...i imagine it would be a strong driving force to succeed at something else no matter what it takes.