Best Route to Become FNP

[hilbark]

I'm feeling very overwhelmed trying to figure out the best route to become a FNP. I'm 24 and about to graduate from college with a BA in History and have no prior medical experience. I'm basing my desire to be a FNP solely on lots of internet research and thinking (I've been set on it for a couple months now) and am currently working on taking pre-requsisites to get into a nursing program. The problem is, I don't know what route would be best for me.

Option 1: Attend a nursing program in my area to get a second bachelors, which I could start 1 year from now (if I get in the first time applying) and take 3 years to complete. Work for a year or 2 as an RN and then complete an MSN program and then a DNP program. This would probably be 8 years more of school, 10 years total. If I get into the program in my area, it's relatively cheap and I could also get a scholarship, so I won't be in too much debt by the time I have my BSN.

Option 2: Apply to a much more expensive accelerated BSN program in another state. Have a lot more debt, work for a couple years, complete my MSN and then DNP. This would be about 5 years of schooling and maybe 7 or 8 years total and more expensive.

Option 3: Apply to a Direct-entry MSN program and then a DNP program. This would be about 6 years of school. Some of my concerns with this are that I don't know if I'm qualified to even be admitted because I don't yet have any health care experience. When I graduate with my BA in December I'll then have time to be certified and work as a CNA, but I don't know if that's enough, combined with good grades, to get into a competitive DE MSN program. If I need to take more time to gain more experience and take a couple additional prereqs, then I would probably have to start the program several years after I would start the BSN program, so in both cases I might be getting my DNP 10 years from now anyway. This also might be the most expensive option since most of the schools offering these programs are pretty expensive. I might be able to find a cheaper way to go from BSN to MSN to DNP.

Also, because I don't have any real experience yet, I could possibly change my mind. If I do a BSN first, then I'll have more clinical exposure to different areas, and maybe decide that I want to do a different specialty or that I actually want to teach or do research.

Any thoughts or advice? Even though this post is mostly supporting my first option, I'm still hesitant about 3 more years as an undergrad and not having my BSN until I'm 28.

[Scroll89]

Your case is complicated in more than one way. You are going to need to acquire your advanced biological sciences credits somehow (A&P 1/2, Patho, Microbio) and chemistry classes before you can start working on an FNP. Not having any background as a medical professional adds to the complication as often times people have several years of nursing experience before pursuing their MSN. There are several routes I would consider in your case and I'm probably going to catch a ton of flak for mentioning this on this forum.

1.) Accelerated BSN first, FNP after. You absolutely have to knock out the core curriculum somehow and this would be a great way to do so. It will also allow you to gain some experience though clinicals. The downside? It can be expensive, its very competitive to get into these programs as they often lack seats, and its extremely fast paced. You will probably not be able to work for the entirety of your accelerated BSN program as clinicals and classes often go 5 days a week. I'm in a traditional program and I can't work with this current quarter (22 credit hours with didactic, lab, clinicals, and simulation lab.)

2.) Become a PA instead. I realize its not a nursing pathway but often times without having any prior medical experience people find this to be considerably easier to get into programs. You are required to have an excellent GPA in your undergrad program to be considered for these programs, among other things. Its a shorter program than having to get a BSN then MSN, slower paced than the accelerated BSN, can be very expensive, but job prospective is just as good as an FNP. Once again though you will need to get your required biological sciences/chemistry credits somewhere.

Going back through to get a 2nd degree through a non accelerated BSN program will save you money, sure. The downside? You have to have all of your pre-req's completely finished before you can even apply to the program. They won't care about your previous degree what-so-ever so you really can't use your GPA for that as consideration. They will more than likely only care about your pre-req GPA. You will have to take the same admissions test as everybody else, and often times you can't break up classes in order to work during the program as they use a cohort system. That being said, I was able to work my first quarter, and will more than likely be able to my next quarter. Going for the accelerated BSN program means you don't have to worry about pre-req's, you will get them in the program before you start the nursing classes, or at least that's how some of them work in my state.

Not sure if this helps or not but good luck to you. Sounds like you have some good goals but its certainly going to take some hard work and dedication before you get those initials after your name. Heck, you may get your BSN, start working and decide you either hate it and want to go into nursing based management positions (Director of Nursing type jobs) or have no desire to leave bedside.

Edit: One last note, don't be concerned about your age. There are several individuals in my programs who are in their 30's,40's, and perhaps even 50's. Its never too late to become a nurse!