BSCJ to MSN

[ncwill72]

Hello I am a 21 year old aspiring nurse and am trying to figure out which path to take. I am currently in the criminal justice program but realized that id rather do nursing. I have heard there are graduate nursing programs that will accept non nursing degrees as long as the holders have good gpa's and good G.R.E scores. Is this true? If so I am debating finishing my criminal justice degree and going into an MSN program instead of going through the traditional route. Also if you know which schools offer the program I would much appreciate it if you could tell me. Thanks in advanced!

[pro-student]

There are many, many programs that will accept you with a bachelors in an unrelated area. You need to consider, however, what kind of nursing you want to do. Most MSN programs that accept non-nurses are preparing advanced practice nurses (APNs - nurse practitioners, midwives, or CNS). If that is your goal, then one of these programs may be for you. If you want to be an RN, you don't need to do an MSN. Instead there are 1 year accelerated nursing programs that will prepare you to get licensed. In either

type of program your first year will be an accelerated version of nursing school and will be very similar whether there is an APN portion or not afterwards since you need to become an RN before you can progress to APN.

If you don't want to be an APN or if you're are at all unsure about it or what type of APN you would like to be, an accelerated RN program is your best bet. You can begin working and get experience which might drastically change your ideas about nursing specialties. You can always pursue an MSN but will be much more informed about it. If you're dead certain you want to be X kind of APN, then you can go straight for the MSN, otherwise it's probably biting off more than you can chew at this point.

Also, both types of programs tend to be highly selective so make sure your would be a good candidate (GPA, healthcare experience such as volunteering, GRE scores, LORs). Both types of programs will also have a list of pre-requisites which generally include A&P, microbiology, human growth and development, and statistics. Each program will vary someone so be sure to research the specific programs you're interested in. They will usually accept your application before all of your pre-reqs are done but will want to see at least

some of them and how well you have done.

[ncwill72]

Thank you for the information. You have given me a lot to consider before I take this step. Also would I be able to do the 1 year accelerated program with a non nursing degree if I wanted to be an RN?

[pro-student]

Yup! That's exactly what they're for.