BSN question

U.S.A. Michigan

Published

I was wondering how long does it usually take to get your BS once you have completed nursing at the college (with an associate degree)?

I thought it would just be another year extra at the university to get your BS is this true or does it take longer than that?

Would it take longer to get your BS if you went to college and then university?

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Specializes in Med-Surg/Trauma.

A BSN at a university will take you 2 or 3 years once admitted to a program. You will spend the first year or two working on prereqs to be admitted to the nursing program.

If you have your associates it will take you two years once you are accepted into the nursing program. If you were looking into an RN BSN program it will take longer than one year to complete, but keep in mind that these programs are designed for full time working nurses. I know the RN to BSN program at Wayne is designed to take four years, but no one really has to take any of the classes that are the first of the four years because those requirements should all have been met with courses you took for your associates of nursing. Here is a link that describes their RN to BSN course work plan http://nursing.wayne.edu/Academic%20Programs/Bachelors/RN%20curriculum.html

I guess if you didn't work and wanted to just take classes full time it would maybe only take you a year or two instead of four, but if you were going to take time off anyway and not why wouldn't you just go for the BSN in the first place....

Hope that helped! Personally if you want your BSN I think it's faster to just get it out of the way in the first place, but you won't be able to work as a nurse in the meantime.

While the RN to BSN route might take a little longer it does afford you the opportunity to begin working earlier. It just depends on your situation and what is best for you.

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Specializes in ICU/Critical Care.

I'm doing my RN/BSN. I'm at OU right now. Before I can actually take nursing courses, I have to complete two chemistry courses and a micro course. I'm taking an international studies class this semester. It's hard to take more than one class when you work full time and I have to work full time. It will probably take me another 3 years to complete it but I am thinking about taking an online course next semester plus a chemistry course. I'm stressing out because I want to get done asap but I can't go to school fulltime. When you graduate from you ADN program, don't wait more than a year to start your BSN program. I waited almost two years and totally regret it.

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It really all depends on where you decide to continue your education. Some institutions have more pre-req's than others. A nurse on my unit just completed his RN-BSN at Eastern Michigan. It took him two and a half years. Time to completion varies, but a rough estimate is 2-3 years depending on how many classes you want to take while working.

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Michigan RN,

Congrats on going back for BSN! I am starting NS this fall with plans to continue for BSN @ OU or Eastern as soon as I graduate. What Chemistry and Micro classes do you need? I have taken several extra classes while waiting to get into the program and I hope they will transfer. Is there a website that lists the classes for the RN-BSN @ OU?

Did you check out Eastern's BSN program? Did you choose OU because it was online? Is is difficult to get accepted to the BSN program?

Thanks!

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Specializes in Med-Surg/Trauma.
Michigan RN,

Congrats on going back for BSN! I am starting NS this fall with plans to continue for BSN @ OU or Eastern as soon as I graduate. What Chemistry and Micro classes do you need? I have taken several extra classes while waiting to get into the program and I hope they will transfer. Is there a website that lists the classes for the RN-BSN @ OU?

Be aware that universities have a limit on the amount of credits they will let you transfer from a community college. I would speak with both Eastern and Oakland about your future plans to transfer. Make sure that you still have enough "wiggle room" in your credit number to ensure that these courses would indeed be eligible to transfer to these four year institutions. It would be a bummer to put money, time, and effort into a course to have it later not transfer.

I'm not sure if they need to include all your ADN credits when transferring you into the RN-BSN program. Usually the max number of credits universities will take from a CC is 60, and I don't know if the rules are different with a RN-BSN. They may potentially take more of your credits, but I would check with the programs before I did anything.

Good luck in your program!

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How long would it actually take if you enroll in full-time classes?

I was thinking of getting my ADN and then transferring to university to get my BSN without having to work. I was thinking of putting off work until I get my BSN. Will that still take 2-3 years to complete?

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Specializes in Med-Surg/Trauma.
How long would it actually take if you enroll in full-time classes?

I was thinking of getting my ADN and then transferring to university to get my BSN without having to work. I was thinking of putting off work until I get my BSN. Will that still take 2-3 years to complete?

Even if you wanted to go full time and didn't work at all it would still take more than the year to complete. Assuming you have a lot of the other courses done and didn't have to take them there is still a sequence of nursing classes you have to take. I believe some are prereqs for others and I don't think it would be possible to do BSN completion in less than a year even if you went full time. I think it would probably still take at least three semesters if not four (again this is just from looking around online. I am not an expert I would talk to the universities you're interested in)

See what they have to tell you so you're not going in blind. Tell them you'd be interested in going full time and ask how quickly you could get out. Before any university grants you a degree they require you complete 30 credits AT THAT INSTITUTION so that would put you at at least an extra year with 15 credits a semester if they allowed you to transfer in other courses in order to take 30 and only the last 30 credits at their institution. Some courses you need to take also aren't always offered every semester (may only be a fall or a winter and sometimes you have to wait for them to be offered at a time you can take them)

If you want your BSN, the fastest route is entering a university and doing your BSN that way. RN to BSN completion will take more time, but again the advantage of going that route is that you can work a year earlier and the tuition at CC is less expensive

I'm just curious as to why you wouldn't want to work as a RN once you graduate and obtain your RN license. If you were going the CC route it is definitely to your advantage to work and then utilize your hospital employer's tuition reimbursement plan to pursue your BSN. That would be the most cost efficient route even if it would take slightly longer in time.

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I would really like to get a bachelors degree and I don't want to take the longer route. I've already wasted 3 years of my life not knowing what I should get into and now I finally decided I want to be a nurse. I'm from Canada so I don't think I would be qualified to receive the tuition reimbursement. In Canada, once you've completed your bachelors in nursing, you are certified as a registered nurse and when you complete the nursing program at the college you are certified as a practical nurse. What is the difference between a college graduate and a university graduate from the nursing program in the states? I know that the material covered in university is more in depth but what is the difference when it comes to working at a hospital? What title do nurses with a bachelors receive when working at a hospital?

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Specializes in Med-Surg/Trauma.

Hi esunabella,

In the US students who attend a community college's registered nursing program and students who attend a four year university are both RNs. There is no difference in job title or scope of practice, although some institutions may state a preference for BSN trained nurses. Some hospitals may offer a pay differential if you have a BSN but it's usually not much (about 50 cents if anything....).

Additionally if you want to move into management a BSN is usually required. If you want to get into advanced practice nursing (nurse anesthetist programs, nurse practicioner etc etc) you will also need your bachelors in order to be accepted into most masters programs.

Even if you are from Canada, if you were employed at a US hospital (and I know many nurses come to Detroit from Canada to work) you should still be eligible to obtain tuition reimbursement if you were attending a US university-- definitely something to ask a potential employer.

Good luck in deciding which path to pursue. Hopefully we've answered some of your questions and if you have anymore feel free to ask:loveya:

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Be aware that universities have a limit on the amount of credits they will let you transfer from a community college. I would speak with both Eastern and Oakland about your future plans to transfer. Make sure that you still have enough "wiggle room" in your credit number to ensure that these courses would indeed be eligible to transfer to these four year institutions. It would be a bummer to put money, time, and effort into a course to have it later not transfer.

I'm not sure if they need to include all your ADN credits when transferring you into the RN-BSN program. Usually the max number of credits universities will take from a CC is 60, and I don't know if the rules are different with a RN-BSN. They may potentially take more of your credits, but I would check with the programs before I did anything.

Good luck in your program!

In my notes from Wayne State's BSN completion program, it states that a maximum of 64 credits (not including nursing courses) may be used from a community college toward your BSN.

This is from last summer, so it may have changed. I am assuming that if you have more than 64 non-nursing credits from a CC, they would take the ones that would go toward the BSN (ie, Chem, Organic Chem) and throw out the non related electives you took just to get your degree.

I looked through my information from OU's and UofM's RN-BSN programs, and could not find that statement specific about community colleges. At U of M, and they require 37 credits to be taken at UM, and these are the 37 credits necessary for their curriculum. The rest can be transferred in.

I agree that you should absolutely check out the program and not make any assumptions - wasting time and money is not good. However, with this economy, I would highly recommend you take all the classes you possibly can at community colleges. The quality is just as good (if not better, depending on the professor!) and it is much more economical. Just do your homework!!!

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Specializes in ICU/Critical Care.

A lot of places only take 70 credits maximum from another university.

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