BSN or RN?

You should try an accelerated BSN program. I also think Molloy or Adelphi will be good for you.

I would love to do that but I need to be able to work at the same time, and those programs recommend focusing solely on school without any work commitments. I could probably swing it financially but I don't want to leave the LIJ health system because it has so much opportunity but it can be hard to get into!

How about trying to stay on per diem while you go back for an ABSN? I am in a 12-month program and a good number of my classmates work per diem (once or twice per month). That way you could stay in the system while getting your degree.

From what I have heard, an ASN is pretty useless in the NYC area unless you have nursing experience to back it up. Also, getting your ASN would take just as long as getting an accelerated BSN if not longer (depending on how many pre-req's you have from your previous degree).

You will need a BSN, period.

If you already have a BS and know that you want to be a psychiatric nurse practitioner, you may want to consider direct entry programs. First you obtain RN, or in some schools, BSN and then right away you work on the NP degree.

Not sure if this list is comprehensive, but it's a start.

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Hi everyone-

I am a prospective nursing student trying to figure out which program is best for me. I will already have my BS in Public Health when I start a nursing program, along with all of the pre-req's needed for BSN programs.

I live on Long Island and I plan on applying everywhere I can so I have options. I was wondering what the major differences between a BSN and just getting my RN through SCCC or NCCC's programs (when it comes to job offers and graduate school app's). I would like to work as a mental health RN for a few years but I plan on eventually going back for my masters to become a Psychiatric Nurse Practioner. I am an employee of the NSLIJ system, so I am a little nervous about prospective jobs but maybe not as nervous as others.

If it doesn't make sense to go to a RN program, then I probably won't consider it unless I do not get into a BSN program. But I was wondering if maybe just an RN program is better, considering I already have a Bachelors in Science in a different health related field and I really would like to start my career soon (very excited!!)

Thank you!!

I am an NCCC grad, and I have a BA in Psych.

I say, NO, go for BSN and just apply whatever credits you can from your old BS.

Associates level RNs are not really in demand anymore.

Good luck!

I attended an accelerated BSN program and I was able to work the whole time. We had 24 hours of clinical a week and 6 hours of lecture plus study time. It was hard, but do-able. Many of my classmates worked as well. Also there were military wives/mothers with husbands on deployment who were able to do well in the program. I think you could do well in the accelerated program. You just have to be very good at managing your time.

..............BSN..................

BSN...unless u want to waste more time and money while having no job. As i see it ADN grads have extreme difficult getting a job and have to spend more time and money going back to get their BSN. Better do BSN right away and save some cash and time. The only time ADNs get hired is when they have connections to someone high up on the management chain at a hospital or if they apply to nursing homes.

Let's address the BSN question first. As others have already pointed out, it is an increasingly essential requirement to work in nursing and I second those who suggest that is the route you take. That said, there are several ways to get there.

Folks have suggested the ABSN, which would certainly be the quickest route for someone with a non-nursing baccalaureate. The more problematic issue with the ABSN is likely to be cost. I'm not sure what your options are relative to schools in the LI area, but I suspect all are likely to be fairly expensive. With PMHNP as your ultimate goal, another option is an acceleratedBSN/MSN program. Again I don't know if this available locally to you but Jefferson in Phila offers such a program. It is basically and ABSN combined with the MSN and offers some savings in the total number of classes required. I was accepted to the Jeff program when I started nursing but eventually declined to enter due to its high cost and because the BSN portion was not o ffered on an evening/weekend basis (I needed to continue working full-time while in nursing schook).

Another option as you yourself suggested to first get the ADN at your local CC. This is the route that I chose because, as I said above, I needed to keep working while in school. It also turned out that it was a reasonably quick route, about which more later. I was in their evening/weekend program and it was a bit of a challenge with classes at least 2 nights each week and clinicals all day every Saturday and Sunday. While this is a low-cost, high value-for-money option, it is not without its drawbacks. In my case, I already had both a BS and masters degree prior to starting and so had nearly all of the pre-reqs (chem, bio, A&P, etc) out of the way. If you need those courses, the ADN will take significantly longer than the typically advertised 2 years. The other is that when you graduate and pass the boards, you will face long odds in being hired as an ADN-RN.

Like you, I planned to go on for a higher nursing degree. My thought originally was to enroll directly into an MSN program - an option available at some grad schools to RN's with non-nursing bachelor's degrees. The drawback is that several (3 to as many as 5 depending on the school) MSN bridge courses are required for non-BSN holders. These classes are billed at grad tuition rates, so they are quite expensive. In fact, for me it turned out they would cost more than than the tuition needed to simply get my BSN. I decided instead to enroll in a RN-BSN program and apply to grad school later (I'm now in the process of looking for an appropriate MSN-FNP program).

The big advantage of the ADN-RN-BSN route is cost. My ADN at CC was very inexpensive and I chose a state school for the RN-BSN. In total, I paid something less than $15k for everything, including books (I always bought used texts of the previous edition and rarely paid more than $10). This may not be everyone's experience - as indicated, I already had other degrees and so either got transfer credit or was exempted from a lot of classes. As I also indicated, I was able to work full-time, at least 50 hours a week, throughout nursing school, which may not be possible for everyone (my spouse was a stay-at-home mom for example). It can be done however.

A quick word about PMHNP that you may want to take into account. As a psych minor in undergrad, this was the specialty I thought I wanted until I started looking at programs. In the dozen or so schools I looked into however, the overwhelming emphasis was on psychopharmacologic patient management, to the near total exclusion of any other form of therapy. I do not want to be solely a medication manager as an NP and have altered ultimate my goal slightly as a result. YMMV however.

I advice u to get ur BSN, hospitals wont hire ASN over a BSN, if u looking to move up the ranks really quick u should go for BSN

Without a doubt you should do the BSN. Last year I got into Nassau CC, and was pretty much set on going there (close to home, CHEAP, nice facilities, etc), then I realized the difficulty of getting a hospital job with an ADN. If I were younger, I'd probably have done that then the RN-BSN. However, I decided to go to a BSN program (College of New Rochelle). I don't regret it at all. You'll also notice that there are some programs such as externships and jobs that are advertised as being open only to BSN students. I now work part time at NY Presbyterian, and the job was open only to BSN students (it's really flexible-2 days a week minimum, and 4 weekend days per schedule, and you make your own schedule). A few of my coworkers are also in accelerated programs, including Columbia's, and they manage to do the 2 days. Another benefit is that I can take some time away from school after graduating while I work as an RN (i'm planning on NP or CRNA later on), instead of continuing to work (if I found a job with an ADN) and go to school for RN-BSN, which isn't fun.

So, I'd add another vote for just doing the BSN and be done with it. Apply broadly, I'm sure you'll be fine. If anything, apply to one or two ADN programs as back ups (I applied and got into NCC and Montefiore last year). Good luck!