Can't decide between Accl. BSN and D.E. NP program

[GraceXOBoards]

I'm 46 and just beginning my prerequisites next week. I plan to apply for a 2010 nursing program. I have a B.A. and an M.A. in English. My only medical experience was an EMT ten years ago.

I'm struggling mightily with whether to apply for the Accelerated BSN or tackle the Direct Entry Nurse Practitioner program.

I am trying to find sites or threads that discuss what types of positions an NP would do if they working in a community clinic or physician's office isn't the goal. For that matter, I'm struggling finding sites that explain in good detail what the differences are between an N.P. and R.N.

Also, are there any N.P.s out there that would rather just be an R.N. at this point?

[touchhealth]

Hi,

This is definately a hard questions to tackle, and one that is worth considering. Under the specialty section, there is a forum entirely devoted to NP's (and other advance practice nurses like CNS, CNM, and CRNA). That might help you get a better understanding of the NP scope of practice. You state board of nursing is always a great reference as well.

Try and identify which programs you're interested in and start talking to students who are curently going through them. Check NCLEX pass rates. Volunteer at a hospital, and start talking to staff members. There are also direct-entry MSN programs that don't end in an NP degree.

I struggle with this question a lot. At first I was set on a BSN, then thought the ADN was best for cost reasons, but have recently been leaning more towards direct entry MSN programs. I'm not as interested in the NP track because you usually have to chose a specialty, and I'm not 100% sure what area of nursing I want to specialize in.

Also run some general searches, there are tons of threads tackling this subject. There are just so many ways to enter the profession, and so many different areas you can focus on.

ALl the best!

[elkpark]

There are also a number of threads here by/about people who have gone through accelerated BSN programs, and their opinions about how well they felt they were prepared to enter practice and their experiences when they did so. You may want to do a search and look at those.

[Bicster]

d.e. np programs make me nervous, id go for the bsn

[%63theend]

I've never heard of an NP program that accepted applicants without an RN. Out of curiosity what school are you looking at? I am torn b/c on the one hand I'd say do the RN b/c a NP functions really as a doctor and you want to have nursing experience before you get into that. In fact my school- Kennesaw Sate University- doesn't allow anyone to apply to the NP program until they have worked for 5 yrs as an RN. On the OTHER hand though, if I were given the oppurtunity to go STRAIGHT to the NP which is what I ultimately aim to be.... well it would be hard to turn down! So I am not sure what I would do if I were you!

[SiennaGreen]

There are a few Direct Entry Master's programs. They typically roll the Accelerated BSN into their program.

I think the big question for the OP is "What do you want to do?" NP's and RN's are very different in duty and job description. If you don't know that you want to be an NP and what specialty- just go through the BSN program. You will need to hold a previous undergrad degree for those programs, I believe.

There are sooooo many options for nurses to advance their education from public health policy, community health nursing, to advanced practice nursing (NP's). You might just need to do some research. I know when I was researching, I found several good books at thelibrary and online used about nursing careers. You can also check places like: www.discovernursing.com or the American Nursing Association web site.