career change- Assistant Teacher to Nursing

Nurses Career Support

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Hi, I hope I can get some advice. I'm seriously considering a career change. I have an Associate's degree in early childhood education and I want to change my career to the nursing field. I want to get my Bachelor's in Nursing. I dont know if this helps but I live in NYC. What I want to know is,

1. Should I start from scratch and become an RN? or

2. Can I move foward with my Associate's degree and get my Bachelor's degree in Nursing? or

3. Do I have to start over and get an Associate's degree in Nursing (RN), to then get my Bachelor's in nursing? and

4. If I went foward from where I am now and got a bachelor's degree, would I be considered an RN as well?

Sorry if I sound crazy, I'm just very new to all of this. So a lot of questons running through my mind.... HELP!!!

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

You don't have to have an Associate's degree in nursing to enroll in a BSN program. Nursing has several points entry into practice - Diploma, Associate, BSN or even MSN. They all end up as new grad RNs. RN is the "license", you receive after passing NCLEX. Graduation from a basic pre-licensure nursing program (with any of those degrees) will enable you to take NCLEX. Does that make sense?

Talk to an admissions counselor. You may be surprised to find that you have already met a lot of the pre-requisite courses for that BSN program. Good luck to you!

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Thanks so much HouTx for your help. Eveything was very clear and to the point. And yes it made sense what you were saying. I am so happy to have had all of that answered. Thanks again. Enjoy your day.

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Skip the associates as they're becoming more and more worthless. You can either enroll in a BSN or MSN program (non-accellerated) keep your current job and work your way through clinicals and school. Or take a quick CNA course (while applying to BSN or MSN) and try to find a hospital job after you complete the CNA. If you work as a patient care tech, medical assistant, etc., while you're in nursing school it's going to help you find a job in the future as those with hospital experience are heavily favored over those without.

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