CNL v. NP

[erw5f]

I have been accepted into UVA's CNL program (2 years to an MSN) and also VCU's Accel. Masters with a specialty in CNL. I have heard a lot of mixed opinions on the CNL and I am second-guessing choosing this specialty. If I go to VCU, I should be able to switch my specialty to NP after my first year, this program is 3 years. Any recommendations? What is the general opinion on UVA's CNL program, from what I hear it has a very good reputation. What about VCU?

[sunray12]

I'm not in either program. Here's what I have gathered. CNL is basically a generic MSN, and CNL grads are considered entry level RN's - but it's a good stepping stone for specialization. If you do the 2 year CNL at UVA, you can get a specialty certificate such as NP in about a year if you go to school FT - so 1 yr after UVA-CNL comes out to the same as 3 yrs @ VCU. Both schools have good reps. I think recruiters from both schools post on all nurses from time to time. If you go to the VA board under the regions tab at the top of the page you can find more info.

[CraigB-RN, MSN, RN]

The first thing you have to do is decide what you want to be/do as a nurse. The roles are completly different. I'd start by looking at different post's here and do more research on the individual degree's It's hard to make some of those decisions without the nursing experience to help.

[Music in My Heart]

I'm in a CNL program and the CNL stuff is just systems and process stuff. If you've no background in such things then it's worth learning. Regardless, though, at the end of the program I'll be a newbie RN looking for the same staff jobs as the ASN/BSN students.