Could you please guide a parent in the right direction?

Specialties NICU

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My daughter really wants to become a NeoNatal nurse practitioner. She just graduated from high school and is wanting to go to nursing school. My question is...with her wanting to ultimately be an NNP, does she need to go to a 4 year school and get a BSN or does she need to do the bridging route.....go get her LVN, then bridge over to RN...then go on to do her BSN? She seems to think the bridging way is to go but it doesn't logically seem correct. Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. We live in Texas if that helps as well.

Thank you!!!

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Specializes in NICU.

If she can afford it, I'd recommend getting the BSN from the get-go. The bridging programs are largely designed for people who may have to work in between stages in order to afford more school. If she can't afford getting a BSN right away, I'd still recommend getting an ADN (associates degree which leads to RN) over getting her LVN first. The whole process is much easier and less hassle--especially considering that she has to have at least two years of Level III NICU experience before becoming a NNP and LVNs are not allowed to work in level III NICUs (rarely even level IIs that I've heard of).

I'd also tell her that nursing school is mostly about adult health (probably about 90%) and not to get discouraged during school...I fell in love with the NICU during my senior year of college when I was wondering if I was going into the right career field because I despised adult nursing and had little exposure to anything else.

Tell her good luck! It's a long road but definitely worth it! Though there are days when I come home feeling like I don't know anything, I still love my job to pieces. There's nothing else I'd rather be doing at this point :)

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If that is her ultimate goal, I would start off getting a BSN because not every school offers a bridge program. If she's really anxious about getting her life started (like myself :D) there are schools out there that offer accellerated BSNs so you go to school all year around and instead of getting your bachelors in 3 years you get it done in 2 years...not counting the years it takes to finish the general education courses. I don't know much about LVNs and ADNs because I'm going straight into an accelerated BSN program but if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask :D

Also, if she's serious about nursing, make sure she does well in her science prereqs (anatomy, physiology, microbiology, organic/biochem). Grades in those courses have a lot of weight when it comes to determining admission.

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Thank you both for the information. Is there any chance you could tell me what schools have the accelerated BSN program around the Austin area? Also I have researched to find out that there are some area hospitals that will pay for tuition...do you know anything about this?

Greatly appreciated......

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Thank you both for the information. Is there any chance you could tell me what schools have the accelerated BSN program around the Austin area? Also I have researched to find out that there are some area hospitals that will pay for tuition...do you know anything about this?

Greatly appreciated......

tell her to come here and ask the questions......she needs to do the work......since she is a HS grad, she is basically an adult.....why isnt she going to college already (i mean for the fall)? unless money is the issue LVN is not the way to go, to get where she wants to be....but i repeat, she needs to do the looking/working on getting there

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Thank you both for the information. Is there any chance you could tell me what schools have the accelerated BSN program around the Austin area? Also I have researched to find out that there are some area hospitals that will pay for tuition...do you know anything about this?

Greatly appreciated......

I'm from Southern California so I'm not sure about the schools in austin. But if go online to any schools website, under their nursing department, it should tell you the type of Nursing programs they offer... accelerated or basic...RN...MSN... all that good stuff. And let your daughter know they every school should offer orientations for those interested in the nursing program. They'll give you alot of insight on what prereqs you need, their point system for admission (every school has a different point system) and what to expect while in the nursing program.

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Thanks.....I just happened to come across this site today. She is working a shift at her Nursing home job and I do plan to pass it along....thank you so much for the information:)

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Specializes in NICU Level III.

doing all that bridging would be a huge waste of time..and if NNP is her goal, so would an ADN. my advice is to not focus on specializing while in nursing school. throughout it, i wanted to be an NNP, too, until i started working in a NICU and saw what they really get to deal with.

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