Creative RN Degree Route Options

[rootedandadrift]

I'm curious about others' experiences of becoming an RN through creative routes.

I decided a couple of years ago that becoming a Certified Nurse Midwife was the career for me. I was in the middle of finishing up a master's degree, however, and decided to just finish what I had started. Now I've got student loan debt to worry about. Plus, I just spent the last 5 years in college being an overachiever and graduating from both degree programs with a 4.0 GPA and all the honors I could manage. (I love school, but I am worn out.)

I have two children who have already been very patient throughout my previous 5 years of college. I don't really want to make them deal with the stressed out student version of me again. They are also both on the brink of teenage years and I really want to spend a lot of time with them before they leave home.

I've tried over and over to talk myself out of the idea of being a nurse midwife. But I just can't. It always comes back to remind me that I'm not doing the thing I'm super passionate about. And, really, I'm not getting any younger.

So, I'm trying to find an RN program that isn't quite so intense as most of the nursing programs I've seen tend to be. I don't really need to "get it over with" and would be happy to do something along the lines of a part-time program. As long as I am slowly chipping away at my dream, I'll be content. I also really do need to be making money during the whole process, so that is a serious consideration.

Have any of you found a way to get your RN license without overextending yourself? Is the full-time insane schedule option really the only way to become a nurse?

I'm fine with either an associates degree or bachelors degree at this point (yes, I know all the pros and cons). As long as I can get a job after graduation in maternal/child health and gain acceptance to a distance CNM program such as Frontier Nursing University, I'll be happy.

Any insights or ideas from others who have been in a similar boat? Thanks in advance!

[AliNajaCat]

The state boards of nursing decide what number of classroom and clinical hours, and what topics, a program must teach in order to have its grads able to take NCLEX in the state. Some may have more, but none may have less. Although there may be ways to stretch out your prerequisites over time (watch out for when they'd expire) there's really no other shortcut to finishing a college course of study that allows you to sit for the licensure exam.

I hear you about your kids. But think of what a great example you'll be to them as you study together and achieve together.

[NICU Guy, BSN, RN]

Except for an Accelerated BSN program, I don't think there is any requirement to take full-time load of classes if you choose to take 1 nursing class at a time, that is your choice. Obviously, you will not have the consistency of classmates in lecture and clinicals. I would call the nursing schools you are interested in. They would be the ones to determine if you can do their program part-time.