Degree Advice...

[erinkm]

Hi there...new here. I'm sure there have been five million questions like this, but my situation is probably a little unique and I'm having a hard time sorting out all the options.

I am 30 years old, have two kids, and my husband is a stay-at-home-dad. I work in healthcare in a non-clinical role and make okay money, but not great and there is little room for growth in my current position/industry. I have a BS in Marketing and an MBA. My job has given me access to many high-level administrative folks, which is a nice perk.

I love healthcare, 100%. I honestly never gave any though to nursing or medicine because I was a very squeamish person, which I didn't think I could overcome. I've pretty much overcome that issue due to the nature of my current job. I am pretty sure I would like to pursue nursing, and more specifically, being a NICU nurse. I've had personal (both of my babies were in the NICU) and professional experience and feel very, very strongly that is where I want to be.

I am not sure how to approach my education, and was looking for some advice.

I first have to take 4-6 pre-reqs, which is pretty set in stone regardless. Afterwards, is where it gets tricky.

• Getting my ASN while working full-time and using my connections to hopefully get a foot in the door to start working as a nurse, and finish whatever else I need to do for my BSN. My employer also offers tuition reimbursement (not much, but every little bit helps).
  
• Quit my job after my pre-reqs are done, move in with my MIL, have my husband find a low-paying job that offers benefits, and completing an Accelerated BSN, and begin working once that is done in about 15 months. I would be missing out on about $3,000 of tuition reimbursement, but I would also be free to work for whatever hospital I'd like, and my connections would still most likely remember me just a year out.
  

I was really hoping someone would do a part-time accelerated BSN, but that does not appear to exist. It would have been the perfect solution.

Anyway, I appreciate any advice. I feel very passionately that working as a nurse in the NICU is what I want to do. If I changed my mind at some point, the degree would still be very beneficial to me because I am qualified for a lot of different hospital jobs based on experience, but they want a nursing license as well.

[OrganizedChaos, LVN]

Well if you want to work in the NICU you're best bet is to go through an ABSN program since the likelihood of a hospital hiring an RN with a Associates Degree in the NICU is slim. I know it would be great to have your degree paid for but if you want to get to work sooner that is the path *I* would take. Good luck!

[akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P]

You may be able to go to a "traditional" BSN program as a second Bachelor's student. The pace would be slower than the ABSN and would be about as long, maybe an additional semester longer, as an ADN program is. The other good thing about going to a traditional program is that you likely won't have to pay several hundred per unit, just the "regular" amount that any university student would have to pay.

A third option is to go for an ADN and find an RN-BSN course. That route will be longer than either traditional BSN or ADN programs on their own, but you'd earn a BSN at the end of it, with a downside that you won't likely be considered a "new grad" after completing the BSN coursework.

Check out those options and who knows, something might pop up and surprise you!