Did you attend an Accelerated BSN program?

Quickbeam, BSN, RN · Oct 18, 2011

Which accelerated program did you attend? Not necessarily the school but what type of program. 2nd degree accelerated BSN

What prerequisites were required for your program? Mammoth! I took five years of night school in preparation for my 12 month accelerated BSN program. Computer science, nutrition, child development, A&P, biochem, inorganic and organic chem, microbiology and more that I forget.

What is your overall feelings towards your nursing education in an accelerated program? I absolutely loved it...the program amde sure we got every possible clinical experience. For example, I was an interpreter for the deaf pre-program; the clinical instructors arranged for me to lecture at the state school for the deaf and work as a visiting RN for deaf patients. I also got a full rotation in peds, peds ICU, home health, psych, public health, school health, ICU, community health in addition to LTC and med/surg.

Do you feel like you were prepared adequately? Yes.

How long did your program take? 12 months.

Do you think you got a good return on your investment? Absolutely. My opportunity cost was huge and I needed to get back to work ASAP.

Would you advise others to pursue an accelerated degree? only if extremely motivated.

If you had it to do it all over again would you obtain your degree the same way? Why/Why not? Yes. it was the perfect program for me and my goals. This was 25 years ago...I do not know if I could have afforded the same program today.

ann4997 · Oct 19, 2011

Which accelerated program did you attend? touted as a 2nd career/2nd degree Bachelor's degree, but there were many new grads - BSN-RN

What prerequisites were required for your program? Statistics, A&P I&II; Microbiology and Pathophysiology

What is your overall feelings towards your nursing education in an accelerated program? It was a tough and humbling experience. I was used to getting straight As, but I wasn't so "lucky" with this degree (maybe because I had a home and family this time); it was all school all the time. The program was 12 months and all of what a traditional 4yr nursing program covers in the first two years is transferred from your previous Bachelor's degree (all the English, philosophy, history and core). The "accelerated" part was doing the junior year over the summer (may-august) - only nursing classes. Once the summer is over you join the "traditional" nursing seniors for your senior year.

Do you feel like you were prepared adequately? Yes, I believe I was prepared very well. The program I went to has a great reputation and now that I have gone through it I can see why. Everyone wishes they had more clinical hours, but our program required more than the state mandate.

How long did your program take? 1 calendar year; 12 months

Do you think you got a good return on your investment? Yes. While many people advised me to just go to the community college because in the end ADNs and RNs get paid the same. My motivation wasn't just pay; I already had a Bachelor's degree and have designs on getting a Master's so it made financial sense to get my BSN. Also because I have a family I wanted the least impact on them (with me being away from them) and if I did the ADN it would have taken two yrs; so the accelerated BSN also made logistical/time-wise sense.

Would you advise others to pursue an accelerated degree? I would advise others to understand what their goals were and do their research to find the best program to fit into their livves and budget. If someone were in a similar position as I was when I started, I would strongly advise them to pursue the accelerated degree.

If you had it to do it all over again would you obtain your degree the same way? Why/Why not? Yes it was a perfect fit in my life and goals. Also, now that I am working, I feel that I got an excellent education.

Hope this makes sense -- and I hope it helps. Good luck

StarryEyed, RN · Oct 19, 2011

Which accelerated program did you attend? Not necessarily the school but what type of program.

2nd Bachelor's Accelerated BSN

What prerequisites were required for your program? BA/BS, all "regular" nursing pre-reqs, Pathophysiology, Nutrition, Pharmacology

What is your overall feelings towards your nursing education in an accelerated program? I was absolutely grateful for it.

Do you feel like you were prepared adequately? Yes.

How long did your program take? 12 months

Do you think you got a good return on your investment? Yes. I'm not exactly thrilled about the amount of loans I took. But I knew this before I even applied. I was ready to be DONE with school. I was absolutely not willing to sit and wait on a waiting list while I could be pursuing my life goal & start working in that career.

Would you advise others to pursue an accelerated degree? If life allows them to. I was (am) single, no kids, able to relocate, knew I could handle a long-distance relationship, have my full-life ahead of me. Nothing was holding me back.

If you had it to do it all over again would you obtain your degree the same way? Why/Why not? Yes! If I had not done this, I could still be waiting to enter a program, then have to go through at least 2 years of nursing school, then have to wait for a hospital to take a chance on a new grad.... no way. I'm so glad I'm finally working as an RN.

Sally781 · Oct 19, 2011

which accelerated program did you attend? not necessarily the school but what type of program. -2nd degree bsn

what prerequisites were required for your program?-ba/bs in another field, a&p, basic chemistry, microbiology, and statistics.

what is your overall feelings towards your nursing education in an accelerated program?-i'm glad i got done so quickly. to me nursing school isn't hard, just time consuming. a lot of bs and fluff, but i think all programs are like that. i got the same advantages and experiences as traditional students.

do you feel like you were prepared adequately? -for nclex, certainly, everyone in my accelerated group passed the first time. as far as clinical, commensurate with my peers who went to regular bsn programs.

how long did your program take?-14 months/4 semesters.

do you think you got a good return on your investment?-sure. i have a good job.

would you advise others to pursue an accelerated degree?-if that's what they want to do. i don't in general encourage nursing careers, but i'm sure there are people out there who would love to be nurses, and if you have another degree why not do it in less time.

if you had it to do it all over again would you obtain your degree the same way? why/why not?-if i had to do it again i probably wouldn't go into nursing. that being said, since i have at least 2 more years of being legally bound to be a nurse, i'm glad that i went to the program that i did. it was a good school, good professors for the most part, and supportive of the students as far as i could tell.

defyinggravity2009 · Oct 19, 2011

Which accelerated program did you attend? Not necessarily the school but what type of program. Accelerated 2nd degree BSN program

What prerequisites were required for your program? A&P I&II, statistics, developmental psych, micro

What is your overall feelings towards your nursing education in an accelerated program? There was a lot of information that I retained because I was hit with it 8 hours a day for 5 days a week, but then there was other stuff that went over my head because I was on sensory overload, which I had to spend more time studying and relearning. An accelerated program is for people who are motivated - if you don't get it, the program just keeps going on - you have to make sure you get it.

Do you feel like you were prepared adequately? My program did not have a preceptorship program, and I wish we had. When I was hired, my medpass and assessment skills were fine, but I had a difficult time keeping up with charts and orders. It took a few months, but I finally got the hang of it.

How long did your program take? 12 calendar months. I had the option to go to a 15-month program also - I am glad every day that I was accepted into and chose the 12 month program.

Do you think you got a good return on your investment? Absolutely - I have a flexible schedule and a respected career. I'm not thrilled that every person I know calls to tell me they have a boil on their ass and I should really have a look at it the next time we get together, but I'm happy to help talk my grandmother off the ledge when she's concerned about my grandfather or any one of my pregnant cousins (she loves to worry about everyone).

Would you advise others to pursue an accelerated degree? Yes, depending on their ability to handle life stressors mixed with career pressures. It's not for everyone - I loved it, but some people started to crack midway through about the loss of social life (working a good paying job is pretty tough when in an accelerated program).

If you had it to do it all over again would you obtain your degree the same way? Why/Why not? I loved my non-traditional method to becoming a nurse - my criminal justice background set me up for a great career as a nurse, and I wouldn't have changed a thing. Maybe starting school earlier could have helped - I'd have less student loan debt to pay back. :-)

anurseatlast · Oct 19, 2011

a group of my colleagues and i are graduate students and doing research on accelerated bsn programs and how graduates of those programs feel about their preparation as rns and experiences throughout their program. if you could answer a few questions by responding to this post, your input would be greatly appreciated.
thanks!!
which accelerated program did you attend? not necessarily the school but what type of program.
not sure what you mean by type of program.... not online, an in-person, go to class every day kind of program
what prerequisites were required for your program?
had to have a previous degree - could be an associates- in whatever along with a list of prereqs -science (biology, microbiology, a&p, chemistry), math (intermediate algebra and statistics), english (comp i&ii, public speaking, maybe lit - i don't remember), social studies (sociology, some kind of a cultural diversity class, pysch, human growth and development, gerantology), a research class
what is your overall feelings towards your nursing education in an accelerated program?
i thought they did a great job of preparing us. it is amazing how much you can learn in a short time.
do you feel like you were prepared adequately?
no and yes. i don't think anyone comes out of nursing school feeling totally competant. at least every new grad i have ever talked to said they felt unprepared to a certain extent (ie, how to handle 6-8 patients, not the 1-2 you have in clinicals.) but i think i felt as prepared as other new grads did including those from traditional 4 year programs.
how long did your program take? 14 1/2 months
do you think you got a good return on your investment? yes. it was a private school costing about $27k but i think it was worth it.
would you advise others to pursue an accelerated degree? yes, if they are able and willing to make the sacrifices that are needed and they think they can take the stress. it is extremely intense. not much down time. i think it would be difficult to do if you do not do well under pressure. undoubtedly, some people would prefer and do better in a traditional program. i think it is important to evaluate what you will have to change about your life to accomodate the schedule and the required study time. if you have a family to care for, it would be crucial to have people who will support you and step in to help in practical ways. also, it is important to figure out the finances before you start. most programs discourage working while in an accelerated program for good reason. school has to be your priority and there is no flexibility in the schedule. you have to be at class and clinical. you have to have adequate time to study. can you do that and work? (i worked while i was in the program but in jobs with very flexible schedules. if i had a choice, i would not have worked. it definitely made it hard. several of my fellow students worked too but i think they would probably agree it would be better not to.
if you had it to do it all over again would you obtain your degree the same way? why/why not?

i absolutely would do it again. it was intense but i loved it almost every day. it was a great challenge. one of the things i liked was that you are only focusing on nursing, not english, math, etc. learning it all in such a short time made it easier to see how the things you learned fit together. there is not time to forget things. doing patho and pharmacology at the same time is tough but can make it easier to see the big picture. i am very glad i did not do a traditional program. i liked the pace of the accelerated. also, i was 50 when i started the program. i wanted to get my education and get started on my career.

evolvingrn, BSN, RN · Oct 19, 2011

Which accelerated program did you attend? Not necessarily the school but what type of program. 2nd degree bachelor to BSN program

What prerequisites were required for your program? a math, anatomy, physiology, chemistry1 and chemistry 2, microbiology, intro to psychology, intro to sociology

What is your overall feelings towards your nursing education in an accelerated program? I feel like i was very well prepared through the program, the program was very comp. to get into so the high acheiving nature of the students drove one another , i loved the one on one preceptor focus of the clinicals as well as the additional clincal hours in comparison to a traditional program

Do you feel like you were prepared adequately? see above comment

How long did your program take? 12 months

Do you think you got a good return on your investment? um......yes? it was a bit expensive for my comfort level and i was uneasy about it with the current market.

Would you advise others to pursue an accelerated degree? absolutely, but it depends on the person and their strengths and weaknesses

If you had it to do it all over again would you obtain your degree the same way? Why/Why not? I would in the situation im in, (married, 30's , children) as well as being a very self driven independent person who had a drive to learn the material. I do not think accelerated programs are the right thing for people with weaker studying skills, or poor support system. But it definately was a great fit for me.