Published May 27, 2014
LookingForward2016
3 Posts
Hi! I am a (very) recent grad with my BS in Dietetics. I have been interested in nursing along the way and applied and was waitlisted at my school. It went to the back burner for a while as I focused on my dietetics degree. Now I am in the position to figure out what I want to do for the rest of my life! I have always been interested in the NICU, even with dietetics, but there are few NICU dietitian opportunities as far as I can tell. I am in the unique position where I currently could have a lot of options. I am taking this year off to figure out what is best and would like some advice. I can apply to dietetic internships in September and complete one (assuming I am matched) next January-July and then begin an Accelerated BSN in August. I was wondering if anyone else had any career switches RD to RN or any experience having both credentials? Is paying for the internship and going through it worth if ultimately I'd rather work as an RN, possibly NNP?
My other question is about direct-entry MSN. After talking to a few nurses I already know, they do not seem to respect direct-entry MSNs very much. Some have discussed the phasing out of the MSN but I know that is not mandated as of right now. Is it possible to go into a DE-MSN, get the RN and work for a while before deciding on the graduate portion? I know for NNP that 2 years is required in the NICU before starting graduate classes. Have any current NICU nurses encountered any direct-entry students or had experiences with them, good or bad?
Thanks!
24gaDalek
101 Posts
I went to a school that offered Entry Level MSN and Accelerated BSN. I did the ABSN. I have found that the ELMSN students are not regarded highly in my area (anecdotal reports only). I can't imagine paying the Master's Degree price for coursework that is essentially a BSN until the 16-18 month mark.
I do work with someone who was in an ELMSN program and dropped out after getting her RN. She has a previous Bachelor's degree in something unrelated and an RN. Some hospitals are okay with that. Some are not.
Thanks for your response! I'm leaning more towards the ABSN. I don't want to pick an MSN field then end up not liking it.