Direct entry Msn for non-nursing BA?

[notyetnurse]

Hello everyone! I'm hoping to get some outside perspective on this question and possibly some options as well. Just a brief on my background: I hold a liberal arts Bachelors degree and just finished my LPN schooling. I stumbled upon the concept of direct entry msn programs and wonder if this might work well in my situation.

Both schools I contacted in my local area require the student to have an RN license which wouldn't do me much good. Any thoughts on good programs which require only a non-nursing BA and *might* look favorably at my having completed Lpn?

I heard Marquette might be an option but would love to know of any others you might have had success in!

Thanks as always,

Heather

[NICUmiiki, DNP, NP]

I always thought direct entry MSN programs were for the RN (ADN or diploma) level.

[jt43]

There's a school in my area that admits students who hold a non-nursing BA into an accelerated MSN program. It's a long program with the BSN awarded after 18 months and then the MSN after an additional 2+ years (NP).

[notyetnurse]

There's a school in my area that admits students who hold a non-nursing BA into an accelerated MSN program. It's a long program with the BSN awarded after 18 months and then the MSN after an additional 2+ years (NP).

Thanks for the reply. What area are you in? I'll check it out because maybe there are some online options!

Heather

[LoRNinFL]

There are two schools on my area that have accelerated MSN options if you have a BA. I live in NC and ECU is one school and Duke is the other. For ECU you have to have at least a 2.8 GPA from your undergraduate degree and you get your BSN in a years time. After that I believe it takes another 2 yrs to complete your MSN. I don't know how Duke works but I'm sure if you take a look at their website it will give you the information you want.

[NICUmiiki, DNP, NP]

Wow, there's a program for everything. You could also do a ABSN the MSN in about the same timeframe, so I wouldn't limit myself to just a specific type of program. Remember.. The best program might be the one that accepts you.

The advantage of the non-nursing to MSN is that you have almost guaranteed admission.

[jt43]

I'm in VA. Look at the four year universities/colleges in your area. Many offer accelerated-type programs.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

Do some serious investigation before plunking down mega-bucks on a direct-entry MSN program. There are a lot of pitfalls.

First of all, employers are just not hiring these grads due to negative experiences. Employers in my area are very wary of accelerated programs due to the fact that grads do not get sufficient clinical exposure and sufficient time to become enculturated into the nursing profession. The 'advanced degree' does not make any difference in salary since it does signify any clinical expertise. Grads from these programs may also run into real problems if they want to relocate to another state unless they were awarded a BSN along the way.

[KatieMI, BSN, MSN, RN]

There are such programs, although most of them are long (up to 5 years) and insanely expensive.

I totally agree with the post just above. Unless you have some very relevant working experience (healthcare-based IT industry for nursing informatics MSN, for example) and RN licence, think many times before applying, or your degree may be worthless from the employment point of view and technically non-transferable from one state to another. Even BSN granted somewhere during the course doesn't do much good, as employers are well aware of very limited clinical opportunities these program offer to their students. The degree can easily end with becoming a sort of glorified secretary getting less of what a floor nurse makes and paying off school debts out of it.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

look at it this way...would you want your mom's mn nurse to have a degree in, oh, history and less than a few months aggregate time using clinical assessment skills of an rn? or "learned" them in an online course? if that doesn't give you pause, it should.

take the longer route, from an actual brick-and-mortar college. you'll learn more; that's the real goal of education, isn't it?

[mbrogan]

i completely disagree with the comments about people in direct entry programs not having the adequate knowledge and nursing education compared to traditional nursing programs. i am currently going through the marquette direct-entry program for non-nursing degree students and i feel like i have learned a lot of what's really important to know as a nurse and i am able to retain a lot of that knowledge because we have such a short time before we apply it. there are still science prerequisites we have to pass in order to get accepted so we still have the base knowledge before starting nursing school. marquette really does a great job of teaching us what we need to know and making sure we leave the program knowing how to treat patients ethically and utilizing our critical thinking skills. marquette has a very high nclex passing rate and every nurse i've talked to that graduated from the rn portion found jobs within 2 months. marquette is a very well respected school and you will receive a great education that employers will pay attention to when hiring you as their nurse.

only down side is that it is expensive but it is definitely worth it.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

marquette enjoys a good reputation precisely because it is a longer program and they do teach more nursing. i got the impression from the op that the course of study s/he was considering did not do that. please correct me if i'm wrong.