Do you find your previous degree was of any help in nursing

[Infofreak411]

if you enter the nursing field with a degree in another field, do you find your degree of any use or help in nursing?

I have a degree in psychology and education and really want to be a nurse but I cant help but feel my previous degree and schooling would be a complete waste if I change career paths.

Do hiring managers and/ or hospitals look at previous non related degrees at all?

[calivianya, BSN, RN]

I don't think my previous bachelor's in psych even got me glanced at. There are a lot of crazies in the hospital, though, and plenty of people who normally aren't crazy who decide to be crazy while they're admitted. You might find a psych degree useful for personal reasons, and educating is a big part of a nurse's job! They won't be a total waste as far as what you took away from them. :)

[RunBabyRN]

Hiring managers don't look at that, but you'll find you draw on that experience as a nurse, and it affects your approach to patients. I didn't complete another degree, but I did have other majors before nursing, and I draw on those experiences all the time (English, Spanish and business). As calivianya said, you'll definitely draw on our psych and educational knowledge working with patients, and you might look at positions like diabetes nurse educator or psych nurse (there's an advanced practice psych nurse specialty as well), where those other degrees may actually work for you on your resume.

[NICUmomNICUnurse]

I don't know if they look at previous degree's or not... However, at my old hospital when I was hired as a new grad in 09, there were 4 new grads all hired at the same time. ALL 4 of us were BSN's, and for ALL 4 of us, it was our second bachelors degrees. My new job has a whole mixed bag of degrees, and my guess is that they probably don't look at previous degrees.

[mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN]

Where I work, the recruiters who screened looked at education in general I have an ADN and a BS in Biology. Whether it helped me get the job, I don't know, but it helps be a better nurse. I also have a teaching degree which helps, too

[mhy12784]

A bachelors degree will do nothing for you (outside of helping you get into a nursing school, ie miine was MOSTLY people with previous bachelors)

If you had an advanced degree in either of those areas, youd have something to work with though.

[krisiepoo]

they didn't so much look at my previous *degree* but how I used that, ie my experience. I was a social work case manager and worked in the medical field helping disabled individuals be successful in the least restrictive environment. My new director was very interested in how my case management experience would impact my nursing practice, it was a big topic of discussion during my first interview.

[mhy12784]

But since you are mentioning previous degrees, I did have an MBA prior to my nursing degree.

All 3 interviews I went on for my first nursing job asked me about it, and talked about it a little.

I also had a prior bachelors degree (in an unrelated major) which never was addressed by anyone at any point.

[Lennonninja, MSN, APRN, NP]

My BA in Spanish helped me with medical terminology in nursing school frequently. I thought it would give me an edge as a nurse, but the area I work in has little use for Spanish (which I find shocking since I grew up in CA) and I should have learned Burmese because we have lots of Burmese refugees in the area.