Education Path; Where Do I Go From Here? Please Help!

[trustbirth]

I am going to try to make this as short and un-complicated as I can so that hopefully everyone can understand the questions I am asking.

I am in my second semester of an ADN program and will Graduate next May (2010).

My plan is to take a semester off of school after that, and start work in June 2010.

I do want to go back to school and finish either my BSN or my MSN. By the time I graduate from my ADN program, I will have completed all pre-requisites required to get into a BSN program.

The two areas of nursing that I am interested in are Labor and Delivery (nurse-midwife if I get a masters), or pediatric oncology (pediatric nurse practitioner if I get a masters).

I guess my question is, what educational route should I take? Is it better for me to go from my ADN-BSN (RN-BSN) or go straight from RN-MSN? Which is going to be faster and more efficient? I am sort of clueless when it comes to this.

If it helps any, I live in the Houston Texas area.

Thanks!

[llg, PhD, RN]

I wouldn't choose on totally on the basis of fast and efficient. I would also seriously consider quality. Which paths do the schools in your region offer? Which programs are of the highest quality? Personally, I would choose the program that was of the highest quality -- with time and efficiency being the "tie-breaker" factor if the different programs were of equal quality.

In most cases, the RN-MSN are faster and more efficient. However, to get the maximum learning from them, it helps to have some practical experience working as a nurse prior to entering those programs. Sometimes, the RN-BSN programs are more prepared to take an inexperienced new grad such as yourself. That's also an important factor to consider. If the program is designed to meet the needs of an experienced nurse, then you may struggle and not learn as much if you enter it too soon in your career. If you want to start school soon after your graduate from your ADN program, you'll be far better off choosing a program (regardless of the type) that frequently includes inexperienced students such as yourself.

[suslenghi]

Hi--I agree with llg: choose based on quality of the education, NOT based on the fastest.

Consider what school is best for L&D or Ped. Oncology; look at the hospital clinical sites, esp who the profs are (where did they study & what are their specialites; how qualified are they; what nursing models are they teaching from...just a few of the questions I could think of...you should make a list of things to ask) & visit the school & talk to counselors there if you can.

[avahnel, ASN, RN]

Ooooohh!!! I am interested in Oncology, and if I were in the Houston area this is what I would do!!!!!

http://www.mdanderson.org/departments/nursing/display.cfm?id=a4a5a35c-d49b-42e9-954573982252b22c&method=displayfull

After you get done with that, you can see what kind of tuition assistance they offer.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

trustbirth,

You are lucky - there are multiple options in our area (Houston) for graduate education and MOST of them are state universities that have excellent programs with low tuition (happy dance). Since you are aiming toward a 'clinical' MSN - rather than an administrative or academic degree, it may be wise to just go ahead and get your BSN first in order to gain more clinical experience and figure out exactly what kind of nurse you wanna be when you grow up.

It may seem obvious, but Clinical master's programs incorporate a lot of clinical experience into their programs. So, it helps if you are already pretty proficient in your chosen area (ICU, OB, etc) before you venture in there as a grad student trying to accomplish 'special projects'. Otherwise, it could be very uncomfortable and much more difficult.

My MSN (critical care/education) is from UT - Houston.... LOVED it!