Asn/bsn?

SmilingBluEyes · Dec 19, 2004

Decide your goals overall as a nurse. Want to be a manager, administrator or nursing instructor/professor or school/community health nurse? If so, it's obvious you will need a BSN/MSN to do many of these things, so it may make sense to pursue BSN right away. If your goal is bedside care and NONE of these, then an associate's will be a good choice. Know, also, you may choose to advance your education later on, and many online or correspondence classes are there for RN-BSN/MSN students. Just keep your mind and options open.

Consider who has waiting lists and determine how long you are willing to wait to get into a given program......

Investigate all the options near you. Interview university/college counselors and nursing school department personnel to see what may or may not be "a good fit" for you. If there is a long waiting list at the school of your choice, then go ahead and begin work at your pre-requisite courses while you wait. You will have to do this, anyhow.

Decide how much you can invest in school and look into scholarships/loans/grants. It is often cheapter to get your "prerequisite" courses done at community college, at least. Be aware any classes you take may or may not transfer to a university. Know which ones will and take only those, if you plan on pursuing a BSN.

Also, understand, it will almost always cost less to pursue an Associates' degree, as a rule. This may be important for you if you cannot get scholarships or grants easily and choose not to go into debt for school. Finances are a big issue for us all, some more than others---especially if we have to work to support families of our own, in addition to attend school.

Good luck. I don't believe for a minute a BSN-nurse is '"better" than an Associates-prepared nurse. I don't believe associate's degree nurses always have more clinical experience, either. Generalizations abound regarding both. Ignore them. Choose what best works for you.

You have to decide for yourself what programs best work for your lifestyle and finances. No one here can decide that for you------if you are an adult returning to school, especially if you have to work, care for a family, and go to school, (like many of us), you will really need to know which programs are most flexible and have the most "non traditional" students. These are likely the ones you will most want to pursue.Most nursing programs are very, very hard...nursing is not easy, no matter if you pursue an associate's or bachelors' degree. Expect to work harder and face more frustration than you ever have in school before. It's more than academics that get you in nursing....it's a tough program that will change your life, likely. Yes, they are all tough, some brutal.

Best wishes and good luck to whatever you do decide to do.

SmilingBluEyes · Dec 19, 2004

AH----I see you posted since I wrote my long-winded piece....

And, since you are only 17 and not supporting a family that sure helps.......In light of this, I would suggest you go for a fulltime BSN if at all possible, in your position.

Best of luck.

minneRN · Dec 19, 2004

I disagree with you. A lot of it has to do with how many lower GE classess you still have to take. The BSN program I am enrolled now is 8 semesters long. We take 2 classes at a time. On top of that I have to take my lower GE classes. It also depends on the universities requirements for graduation. So after taking lower and upper division GE and your division courses, it can very well take longer than you are estimating. Also, if you are working full time, it can be difficult to juggle work, family, and school, and still remain sain:) !

whoever told you that the BSN was 4-5 more years post-ASN SERIOUSLY misinformed you, or you are looking at the WRONG PROGRAM. lt shouldn't be more than 2 years even if you go part-time!