Does anyone have a non-nursing specific Bachelors degree?

[eirnwilli]

I am on the 1-2 year wait list to get into the RN program in Phoenix, AZ. I am considering to continue my education towards a bachelors degree while waiting to get into the RN program. The BSN program at ASU is VERY competitive, and I was wondering if there is anyone out there that has benefited from a different bachelors degree. I have looked into a Bachelors in Biological Sciences through the liberal arts and sciences college, but I'm not sure if that will benefit my career as a nurse.

Does anyone have a bachelors degree that is not necessary related to Nursing that has helped them succeed as a nurse?

Thank you for taking the time to help me!

Erin :)

[BrnEyedGirl, BSN, MSN, RN, APRN]

I had my BS in psych and bio before starting nursing school. It helped in that when I started nursing school, I only had to take the nursing classes.

[phrozenone]

I have a Bachelors degree in English...and was admitted to an ADN program here in GA with no problems at all. Having a degree, from what I heard, definitely helps speed up the process of being admitted.

[Not_A_Hat_Person, RN]

I had a BA in English when I started Nursing school. It got me out of a bunch of pre-reqs (though it took me a year to finish the rest). I was also very good at writing, researching, and presenting.

[RNCEN]

I have a degree in criminal justice from the University of Delaware. I am not in nursing school yet, but some of my classes will fulfill a few pre-reqs. I do not directly use my degree at this time, but I see it as being helpful with regard to being well rounded...and a nursing school's perception of life experience and ability to manage course material.

[emtb2rn, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

I have a BS in Communication. The only pre-reqs I needed were sciences as everything else transferred from my BS. I think pretty much any educational background can be incorporated into nursing. Nursing calls for skills across many fields - i.e, psych, education/teaching, computer science (e-charting & pump trouble shooting), math, project management, English, biology, physics (esp in the ER, ya know, a body in motion stays in motion, well, at least until it hits the windshield), etc.

[Medic09, BSN, RN, EMT-P]

BSc in Health Sciences, degree for paramedics. Got me into an Accelerated/Second Degree BSN program and skipped all the prereqs. Got my BSN in 16 months - faster than I could have done by going to the ADN program at the community college. They had no accommodations for my previous work. Also, at the time, the university had a number of slots reserved for second degree students. I got one of those instead of vying for one of the 4 year slots.

[MB37]

I have a BS in psych and history with a business minor. I got into an accelerated BSN program no problem and graduated with a 4.0 in nursing after 15 months because of my prior college experience. Nursing school seems to be significantly harder if you have limited prior college experience - we took exactly the same classes as the traditional, first degree students (just more credits at a time), and our exam scores averaged a full letter grade higher as a group. There was no waiting list, and it was quicker and cheaper for me to get my BSN this way than to go to a community college ADN program.

Definitely think about what you want to do later - psych? take psych classes. CRNA/acute care NP? Take more chem, bio, and physics. Management? business courses. Family care NP? Maybe child psych, or education classes. More education never hurt anyone, but first spend your money on BSN prerequisites. Also, a foreign language that's commonly spoken in your area is a good idea - I wish my Spanish was better.

[Lovely_RN, MSN]

I have a B.A in communications and I just finished an ADN program. There are quite a few schools in my area that will allow you to go ADN to MSN if you have a non-nursing bachelors degree so I don't fee that my degree was wasted.

[Smitty08]

I had a BA in psych. and then went for ADN. Much later, that was a great background for my psych. NP. Also, my NP program did not require a BSN, I entered w. my BA. So there are lots of avenues one can take. Try to do what you like best. Going for a BSN after completing an ADN and being an RN, just was not very palatable!