If you have a BSN, would you consider LPN rather than ABSN?

klone, MSN, RN · Jan 6, 2018

I think you meant to say "If you have a BS, would you consider..."

Why not consider an associate's RN instead of LPN?

Sour Lemon · Jan 6, 2018

Location matters a LOT with regard to these types of questions. New graduate LPNs seem to be unemployable in my area. I know several who work as unit clerks or telemetry monitors because they haven't been able to find actual nursing jobs ...and that's without being picky about the types of jobs they'll accept.

An LVN to RN program that's online would be extremely rare if it exists at all. Online ASN to BSN programs are fairly common, though.

It might be a good idea to try to use the degree you have and pay down those prior loans ...maybe while dabbling in nursing prerequisites.

KelRN215, BSN, RN · Jan 7, 2018

If you have a BSN, you've already completed a nursing program which would enable you to take NCLEX-RN so no need to do an LPN program. If you have a Bachelor's in a non-nursing field, that's not a BSN.

In some areas of the country there's nothing LPNs can do to make themselves more marketable to hospital settings. Hospitals in my area of the country do not hire LPNs any more except for some outpatient settings.

I have not ever heard of an online LPN to BSN program. LPNs and RNs have different scopes of practice and additional clinical hours would be required in the RN program. There may be programs that are partially online but I can't see one that doesn't involve clinical.

Is there a reason you cannot pursue making money in your current field while working towards your RN?

mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN · Jan 7, 2018

I would do an ADN at a comm college (cheap) then work a little then go for your RN-BSN. Much cheaper than an ABSN and I ended up getting tuition help from my job

turtlesRcool · Jan 13, 2018

LPN to RN is not that simple. I know my community college allows LPNs to do a bridge course and then start at the second year of the ADN program, but that doesn't seem like it would really save you any time or money since you don't have your LPN yet. I'm pretty sure all RN programs require more clinical hours to be completed, even if you are already an LPN; I have never heard of an online option.

Are you sure $50K is the only ABSN option? The private universities around me charge that much, but there are two public universities with ABSN programs that charge half or less. Is moving possible?

I knew I didn't want to do the $50K program, so for me it was a choice between the community college ADN program (inexpensive, reputable, competitive, and with great transfer agreements for BSN/MSN continuation) and the public ABSN. I chose speed and convenience with the ABSN, but the ADN would have been a good choice, too.

I wouldn't recommend anyone take an LPN program who wants to be an RN. LPN programs are great for those who want to become LPNs. Find an RN program if that's what your goal is.

Beautiful_Beginnings, ASN, RN · Jan 13, 2018

Hi,

I am actually in the same boat as you are. I have a BS in Biology and a MS in Surgical Assisting. Due to skin issues I cannot scrub in for surgery and choose a different career path. My debt load is over 100k so my choices were limited. I choose the ADN route. My community college is Very affordable. My RN degree will be less then 8k which I plan to pay half out of pocket ( or all God Willing :) ) I also plan on becoming a nurse practitioner and found a NP program costing 26k. In the mean time while gaining work experience as a nurse, I plan on paying my debt down.

For your situation find what for your situation best. Everyone has different circumstances that influence their decisions. It may not be the best option to persue a LPN degree if you plan to become a RN.

I wouldn't do the LPN route because you will find yourself going back to the classroom when it's time to further your education. Also, financially you will make more as A RN if that is important for you. My community college has a Lpn to RN program and they have campus work and clinical rotations. Once you receive your ADN, any further education you can do online which will allow you to continue to working as a RN.

My school with an ADN has a 100% employment rate. Check out a few schools and surrounding community colleges in your area. More importantly, find what is a fit for you and your current situation. There really isn't a "right or wrong" choice. It really is what FITS. However, try to learn from past and move forward.

I wish you luck on your nursing career!

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Jan 13, 2018

I'm going to go against the prevailing opinion here and recommend LPN. Here's why - you can begin earning a living wage which will enable you to chip away at the existing debt. True, location determines where you work, but here in the Midwest, hospitals are hiring LPNs again.

I started as an LPN. There were no bridge programs back in the Dark Ages, so I did an AAS degree almost immediately after. With your previous degree, RN-to-BSN or RN-to-MSN will go quickly for you. And you could likely do most of this WITHOUT incurring any more debt.

LucyLou88, MSN, RN, NP · Jan 13, 2018

I'm not quite understanding the question. Are you an LPN now? If you are asking how to get a better job and make more money in nursing, then the answer is to become an RN. If there is a community college in your area, they may have an ADN/RN program. If you can afford to do a BSN program at a university, then that is even better. Regardless of what road you take, you need to become an RN. Don't concern yourself with anyone looking down on a particular path. I know DNPs who started as LPNs. I have college professors right now who obtained their DNPs (that doctor of nursing practice) with online schools. Nursing is it's own, and somewhat odd profession. If you are not already an LPN, skip it. Don't waste time and money on that. In the amount of time and expense, you can get your ADN, and then take the NCLEX to become an RN. LPNs are rare these days. Even physician offices skip hiring LPNs in favor of MAs now. Dying breed who can work only in nursing homes for the most part. That's not a criticism, it's just times changing. The structure of healthcare has changed dramatically over the last twenty years, and hospitals need nurses who are licensed for RN work. It's saves them money. If you want to work your way through nursing school in healthcare, there are jobs in the hospital that you will be hired for as a student. Nurse tech, ICH tech, PCA etc...those jobs will give you a good taste of what you are in for, and how the system works. You will make connections and have a job waiting for you when you graduate if you do it well, and do it right. Take care a best of luck!

nursingjewel, BSN, LPN, RN · Jan 13, 2018

I have my BS in Public Health w/ a focus in LTC and decided to take the LPN route instead of ABSN. My 2 factors were time and money. Since I received a degree, I would no longer be able to receive financial aid(grants) for another bachelors or associates which made it very hard to afford continuing my education since I didn't want to take out another loan. The LPN program I chose was 5-7k depending on your county with payments split evenly throughout the 15 months. I found that to be a lot more reasonable compared to the 20-30k for an ABSN.

Also the time (and money) to take the pre-reqs would have pushed my goal of starting a program and becoming a nurse even further. The only ones I completed during my undergrad were writing, nutrition, chemistry 1&2, and statistics. That would leave me with 5 or 6 more classes to take without financial assistance, which would probably take a year or more for me to complete. Then I would have to cross my fingers and get accepted into a program.

I now have 5 months left of my LPN program. The bonus side for me is that I will be able to work as a nurse while completing my prerequisites for the bridge program, which is usually only 2-3 semesters. Where you live is also an important factor. In my state, LPNs make a decent amount depending on where you work, and my degree is also closely related to nursing so I definitely think that I would be more marketable. Also, some of my classmates are working as CNAs and patient care techs to make themselves more marketable as well. In my state, you usually won't find LPNs in the hospital setting though with the exception of a VA hospital I found and a children's hospital where I had my clinical. There's LTC, home health, dialysis, doctor's offices, etc.

Don't let anyone make you feel like you're going backwards if you do choose LPN. I have a couple of classmates who have their bachelors and masters but considered the same factors that I did. Good luck!

KatieMI, BSN, MSN, RN · Jan 13, 2018

A little different prospective here.

People who completed 4-years college degree in pretty much any area usually have higher level of critical thinking skills, analytical thinking, literacy and better knowledge base than the majority of population without such educational experience. These features become ingrained into their personalities and they can be difficult to cover or hide.

Now, and I am sorry to say that but it is just a hard truth, modern American nursing "real life" practices embrace a certain degree of anti-intellectualism. Nurses, while being recognized as highly educated professionals in their own area, are still valued in many places for their ability to haul every job and responsibility piled upon them with as few questions asked as possible. Students, and especially new nurses who tend to be seen as "smarties" and "bookish", asking "irrelevant" questions and refusing to accept things simply out of principle "that's so 'cause we always do it this way here" can have literally life-threatening experiences of workplace rejection, hazing and bullying just for being smarter and more outspoken than they are expected to be. This seems to be more common for older students and new grads, for those who have previous higher education and for those of them who do not cover their ambitions for higher level degrees.

I do not think that it must be "yeah" or "no" driving consideration, but please think about it in terms of your own personality and local employment market for LPNs. If where you live new LPNs are hired in hospital systems for doing acute care and you think you can pretty much shut up and silently do your job for several years, then LPN might be a good option, especially considering your preexisting school loans. If you do not think you can do it, then you better go to ADN in community college, which can be comparable with LPN program in terms of costs.

Again, I am sorry to be a naysayer but thigs changed from what they were 30 years ago, and not absolutely to the better. I had previous advanced degree and got BSN as entry-level in nursing degree; my first year almost killed me. Later, I had to resort to threats to stop open abuse of two more new LPNs who had previous advanced degrees whom I met working as agency nurse in SNFs. And in my Master's program there was a research project dedicated to problems encountered by new nurses on their first jobs and after 3 years and several hundreds advanced degree nursing students with at least Bachelor's degree earned before entering any nursing program interviewed, the number of them reporting lateral violence toward them was over 90%.

bkhadijah · Jan 14, 2018

My path was getting a bachelors degree in Sociology. Then I decided to become a nurse. My husband was military at the time, so my goal was to get in and out of school before he got orders again. I chose LPN school because it was fast and the price (I went to a technical college and paid around $4,000). Four years later, I'm an RN. I did an accelerated BSN program that was 14 months. My program was 30,000. If there was an ABSN in my area around the time I went for LPN, I would have chosen this route. Still, I don't regret my path.

What I liked about my experience? I really really enjoyed the learning experience of being an LPN. It was good for me. I guess it's just made me feel less thrown to the wolves or "new" in certain situations. I'm a new RN, but not a new nurse. Financially, it was good. I made around 55,000/yr as an LPN working LTC. I think that was an excellent return on a program that cost $4,000.

What I didn't like? Opportunities are VERY limited. Extremely limited, in comparison to RN. I was fed up of being in the nursing home. So if it's going to take you years to bridge (life happens, things come up).. that's something to think about. In my area, unless you have a BSN there is no chance of you getting into the hospital. I was stuck in long term care and home health. Maybe your area is different. But in general, I sometimes wondered if I would be in a different place in my career had I gone the RN route first.

I absolutely wouldn't pay 12,000 for LPN school, unless your earning potential is decent.

I'll also say, I wasn't able to work much when I went back for my BSN. Its just going to come down to your school schedule and these programs are really competitive, so maybe you won't get into the one with the ideal schedule. I'd hate for you to go in thinking you can work as an LPN while bridging to BSN. Maybe. Maybe not. My school had weekend clinicals and that cut into a lot of per diem shifts I could pick up.

If it were me, I would find a cheaper ABSN program and suck it up for a year and get it done. I understand student loans. I have a lot. I just think your earning potential as an RN is a lot more. So maybe your first two years as an RN you work some OT and things will balance out. Live well below your means.