Graduate entry vs accelerated BSN

[MegBern]

Hi all,

I'm looking into getting into nursing as a career-changer and am considering the NP Graduate Entry Program at OSU or the Accelerated BSN at Capital to begin in summer 2017. I'd be interested to hear thoughts on the benefits of graduate entry programs versus an accelerated BSN, work for a few years and then pursue a MSN via a more traditional route. My goal is to work in women's health and eventually pursue a DNP. I've worked in the clinical setting before as a dietitian and am currently a research manager for a women's health organization abroad, so I'm coming into the field with a bit of relevant background.

Look forward to hearing other's thoughts!

Thanks :)

[Grumble88]

If you know you want to be a clinician and know the specialty you want to pursue, go for the direct entry and save yourself time and money. If you aren't sure what your end-goal is and just want to explore nursing before committing to a field, go for the BSN.

PS don't listen to the people on this forum who will insist that RN experience is absolutely required before pursuing an APRN education. It is not. You'll get all the RN experience you'll need while working during the MSN portion of your direct entry program.

[MegBern]

Thanks @Grumble88. That's been my main concern in reading this forum! So many people talk about needing RN experience and I certainly don't want to spend the time and effort and money to end up over-qualified and under-experienced.

[Trhl09]

Hi there @MegBern. I'm also a career-changer and also coming in from a science/health-related field (toxicology, public health), but I have no clinical experience. I'll be starting an accelerated BSN program at the end of August, and I'm also likely to go into advanced practice nursing (eventually). Since I'm not sure of what specialty I'd want to pursue, the accelerated BSN made more sense for me since it's only a 1-year program. The MSN would be another 2, so doing the direct entry MEPN for 3 years would be the same amount of time. Also, if I work for a few years, I may find an employer that would be willing to pay or subsidize the MSN program. Basically it's all about time, money, and a good fit, right? I'm still not quite sure about the direct-entry Master's CNL programs, though, because it seems like I'd end up in the same entry-level position with an accelerated BSN.

[OUxPhys, BSN, RN]

Depending on what area you want to go into RN experience is required, i.e. if you want to be an NP in an ICU you will need some experience as an RN first.