Hi everyone - Here is yet another thread about going into nursing versus not
Here's my situation - I have taken pre-reqs towards nursing for almost 4 years now! Slowly but surely so that I get good grades & I had to work full-time and get on waiting lists, etc. I have been excited that long to do it and worked very hard. I have been at my present occupation for 22 years. My employer, a hospital, was paying enough tuition assistance to cover my degree (whether it be ASN or BSN) almost entirely including books! Jan. 2010 is the year that I have finally been accepted into both an ASN program and a BSN program. I just found out that my employer, due to the economy, has had to slash our tuition assistance alot -- so that it will now cost me about $12,000 - $14,000 to do the BSN route, and about $1,200 for the ASN degree. But actually due to how many pre-reqs I have taken, both degrees will take me the same amount of time left - only 2 more years. Some people are advising me due to the economy & due to me having a good, stable job right now - not to go on with nursing anymore. Because once clinicals hit next year, I will have to give up my current job & get a part-time job. It is just my husband and me. But I am the insurance holder for us too. I really didn't want to incur any more debt for us. Plus the fact that there seems to be a surplus of nurses right now trying to get jobs. Plus the fact that my husband and I are in our 40's so not young. But I would still be about 2 years away from graduating so the economy could very well turn around some by then too. There are pros and cons to both avenues, I know. If I look short-term, then I should stay where I am. If I look long-term, then I think the rewards would be better with nursing. I really want to do something else rather than staying with my current profession another 20+ years and have always wanted to be a nurse. Do I give it up? Do I go the ASN route? Do I go the BSN route? I know I have to make up my own mind because it's my life but I keep going back & forth with this decision. Thanks for any thoughts you all have!! I love this website. :redbeathe
I quit a good job in a hospital when I went back to school, and I solved the insurance problem by getting student health insurance through my university. I was able to have it charged to my tuition, and use finiancial aid to pay for it.
I quit a good job in a hospital when I went back to school, and I solved the insurance problem by getting student health insurance through my university. I was able to have it charged to my tuition, and use finiancial aid to pay for it.
That is a good idea. Will it cover her husband as well?
That is a good idea. Will it cover her husband as well?
Yes, spouses & dependents can be added. Mine is through Aetna - we were able to select between two different plans, and everything else works exactly like any other health insurance I've ever had. It was much less expensive than COBRA.
I have one thing to say about this with it being so hard to find jobs right out of nursing - you have no idea where the job market will be in two years. As far as we know, it'll clear up and be fine! I'm not expecting to graduate until 2013 (A looong ways away, haha!) so I'm really not too worried about the current job market. A quarter/semester before graduation? Then I'll worry.
In your situation (which resembles mine in some respects) I would choose the BSN over the ASN--in fact, that *is* what I've chosen for myself.
1. My hospital of choice is making a transition in its hiring practices. Beginning in 2013, they will require a BSN for all new hires. In my state there is a desirable hospital that already has this policy in place. I like keeping my options open.
2. Management positions are more readily available to BSN grads. I may never want to take one! But, to repeat, I like keeping my options open.
3. I think taking an ASN over a BSN when they require the same amount of time doesn't make sense to me from a cost/benefit analysis. If the BSN took twice as long, that would be a different story, but they're identical in program length. Why choose the lesser degree for the same amount of work?
In my case, the costs of the two degrees are identical, but I would make the same choice even if the BSN were 5k-10K more in cost. I'm an older student, and I don't want to unnecessarily prolong the educational route. The bulk of an older student's cost for schooling is not tuition but lost income.
3. Not all graduate level programs will allow an ASN-to-MSN route. Again: a BSN gives me more options.
4. Of highest importance to me is health insurance. This is available for me and my dependents through a BSN program at much lower choice than through COBRA. I'd check and make sure any program I was considering offered health insurance.
Just my thinking; someone with other priorities could easily come up with an entirely different answer.
Great thoughts from everyone! Some I didn't think of and that is why this site is so wonderful - I want to thank everyone so much for answering me so far!
AugustRain
223 Posts
I quit a good job in a hospital when I went back to school, and I solved the insurance problem by getting student health insurance through my university. I was able to have it charged to my tuition, and use finiancial aid to pay for it.