Has masters and pre reqs....

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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My wife is eagerly pursuing the nursing field.

She currently has a masters in exercise and sports science.

She also has completed the few pre reqs that were need to apply at the community college here.

My question is, having masters right now, is going through the associate program to become an RN the right direction?

Would it be advisable to take another path? I.e. Bachelors program.

Is there some other option that we are over looking?

Thanks in advance for responses.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Postpartum.

Your wife may get different opinions about either going into an Accelerated BSN program vs. an Accelerated MSN program. I will share with you why I've chosen the Accelerated BSN program route.

I have my Bachelors in a different field and I'm currently taking my prerequisites for an Accelerated BSN program. Accelerated BSN programs are only offered to students holding a Bachelors or Masters degree in another field. I chose NOT to pursue an ADN, because those programs last 2 years. It made more sense for me to spend 15 months to receive a BSN, because my long term goal is to become a Nurse Practitioner. After graduating, I'll spend a couple of years getting experience working as an RN and then I will go for the MSN. At that time, my employers may be willing to pay for that degree.

Now, there are Accelerated MSN programs offered to people with at least a Bachelors from another field. The reason why I'm choosing not to go that route because nurses with an MSN are known as "advanced practicing nurses" and I felt I shouldn't pursue that degree until I've actually worked as one for a couple of years.

Here are some pros and cons between these Accelerated programs vs. the community college ADN programs:

1) Accelerated BSN/MSN programs are expensive; ADN programs are cheaper

2) ABSN programs are completed in less time then the ADN programs; usually ABSN programs last between 12-16 months, depending on the school

3) ADN programs are very tough to get into, because many people are trying to get into these programs, which brings me to point 4

4) There may be a long waiting list for these ADN programs. Some may get into these programs a year after they've applied

5) ABSN/AMSN programs are very intense, which is why they are called Accelerated. Some of these programs may advise students NOT to work because they are so intense

I hope I was helpful in your wife making her decision.

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Specializes in Future: Forensic/Legal Nurse Consulting.

The above response is exactly the pro/con list I sorted through when making my decision -- I, too, have a masters degree, and being a newlywed, I really thought the "saving money" route was the way to go. But after realizing that I didn't have 2 years to waste sitting on a waiting list (especially because I was recently laid off), I decided the best choice was to apply to an accelerated BSN program -- many of the bigger hospitals are only hiring BSNs, at least that is the case here in Denver, and I figure the sooner I can get into school = the sooner I can get done with school = the faster I can get a job = the faster I can pay off that slightly more expensive tuition.

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With a background like that, I'd go for the accelerated BSN.

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i also have a bachelors and masters degree and I am doing the accelerated pathway because it just doesnt make sense when you can do a BSN in the same time as a ADN

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I greatly appreciate the responses!

I guess we are not aware an accelerated BSN program in the Austin area.

Any of you know which university offers this program and if maybe it is called by a certain name?

I think both of us would probably lean that direction if it were an option.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Postpartum.
I greatly appreciate the responses!

I guess we are not aware an accelerated BSN program in the Austin area.

Any of you know which university offers this program and if maybe it is called by a certain name?

I think both of us would probably lean that direction if it were an option.

I personally don't know of any Accelerated programs in your area, because I'm not from TX. But I found this link to help with your own search: http://www.bestnursingdegree.com/states/texas/

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Specializes in pandemic, public health, disasters.
i also have a bachelors and masters degree and I am doing the accelerated pathway because it just doesnt make sense when you can do a BSN in the same time as a ADN

I have a master's degree but I can't do the accelerated BSN (or any BSN for that matter) because I work full time during the day. There are NO evening BSN programs anywhere remotely near me. Usually the BSN programs are reserved for traditional students (who can attend class during the day).

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I greatly appreciate the responses!

I guess we are not aware an accelerated BSN program in the Austin area.

Any of you know which university offers this program and if maybe it is called by a certain name?

I think both of us would probably lean that direction if it were an option.

I'm hoping to be an ADN student, and I'm in Houston, but I'm already looking ahead to RN-BSN while I await my acceptance letter. I looked into Texas A&M HSC, and noticed that they are looking to expand their nursing program to Round Rock. I don't recall if that includes an ABSN program, but it may be worth checking into. Good luck to your wife!:)

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So I just did a search out of curiosity, and realized that I have completely taken for granted that there are so many options in Houston. I can't believe how few there are in Austin! I did go ahead and look at the TAMHSC site again, and found this for you-

http://nursing.tamhsc.edu/future/descriptions.html

Hope that helps some!

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UT doesn't have an accelerated BSN but they do have an alternate entry Masters in Nursing (AE MSN). There are a lot of pros and cons to an AE MSN (check the boards for recent topics discussing this).

From what I know about ACC (a required class after application before acceptance, extra points for people who have applied more than once, etc), if your wife has most of her prereqs done, it >may

http://www.utexas.edu/nursing/html/academics/ae_msn.html

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Thanks for the info everyone.

We also found a program that Texas tech offers here in Austin. It apparently is an accelerated bsn.

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