Hiring for graduates with a BSN in nursing

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I am a student who is currently working on my first bachelor's degree in psychology but have applied to nursing schools because I have decided that I want to pursue nursing instead. I am having a trouble choosing between two schools and figuring out which one to go to. They are both BSN programs. One of them is a better program but the other one I could complete sooner. I could receive the same degree at both but the one that is not as good of a program, I could be done with a year earlier. I am already a Senior so I am looking to graduate with my second degree sooner rather than later. I was curious if anyone knows if I will have a much easier time getting a job if I am graduate from a better institution or if it does not matter all that much. If employers place a lot of emphasis on it then I would rather do the program that lasts longer (because it is much better), even though I would love to graduate sooner. Could anyone let me know if they have any knowledge of how much employers look at the school a person received their BSN at when in the hiring process? Thanks!

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Specializes in Urgent Care NP, Emergency Nursing, Camp Nursing.

A Bachelor of Science in Nursing in Nursing?

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Specializes in NeuroICU/SICU/MICU.

I don't think the school matters for much (unless it's an extremely prestigious and well-known program). If you already have a BS in Psychology, have you looked into accelerated programs? They're often 1 to 1.5 years, for students who already have a bachelor's degree in another field. Also, have you been accepted to both schools? It's by no means a "given" that you'll be accepted to the programs you apply to, nursing has become extremely competitive lately. Hope this helps!

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Oops yeah that was an oversight. Do you have any advice?

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I did get into both of the schools so that is why I'm trying to figure out which one I should go to. I also applied to an accelerated program and got in but I decided not to go there because of the location. Thank you for the post!

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IMO, I would go with the longer program. I was in the same situation - a senior about to complete my BS in biology when I decided that I wanted to go to nursing school. I chose to finish up my degree, applied to accelerated programs and am currently half way through a 15 month accelerated BSN program. What's great about it is I will be done quickly and (hopefully) working as a nurse by the time i'm 25. What's not so great is the fact that we have practically ZERO time to do anything that's not related to school. This means that i'm not able to get the "experience" that a lot of hospitals are looking for when hiring. I'm not sure where you live but I know a lot of hospitals in my area offer nurse externship programs during the summer - i'm not able to do this because with my program we go 15 months straight. I also know that holding a job at a hospital as a CCT/PCT or nursing assistant has helped them get jobs after school because not only do they know the people in the hospital, but they have a lot of the basic experience. Right now i'm trying to hold onto my job as a unit clerk at a hospital by me, but that's not giving me a ton of patient care experience, and i'm worried it will hurt me in the end. If I knew then what I knew now I probably would have chosen the longer program and gotten as much experience as possible during my time off. Just an idea! Good luck! :)

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