How diff is practical nursing program from bscn ?

xokw, BSN, RN · Jan 22, 2015

Is the level of difficulty that different ? My mother is an rn and did both programs, she says the practical program is basically the same as the first two years of bscn (slight variation) but that was a while ago, can anyone give a more recent comparison of the two ? I want to become an rn but I may have to take the practical nursing/bridging route and I'm interested to know how they stack up.

I can tell you about my experience. I completed a practical nursing program and am now in the bridging program.

I took more classes at one time in my RPN program (8 per semester) than in the BScN program (about 5 per semester, depending on electives and such), however the classes in my BScN program require more of my time outside of class than the classes in my RPN program.

I did find, however, that the RPN program moved at a significantly faster pace than my BScN program. Within 6 weeks of starting practical nursing I was in a facility for placement, but I know there are some schools that don't even start placements in the BScN program until second year.

I have to work harder now than I did in my RPN program, as I used to my assignments and studying the night before and finished with a 90% average. I can't do that anymore. I actually have to manage my time effectively to ensure I get my readings and assignments done and I find the marking is tougher as the expectations are higher. My grades have dropped. Although I am still sitting with an A average I can see a decline even though I am working much harder.

The science is more in depth, no doubt about it. That isn't to say that the RPN programs don't cover a lot - they do. BScN programs just go deeper, every single thing is at a cellular level.

There is a greater focus on research and scholarly writing. I was always a good writer and that is where a lot of my high marks came from in practical nursing, however I find now there is less focus on the way I write and more focus on the actual sources/research techniques I am using.

I love the program though, and I loved my practical nursing program. If I had to do it all over again I would not change a thing about the way I went about it, as my knowledge and experience as an RPN are absolutely invaluable as a BScN student.

ImATotalDiva · Jan 22, 2015

I can tell you about my experience. I completed a practical nursing program and am now in the bridging program.
I took more classes at one time in my RPN program (8 per semester) than in the BScN program (about 5 per semester, depending on electives and such), however the classes in my BScN program require more of my time outside of class than the classes in my RPN program.
I did find, however, that the RPN program moved at a significantly faster pace than my BScN program. Within 6 weeks of starting practical nursing I was in a facility for placement, but I know there are some schools that don't even start placements in the BScN program until second year.
I have to work harder now than I did in my RPN program, as I used to my assignments and studying the night before and finished with a 90% average. I can't do that anymore. I actually have to manage my time effectively to ensure I get my readings and assignments done and I find the marking is tougher as the expectations are higher. My grades have dropped. Although I am still sitting with an A average I can see a decline even though I am working much harder.
The science is more in depth, no doubt about it. That isn't to say that the RPN programs don't cover a lot - they do. BScN programs just go deeper, every single thing is at a cellular level.
There is a greater focus on research and scholarly writing. I was always a good writer and that is where a lot of my high marks came from in practical nursing, however I find now there is less focus on the way I write and more focus on the actual sources/research techniques I am using.
I love the program though, and I loved my practical nursing program. If I had to do it all over again I would not change a thing about the way I went about it, as my knowledge and experience as an RPN are absolutely invaluable as a BScN student.

Appreciate your response, this is exactly the route I'm going to take. I'm currently in the pre-nursing student stage, taking my prerequisites and I'm maintaining a 90% av however I did horribly last year in a previous program (unrelated to nursing) & unfortunately they are going to count that against me, so I may not get into b.sc.n directly. It's also better because the b.sc.n programs only start in September and I'm not willing to wait another year before I can start nursing school, I can even work as a practical nurse while I'm finishing my degree. I'm so anxious to start, cant wait to finally experience everything !!!!

xokw, BSN, RN · Jan 22, 2015

Appreciate your response, this is exactly the route I'm going to take. I'm currently in the pre-nursing student stage, taking my prerequisites and I'm maintaining a 90% av however I did horribly last year in a previous program (unrelated to nursing) & unfortunately they are going to count that against me, so I may not get into b.sc.n directly. It's also better because the b.sc.n programs only start in September and I'm not willing to wait another year before I can start nursing school, I can even work as a practical nurse while I'm finishing my degree. I'm so anxious to start, cant wait to finally experience everything !!!!

Do not feel down about your previous experience with school. I dropped out of three programs before finally realizing I wanted to pursue nursing, and I ended up loving it.

And like you said, you can work as an RPN while in school finishing your BScN. This beats having any other part-time job while in school as the money is much better and you gain so much valuable knowledge and experience.

No matter which route you take you can get where you want to go. Do whatever you feel is best! Good luck with your applications and decision!

ImATotalDiva · Jan 23, 2015

Do not feel down about your previous experience with school. I dropped out of three programs before finally realizing I wanted to pursue nursing, and I ended up loving it.
And like you said, you can work as an RPN while in school finishing your BScN. This beats having any other part-time job while in school as the money is much better and you gain so much valuable knowledge and experience.
No matter which route you take you can get where you want to go. Do whatever you feel is best! Good luck with your applications and decision!

Thank you so much ! If you don't mind me asking, why did you choose the pn bridging route ?

xokw, BSN, RN · Jan 23, 2015

Thank you so much ! If you don't mind me asking, why did you choose the pn bridging route ?

For sure.

I hated the idea of spending $7000+ on another program that I could potentially hate and drop out of. The PN program was a much smaller financial risk.

I didn't want to commit to a program where I would have nothing to show for four years (seems silly, but that was the mindset I was in). I wanted to start working as a nurse as soon as possible, so becoming an RPN meant I would be in the field within two years and I knew that if I wanted to become an RN afterwards I still could pursue that option.

A lot went into the decision but that's pretty much what it boiled down to. And I'm thankful I went the way I did!