I completed my BSN today. Feel free to ask any questions

MyCall2Nsg · Mar 18, 2015

How Exciting!!! Congratulations and best wishes as you continue to pursue your dream!!!

You are definitely an inspiration to me. Thank you for being so thoughtful of others and helpful in answering our questions.

empatheticRN · Mar 19, 2015

I am a psych RN....I have just entered the WGU RN to BSN program and am concerned about getting into graduate school for PMH-NP... a Master's Program not offered by WGU..... are you applying to grad school? Have you heard anything from any other WGU grads who attempted to go elsewhere for graduate studies? Thanks.

I've applied to WGU and I wondered the same thing. My ultimate goal is to become a psychNP .

Murse901, MSN, RN · Mar 19, 2015

I am a psych RN....I have just entered the WGU RN to BSN program and am concerned about getting into graduate school for PMH-NP... a Master's Program not offered by WGU..... are you applying to grad school? Have you heard anything from any other WGU grads who attempted to go elsewhere for graduate studies? Thanks.

I was accepted to two FNP programs before my WGU BSN was even conferred. There was never any question about the degree or GPA.

YMMV, depending on your program, but I think that experience is more favorable than where you obtained your degree. For example, when I was first deciding on where to go with my life, I looked into Vanderbilt's PMH-NP program. At that time, they wouldn't allow anyone into the program without at least 1 year of psych RN experience. This has since changed, but illustrates the point that preference is given to experience.

Additionally, while PMH-NP is a fast-growing field with great potential, I don't think that there are as many people trying to get into these programs as there that are trying to get into FNP programs. With fewer applicants, the requirements become a little more loose (see the Vanderbilt example in the last paragraph).

tl;dr: I think you'll be fine.

telle926 · Mar 19, 2015

Congrats!

I am looking at doing the RN-BSN program, and I was wondering how easy/difficult you thought the proctored exams were? Are they comparable to an ADN program?

Also this question is for you and anyone else who might know, do you know if hiring managers really care where you obtained your BSN from?

I hear mostly that it doesn't matter, but there's always a few outliers who prefer a local well-known university over one that's less known.

Also I saw that you said the WGU degree should be transferrable to other MSN or higher programs. Have you heard of anywhere that it won't transfer to for some reason?

Do you know if the MSN program at WGU is good or readily accepted by employers? (Specifically the leadership/management program).

Thanks!

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Mar 20, 2015

I saw that you said the WGU degree should be transferrable to other MSN or higher programs. Have you heard of anywhere that it won't transfer to for some reason?

Schools that have GPA requirements greater than 3.0 will probably not admit WGU students. Due to the pass/fail competency based grading system, graduates of WGU have 3.0 GPAs.

Also this question is for you and anyone else who might know, do you know if hiring managers really care where you obtained your BSN from?

If you want to work at a prestigious, albeit crappy-paying hospital system such as Duke or Johns Hopkins, these places tend to prefer to hire nurses who graduated from prestigious schools.

WoozleRN · Apr 5, 2015

Hi TheCommuter!

I have a question for you. I'm doing the fieldwork portion of Community currently and do not live in California, but a time log is still required in an appendix for my paper. Was this the same for you?

Also, if I may ask, how long was your final Community fieldwork paper? I always worry I'm not writing enough and then end up totally overdoing it.

Congratulations on your degree! I hope to be in your shoes in a few more months!

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Apr 5, 2015

I'm doing the fieldwork portion of Community currently and do not live in California, but a time log is still required in an appendix for my paper. Was this the same for you?

The log was not required when I completed the fieldwork two months ago. My final community fieldwork paper was about 12 pages, including the title page and bibliography.

TeeRNaspire · Jun 3, 2015

Hi KimBabyRN, BSN

I may be reading your post wrong, but it looks like you said you got your BSN in the mail and you have 11 more classes to go for your MSN... So does WGU offer an RN to BSN to MSN option, or is it possible to obtain your BSN while in the RN to MSN program?

I am interested in getting the Masters in Leadership and Management, but if I can also get my BSN along the way that would be awesome!

Thanks!

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jun 3, 2015

So does WGU offer an RN to BSN to MSN option, or is it possible to obtain your BSN while in the RN to MSN program?

WGU offers an RN-to-BSN program, as well as an RN-to-MSN program. If you opt to enroll in the RN-to-MSN program, you can petition to receive your BSN degree once you complete the necessary requirements.

TeeRNaspire · Jun 3, 2015

Thanks for the reply! Looks like WGU will be the best option for me :)

MinnesotaGirlRN · Jun 4, 2015

First of all, congrats on finishing!

I had a question for you about the pace you completed your courses. I just started my first class, Care of the Older Adult, and got a 75% on the pre-assessment (pass cut off is 66%). If you obtained well-above the pass cut-off for a pre-assessment, how much time did you spend reviewing the course materials before you took the official objective assessment for the course? My goal is to finish in a year or less, and I need the same amount of credits as you. I'd like to get done as efficiently as possible while still getting the most out of my education.

Thanks and congrats again!

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jun 4, 2015

First of all, congrats on finishing!

Thanks! It is hard for me to believe that three months has elapsed since I completed the program.

I had a question for you about the pace you completed your courses. I just started my first class, Care of the Older Adult, and got a 75% on the pre-assessment (pass cut off is 66%). If you obtained well-above the pass cut-off for a pre-assessment, how much time did you spend reviewing the course materials before you took the official objective assessment for the course?

If I passed the pre-assessment, I immediately scheduled the objective assessment. Once I received a firm testing date, I typically spent two weeks studying and reviewing the material.