I plan on being a nurse but which is the better path to take?

cpet · May 30, 2013

Because you already have the college identified and can complete all the necessary classes there AND a degree, then an additional year at another university to have your BSN I would go that route. At the end of the day you will have a dual degree rather than trying to go the shorter route.

RHill9919 · May 30, 2013

I can't tell you what to do, but I can give you an idea of how I wish I would've done it. I did what you're debating. I went to a 4 year school and got a degree in psychology. I'm now hoping for an accelerated BSN program next summer. If I could go back, I would have started doing nursing right away and skipped the psychology degree. I just didn't know I wanted to be a nurse. I have learned so much from my psychology background and I do feel it will be beneficial to me for nursing, however, I do not think it would be that big of an asset to where I would go that route again.

Also the amount of money I spent on my psych degree is painful to think about and here I am about to drop another couple thousand on a second degree...

PMFB-RN, RN · May 30, 2013

I am about to start college in fall 2013 with a full ride to a school that does not offer a degree in nursing. I planned on getting my prerequisites out of the way and than transferring to nursing school. However I am unsure if I should transfer as soon as I can and begin a traditional BSN program, or if I should just stay for four years and get a bachelors degree in psychology and than do the one year program to get my BSN. After I get my BSN I plan on continuing to become a Nurse Practitioner. Which route will help me in the long run as a nurse? Any advice would be appreciated.

*** Are you sure the BSN program is only a year? Usually those programs require significant pre-reqs unlikely to be met with a psychology degree. You might find that one year BSN is really 2 years or more.

meeep, BSN, RN · May 30, 2013

Most ABSN for people with a previous Bachelor are usually 16 months-ish, but I have heard of a few that are only 12. I can't imagine doing 2 years of nursing classes in one. Hope you don't like to sleep, haha. Good luck regardless! :)

PMFB-RN, RN · May 30, 2013

Most ABSN for people with a previous Bachelor are usually 16 months-ish, but I have heard of a few that are only 12. I can't imagine doing 2 years of nursing classes in one. Hope you don't like to sleep, haha. Good luck regardless! :)

*** I just don't understand how it's accelerated if it's the same length as the regular, traditional BSN? Usually "accelerated" means shorted than the regular program.

This is what I think of when I hear "accelerated BSN".

http://www.uwosh.edu/con/college-of-nursing-programs/undergraduate-bsn/accelerated-online-bachelors-to-bsn

I work with lots of grads from this program and they are very well prepared. better IMO than the traditional BSN students from several of the other local programs.

jeli42 · May 30, 2013

I am about to start college in fall 2013 with a full ride to a school that does not offer a degree in nursing. I planned on getting my prerequisites out of the way and than transferring to nursing school. However I am unsure if I should transfer as soon as I can and begin a traditional BSN program or if I should just stay for four years and get a bachelors degree in psychology and than do the one year program to get my BSN. After I get my BSN I plan on continuing to become a Nurse Practitioner. Which route will help me in the long run as a nurse? Any advice would be appreciated.[/quote']
I would not advise getting a degree in Psychology if that's not what you want to do. You are only prolonging your end goal. I have a degree in Biology (former pre-med) and if I had known I wanted to be a nurse, I would've applied to a traditional BSN or even an ADN then did an RN-BSN while I'm working as a nurse.

PMFB-RN, RN · May 30, 2013

I am about to start college in fall 2013 with a full ride to a school that does not offer a degree in nursing. I planned on getting my prerequisites out of the way and than transferring to nursing school. However I am unsure if I should transfer as soon as I can and begin a traditional BSN program, or if I should just stay for four years and get a bachelors degree in psychology and than do the one year program to get my BSN. After I get my BSN I plan on continuing to become a Nurse Practitioner. Which route will help me in the long run as a nurse? Any advice would be appreciated.

*** Keep in mind that if you get any bachelors degree you won't be eligible for financial aid to get another bachelors degree.

jeli42 · May 30, 2013

*** Are you sure the BSN program is only a year? Usually those programs require significant pre-reqs unlikely to be met with a psychology degree. You might find that one year BSN is really 2 years or more.

Very true. Pre-reqs are usually Anatomy, Physiology, Microbiology, Psychology, Sociology, Speech and Stats (some universities require even more classes like Nutrition and Chemistry - depends on school). A Psychology degree is not likely to have those courses in its major (only the Psych class obviously and maybe Sociology). So you are right. Although an accelerated BSN is only a year (some schools are longer), you would need at least 2 semesters to fulfill the pre-reqs assuming you go full time. There is really no use for a Psychology degree if you're not going to use it. Just my opinion :)

jeli42 · May 30, 2013

*** I just don't understand how it's accelerated if it's the same length as the regular, traditional BSN? Usually "accelerated" means shorted than the regular program.
This is what I think of when I hear "accelerated BSN".
http://www.uwosh.edu/con/college-of-nursing-programs/undergraduate-bsn/accelerated-online-bachelors-to-bsn
I work with lots of grads from this program and they are very well prepared. better IMO than the traditional BSN students from several of the other local programs.

Traditional BSN is four years. I know what you mean though because usually, you think of 2 of those years being General Ed courses and the other 2 years as upper division courses. But I believe traditional BSNs start nursing in their sophomore year so technically that's 3 years, not 2 (I'm looking at the curriculum for traditional BSN for Cal State Long Beach).

National University in California has an ABSN program and it's 22 months long. Here is a link to their curriculum:

http://www.nu.edu/OurPrograms/SchoolOfHealthAndHumanServices/Nursing/Programs/BSNAcceleratedPostBachelor.html

PMFB-RN, RN · May 31, 2013

Traditional BSN is four years. I know what you mean though because usually, you think of 2 of those years being General Ed courses and the other 2 years as upper division courses. But I believe traditional BSNs start nursing in their sophomore year so technically that's 3 years, not 2 (I'm looking at the curriculum for traditional BSN for Cal State Long Beach).
National University in California has an ABSN program and it's 22 months long. Here is a link to their curriculum:
National University â€¢ BSN Accelerated Post-Bachelor

*** Many people do 2 years pre-nursing at a community college then transfer to a university for 2 years of nursing school. I think of the BSN as two years of college and two of nursing school, like you mentioned. When I say "years" I really mean 8 months per year (two 4 month semesters).

National's program needs a little truth in advertising. I may not be officially right but to me "accelerated" will mean shorter than the traditional 16 months. Why anyone would choose Nationals when they could actually do the regular, non traditional BSN in a shorter time I don't really understand.

jeli42 · May 31, 2013

*** Many people do 2 years pre-nursing at a community college then transfer to a university for 2 years of nursing school. I think of the BSN as two years of college and two of nursing school, like you mentioned. When I say "years" I really mean 8 months per year (two 4 month semesters).
National's program needs a little truth in advertising. I may not be officially right but to me "accelerated" will mean shorter than the traditional 16 months. Why anyone would choose Nationals when they could actually do the regular, non traditional BSN in a shorter time I don't really understand.

People who already have a Bachelors degree are unable to do a traditional BSN (as in my case). They only take undergrads. If you already have your RN then yes, it should only take 16 months for an RN-BSN. But in my case where I do not have an RN, 22 months is actually faster than doing the ADN for 2 years, then another 2 years for an RN-BSN. I don't understand though, why programs like CSUN are only a year Accelerated where National is 22 months?? Looks like National has more courses... Not quite sure why.