I'm having second thoughts

[Not_A_Hat_Person, RN]

Has anyone else here changed their mind about an RN-BSN program?

I applied to, and was accepted to, Anna Maria College's online RN-BSN program. I'm supposed to start classes next month. Two weeks ago, something gave me pause.

I've been down this road before- gotten a degree and ended up with a pretty piece of paper, debt, and the same job. It happened with my BA and my ADN. There are no guarantees that a BSN will change anything.

My main goal in getting a BSN is to eventually work in a hospital. We're in no position to move, and since my spouse refuses to drive there aren't many places we could move to. Facilties in my area want either travelers, a very small number of new grads, or RNs with 5 years of hospital experience. My ADN has so far led to jobs in LTC, which I will never do again, and home health, which is extremely dull. I'm on the high-tech side, and I've been doing the same thing, with the same client, for 4 months. When I worked at a school, there were things to do, places to go, and people to interact with. Now it's just me and the client, in the middle of nowhere.

Plus, a BSN will eventually be the minimum standard to practice. Why not get that done now?

I've applied to U Texas Arlington for July; if I only want a piece of paper, why spend more than I have to? I won't have the name recognition, but employers won't recognize any school that's not in this state, and I can't afford to spend $600 per credit at the State U's RN-BSN program. However, I think of how expensive my previous degrees were, and how hard a time I've had in nursing so far, from finding a job to learning the ropes, and I wonder if I'm just wasting time and money.

[missnurse01, MSN, RN]

'employers won't recognize any school that's not in this state' ?? totally confused over what this means. I have worked in many states and no one has ever cared where my adn or bsn came from. Take the cheapest, accredited school and do it. In many areas it is the only way to get into the hosp. You can also increase your commute, I took my first job 1.5 hours away from home just to get my feet wet! You do what you have to.

I went to univ of wyoming, about 200 a credit right now

good luck

[Not_A_Hat_Person, RN]

My state can be like a very large small town. A few months ago I talked to a nurse who worked at my local hospital. She'd moved here from Ohio, and worked at the Cleveland Clinic. It's a world-renowned hospital, but apparently the woman who interviewed her had never heard of it.

[gambron]

I totally agree with missnurse01. This is my 7th year practicing as a nurse and no one has ever cared where I got my ASN or BSN. They just want to see my valid state license. With that being said, I chose to get my BSN at the same place I got my ASN. Tuition rates were reasonable and I feel it looked better on my resume (not that it has ever mattered).

If I could go back, I'd go with the cheapest ACCREDITED school you can find. I capitalized accredited because there are a lot of flaky online nursing schools advertised. I know for sure that University of Wyoming and University of South Alabama are appropriately accredited and have cheap tuition rates.

You mentioned debt...try to get Perkins Loans....these are forgiven at a rate of about 15% per year for every year that you work full time as a registered nurse. I got them throughout my undergraduate programs and have no student loan debt now.

Good luck!