I'm Torn. . .

[hjohnson40]

Here's my situation:

Female, 30 years old, no kids (probably won't have kids), LTR. I've been a P.E. (gym) teacher for 5 years. It's great, I love it, I just miss challenging myself, and honestly, there's not many jobs in this field and P.E. is cut more every day.

I have a B.A. in Education, Physical Education. I had to have a pretty extensive science background for my P.E. degree. So, I have all the core classes like anatomy & phys, chem, biology, etc. I checked into the local ADN program, and found I have all the core classes, as well as co req's with the exception of microbiology. No big deal to pick that up though. So, I applied, was accepted and am now on their 3 term waiting list. I wouldn't start the 2 year program until Spring '11. The more I read on here though, the more I'm torn and wondering if it's a waste of time/money.

I've seen some discussion here that a BSN could be required to be an RN at some point in the future. The BSN would require me to take quite a few more courses, and considering it's at a university, it would be much more expensive. The university's program is competitive, and considering my average grades from 5-10 years ago while I was getting my bachelors, I doubt I have much chance in a competitive program. There is also a waiting list at the university as well, once you are accepted.

What would you do in my shoes? Forget the whole thing? Go ahead and do the ADN? Or only go for it if I can get into a BSN program? Obviously, as a P.E. teacher, I'm not rich by any means and still owe a fair amount from my first go round.

[MikeyBSN]

I know a lot of great (some of the best) nurses who started as ADN's. Generally, I think it's better to get an ADN and then work for a while and, when you are ready, go back and get your BSN. This way you could even get the BSN part-time and most employers will pay. A few states, like mine, are talking about requiring a BSN, but they have been talking about that since I started nursing school. Even if they require it, you have 10 years to get it. So in your situaiton, I would go with the ADN. But that's just me.

[hjohnson40]

Thank you very much for your reply! It was very helpful. It makes me feel much more comfortable going for an ADN.