Interested in several specialities, take ADN or BSN route?

[clg0213]

I'm interested in several different nursing specialties, i.e. peds, ICU, ER, CC and oncology. Does it matter if I take the ADN or BSN route for these? Correct me if I'm wrong, but if I take the ADN route will it limit me to particular specialties?

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I consider myself a pre-nursing student. I will be a college graduate soon and I want to pursue a career in nursing instead. I played around in school my first two years and more than likely my gpa will be a 2.8 when I leave. I plan on taking science and math prereqs at a community college next spring.

I want to go to school in San Antonio so I can live with my parents and save money. I know UTHSCSA is competitive. I think even if my science/math gpa was above a 3.5 I wouldn't have a good chance since my cumulative from college is holding me back.

So now I am looking at ADN programs in San Antonio. I've read some posts and I'm nervous hospitals won't hire me if I take the ADN route (for magnet status), even though ADN and BSN both become RNs in the end.

Any comments and suggestions will be extremely helpful to me in my decision for the future.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

BSN is definitely the way to go. The increased pressure to achieve Magnet status is pushing more hospitals to limit new grads to BSNs - so ADN grads are having a tough time finding jobs in urban areas. However, you do not need to have a BSN just to actually work in a specialty but obtaining specialty certification is limited to BSN these days for many clinical areas.

The GPA will definitely be a challenge. Be sure to work extremely hard on your pre-reqs to get those A's. Some programs will also allow you to re-take a course in order to eliminate the lower grade - you'll need to check with the school to get info on their specific policy in this area.

Best of luck to you.