Is 30 Unit RN a good way to go????

Cali · Jul 11, 2004

My school also offers the 30-unit option for the RN program. If you plan on living in California forever, then go for it. Or if you plan on being an RN an not advancing to NP or getting your Bachelor's. The downfall of doing th 30-unit option is that you don't get the Associate's Degree and your RN license may not be recognized in other states. There's only a few other classes you have to take in order to get the Associate's Degree. I honestly think you should just go for the Associate's because you never know where your career will take you. Good Luck with whatever you decide!

RN4NICU, LPN, LVN · Jul 11, 2004

I've never heard of this - wow, learn something new every day.

Would the graduate be similar to a diploma nurse or is it something else entirely?

suzanne4, RN · Jul 11, 2004

It is not the same as a diploma nurse.............."something else entirely."

NurseUBack2Healh · Jul 14, 2004

It is not the same as a diploma nurse.............."something else entirely."

See, and I was under the impression that it was a like a diploma nurse. If it's not.... do you know what the difference is??

I am not going for my associates because I really need to get working so I can pay some bills.... I will eventually go for my bachelors.... WAY WAY WAY down the line from now

Nurse2B73 · Jul 21, 2004

My school also offers the 30-unit option for the RN program. If you plan on living in California forever, then go for it. Or if you plan on being an RN an not advancing to NP or getting your Bachelor's. The downfall of doing th 30-unit option is that you don't get the Associate's Degree and your RN license may not be recognized in other states. There's only a few other classes you have to take in order to get the Associate's Degree. I honestly think you should just go for the Associate's because you never know where your career will take you. Good Luck with whatever you decide!

Thats true. I spoke with my God Mother who is an RN and an Instructor for RN. If you do the 30 Unit Option you basically say that you are not going anywhere else with your license in the US. You are stuck in California.

natasha700 · Sep 28, 2004

Once you do 30 unit that is it. You cannot go anywhere else and even if you get a degree you can't apply to that! If you don't plan on going anywhere and California is where you are going to stay go for it. But it is limiting.

RN4NICU, LPN, LVN · Sep 28, 2004

Thats true. I spoke with my God Mother who is an RN and an Instructor for RN. If you do the 30 Unit Option you basically say that you are not going anywhere else with your license in the US. You are stuck in California.

A-HA!!

So its kind of like those "Nurse Practitioners" who get certificates - but not Masters degrees - who can't practice outside California.

What in the world is going on with nursing in CA??! All these little "works for us but nowhere else in the country" deals they have going on --- kinda makes my hair stand on end.

Sheri257 · Sep 28, 2004

What in the world is going on with nursing in CA??! All these little "works for us but nowhere else in the country" deals they have going on --- kinda makes my hair stand on end.

I'm not sure what you're referring to with NP's but, from what I understand, the 30 unit option was developed to try to get LVN's on a faster RN track to help address the shortage here.

If I'm not mistaken, you still have to take the core science and nursing courses. But they leave out some of the liberal arts courses, etc. required for the degree.

:coollook:

RN4NICU, LPN, LVN · Oct 1, 2004

I'm not sure what you're referring to with NP's but, from what I understand, the 30 unit option was developed to try to get LVN's on a faster RN track to help address the shortage here.
If I'm not mistaken, you still have to take the core science and nursing courses. But they leave out some of the liberal arts courses, etc. required for the degree.

I was referring to this post from the Nurse Practitioners forum - regarding education requirements for becoming a Nurse Practitioner. Apparently PA has this sort of thing too?

https://allnurses.com/forums/showpost.php?p=793994&postcount=18

There are not many liberal arts courses required for an Associate's degree - most of them are math and science prerequisites (A&P I-II, Micro, Pharm, maybe Chem I), so why do a program (why even create one) that is not recognized outside one particular state? It's not that much faster. It just doesn't make sense to me.

Sheri257 · Oct 1, 2004

There are not many liberal arts courses required for an Associate's degree - most of them are math and science prerequisites (A&P I-II, Micro, Pharm, maybe Chem I), so why do a program (why even create one) that is not recognized outside one particular state? It's not that much faster. It just doesn't make sense to me.

Actually, there can be a lot of additional course work, depending on the program. Schools do vary in their requirements but, at my ADN program there are eight additional courses required besides the basic science pre-requisites (Anatomy, Physio and Micro). And, it's important to remember that students have to take basic bio and chem before they can get into those nursing pre-requisites, so that brings the total to 10 additional courses.

At my school they require English, Sociology, General Psych, Developmental Psych, Humanities, Speech, Physical Education and a Math course. And I believe most, if not all of these courses are waived with the 30 unit option.

So, in this particular program, it can save quite a bit of time. At least a year, if not more.

:coollook:

RN34TX · Oct 1, 2004

Actually, there can be a lot of additional course work, depending on the program. Schools do vary in their requirements but, at my ADN program there are eight additional courses required besides the basic science pre-requisites (Anatomy, Physio and Micro). And, it's important to remember that students have to take basic bio and chem before they can get into those nursing pre-requisites, so that brings the total to 10 additional courses.
At my school they require English, Sociology, General Psych, Developmental Psych, Humanities, Speech, Physical Education and a Math course. And I believe most, if not all of these courses are waived with the 30 unit option.
So, in this particular program, it can save quite a bit of time. At least a year, if not more.

My original intent was to do the 30 unit option in San Diego at either Grossmont or San Diego City College when I was an LVN. Different programs work better for different people.

I compared the programs and I figured that by the time I finished the 30 unit option I might as well have finished the "fluff" general ed courses required to complete the ADN.

If you can complete the required science general ed classes and nursing courses for the 30 unit option, the other classes that Lizz listed above are really not that difficult to complete in the grand scheme of things. You may regret not taking those classes later if your life takes you to another state.

My final decision was made not to go the 30 unit route when I called 7 or 8 state boards where I thought I might work one day and ALL of them told me the same thing : No associate degree or diploma, no RN licensure. You need to have actually graduated from an approved school of nursing. In the 30 unit option, you are not a graduate either by diploma or degree. The CA schools make it very clear that you will not be a graduate of their school going this route.

If you are sure that you plan to stay in CA, I think it's a fine way to go.

Regarding the previous comment about the 30 unit option being California's way of addressing the nursing shortage, I agree, it's a good option.

But I think that it's ironic that this option leaves the student without a diploma or degree and other states will not recognize this for RN licensure. At the same time, CA being the only state that has this 30 unit program is trying to not recognize people for licensure who have accredited associate degrees.

Makes no sense to me.