Its really not fair

How come it takes 3-4 years to earn a 2 year degree (ADN) and 5-6years for a BSN. I know there is a lot of pre-reqs and the waiting list takes forever, but I know so many people that are already graduating with their degrees.

Also, when I tell people that I have another 3 years to go, they just look at me like "what is taking you soooo long" or "its just nursing school, why so long?" GGGGRRRRRRR!!!!! And on top of that, nurses get a bad rep. People need to realize that the hospital employes more nurses than doctors. No nurses= no hospitals.

[Vsummer1]

It takes so long because you NEED to learn everything they have to teach.

Yes, you get a 2 year degree after a MINIMUM of 3 years. It is going to take me 5 years.

And yet, I WANT to nurse. Who cares what people think? Who cares what degree? You should only care about a quality education and passing your RN so you can go on to LEARN NURSING AS AN RN. The NCLEX is the minimum nursing requirement -- you will be learning EVERY DAY as a nurse once you have your RN.

A DEGREE MEANS nothing WITHOUT PASSING THE NCLEX. Go to school 5 years and fail the boards, you have a worthless degree. Period. After that, you will have an internship within the unit you are hired on. Nursing school doesn't teach you everything, not even close! And after you get that degree, pass the boards, and become an RN you will learn everything you thought you knew.

If you are worried about how long it takes in school, or how "unfair" it is, perhaps you should step back and see if you want to be in a field where learning occurs continuously. That is what California demands of its nurses, a minimum amount of CEU's to maintain your license. Don't worry about how long, worry about QUALITY of education. You will need it, or a very good malpractice insurer -- this is California!!!

[Cynthiann]

It is fustrating that it takes a long time. I just applied to the associate's program and if I get in, it would of taken me 3.5 years total to complete.

You said it yourself, there are more pre-reqs and then the wait to apply to get in. When you say you know of others graduating, what exactly are you comparing to? Bachelor's? Associates? Most Applied Science associates programs do take more than two years like radiology and dental hygiene (these programs are just as competitive as nursing at my school).

Just be patient and taking it one day at a time. If you really want it you'll eventually get there.

[Catma63]

3-4 years? I'm assuming you mean counting prerequisites, right? At my school, once you begin the actual courses, it takes 2 years. I'd be graduating in 2005. The BSN, also with prerequisites out of the way, takes two as well.

[caligirl]

My BSN is going to take EXACTLY four years... I started Jan 02 (with not one college class behind me) and I will graduate Dec. 06... I took summer classes for 2 summers and I never have taken more than 14 units at a time. (8 in the summer)

[PennyLane, RN]

It would have taken me longer to get an ADN than a BSN. I took 4 pre-reqs over two semesters, and will finish my accelerated BSN next December. The ADN I was looking at is harder to get into and had more pre-reqs like Speech and Creative Writing and tons of other stuff that I never took (nor want to take!)

[RNIAM, BSN, RN]

My two year degree will take two years to complete. In my program as well as many other programs you can chose one of two options. You can go to school full-time or part-time. Full time means that you take A&P, Micro, Algebra, psyc, Eng,soc, Health & Nutrition & Pharmacology while you take your nursing courses. This means that your average semester load is about 16 credits. It is a personal choice issue. Part-time means you take all the non-nursing courses before you take the nursing courses. Now I was told over and over not to take everything at once because it would be too hard. I only had one semester where I thought I would pull my hair out. It really is your choice. What I do is I take my nursing course during the day and my other classes at night. It works for me.

[SJSU_Mami]

Nursing school goes by fast anyway. It'll be over sooner than you think. Never predict you will finish your pre reqs in a certain period of time. In california, classes fill up and they conflict. But once in the program, it'll fly by..

[Jennerizer, ASN, RN]

I don't know how you can survive nursing classes while taking all the pre-req's at the same time, RN2be. Have you noticed a lot of people dropping out?

As far as the reason it takes so long....you do need to build a good foundation in order to be a nurse. I think if there wasn't such a nursing shortage, they would only offer a nursing degree via the BSN route. Because it is a professional career & lacks respect because you can achieve the professional status without even a bachelor's degree unlike other professions---doctors, lawyers, etc. Be proud that you have chosen this field........it's a lot of hard work, but it's well worth it.

[KristinWW]

I got the "why does it take so long" and my program is accelerated! The people who say that have NO idea what nursing means. In my case these were the same people who talked me out of nursing fifteen years ago. I have since learned they don't have a clue, and I ignore them. The people who count are supportive, and understand the training and value of nursing!

[manna, BSN, RN]

Originally posted by KristinWW

I got the "why does it take so long" and my program is accelerated!

I wish I could go into an accelerated program. With two little kids, it's sure going to be a big sting being without an income for 2 years! Ouch!

I think you could finish a BSN in 4 years time - if you took a large enough credit load per semester to get your pre-reqs done, or went through the summers. The only reason that I've taken so long (4-5 years) to complete all my pre-reqs is that I've only been going part-time since I have a full-time job during the day (And some of the classes I need aren't offered at night, darnit).

[Cynthiann]

I could of done my BSN in 4 years but that's with 16-18 credits a semester. But I'd rather go the ADN-RN-BSN route, much less stressful on my family.

I never heard of any programs in my area where you can take all your pre-reqs along with the nursing classes (not that I would want to anyways). With every program so competitive to get into you have to have your pre-reqs completed just to be looked at. Some people even finish it all and still can't get in...