looking for career change

drezqmn · Mar 16, 2016

also, i do not suffer from the attitude that alot of paramedics do when it comes to nursing. i understand i am a newbie and my role is student and want to expand my knowledge area and trully learn. i was educated ems-wise from a now practically extinct method of nurse educators. It had a profound impact on me and my respect for the nursing profession.

JustBeachyNurse, LPN · Mar 16, 2016

Science pre-req generally have a five year maximum due to changing & evolving knowledge.

ABSN v DEMSN depends on the area of country

**NICU Guy, BSN, RN** · Mar 16, 2016

I did an ABSN program and fortunately the school took all my pre-reqs from 18 yrs ago. They have since changed the criteria to accept only credits less than 5 yrs old. It was the quickest route to get my BSN. Several of my co-workers are second degree nurses, so it doesn't seem to be a factor in hiring us (ABSN vs traditional BSN).

elppaym, BSN, MSN, RN, APRN · Mar 19, 2016

Start on your sciences that you need to retake, main ones they are looking for: A&P I/II, Microbiology, Math, Chem. Check with a admission counselor on what they specifically require.

With your previous non-nursing bachelor you should have all the other general education courses required for a Bachelors covered. Your accelerated classes will be strictly nursing classes that are required for the BSN. The same goes with the accelerated MSN, once in the program you'll only be taking nursing classes.

Accelerated programs are fast paced, my class mates that got rolled back a semester had issues with trying to work and not having enough time to study and pass exams. You'll be taking a class the traditional undergraduate student would take in 16wks compressed down into an 8wk format, you still have to do all the papers, quizzes and exams that the 16wk class would cover.

I remember sitting in the library and listening to a group a traditional students complain that they only had 2 weeks to prepare a paper, we had 4 days.

I was a PCT (patient care technician, EKGS, Phlebotomy) prior to Nursing school, no instructors really asked and I didn't volunteer any of my past experiences. I listened and learned and some things I already new, but learned it again.

As far as "frowning" on paramedics I have never heard of that or encountered it when in school or from my professors.

I would say go for it, it was my second degree and during my last orientation for a group of accelerated students (my school has me come back and talk to new students and give advice) 2nd career ages are all over the board and older students are the norm.

Good Luck!

INN_777, BSN, RN · Mar 19, 2016

Hi there:

As you rightly pointed out, your education options include and Accelerated BSN or a straight to MSN type of program. You will need to take science prerequisites again which should be easier for you considering you prior educational and professional background. I don't think nursing schools frown on paramedics. In fact, I think, considering your health care experience and prior science background, you will have a significant edge when applying (granted you do well in prerequisites) and while studying.

The only reason you may have heard about "frowning" is because students with EMT/Paramedic background SOMETIMES come into these programs "on a high horse", think they know it all, look down on their fellow students, etc. Nobody likes that, of course. Not the professors, not the clinical instructors, not the nurses on the units where you have clinicals, not the classmates. But that is a matter of attitude. We had a couple former EMTs in our accelerated BSN program and they were wonderful and had no such issues.

Now BSN vs MSN... I am a second career too and went through that thought process. What I didn;t like about the straight to MSN programs is that they were less flexible, i.e. they lock you in for 3 years and do not give you a BSN after your bachelor level education is complete (at least the ones in our area at the time). So, if you circumstances change and you want to work for a while before proceeding to MSN, you are a bachelors educated nurse without a bachelors degree. My reservation also has been that I will come out as an MSN with very limited clinical experience. I did not feel comfortable about that. That said, I came to nursing from an unrelated field and have not had healthcare experience prior. In your case, with your pretty solid clinical experience, I think a straight to MSN program might actually work pretty well. For example, you could graduate and work as an NP in an ED - they seem to like former EMTs/Paramedics for obvious reasons of transferable skills.

Hope this helps.

RainMom · Mar 20, 2016

Have you checked if there is a nursing program at your previous university? Some programs will accept older credits if they originated at their own institution; maybe you wouldn't have to repeat some prereqs that way.

Goals1118 · Mar 31, 2016

I'm getting ready to make a career change into nursing as well. I have a BA and M.Ed, so I'm looking into two accelerated nursing programs in my state. One is for a BSN and the other for an MSN. They both require that you have a bachelor's degree in another area of study. Luckily, in my state, the BSN and MSN have the same prerequisite courses, so I'm hoping to apply to both. I believe with the MSN you can go further in the nursing field (as with a master's in any field). Both of the programs I'm applying to require that the prerequisites be no older than 5 years. I'm not sure about the paramedic question, but when I went to an info session for the BSN program they really pushed volunteering and having some sort of experience in the health care field, so I believe that being a paramedic would give you a leg up! At the info session, it was recommended that the prereqs be taken at community college to fit with the schedules of students working full-time. Of course the GPA needs to be high, volunteer experience needs to be there, and you'll have to submit your SAT, ACT, or GRE scores at least for the schools I'm applying to. Hope this helps and good luck! :)