Master's Entry vs. Accelerated Bachelor's

Nursing Students School Programs

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I was wondering if anyone has any insight on choosing between a Masters Entry Clinical Nursing (MECN) program and an Accelerated Bachelors in Nursing (ABSN)? MECN is a 2 year program vs. ABSN being only 12-15 months. Both will grant an RN license at the end of it, but the MECN program also offers the Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) cert, which I hear isn't very useful until you have years of experience as a bedside nurse anyway?

Although I would love to go on and get a Master's instead of getting a Second Bachelor's (so I don't feel like my 1st degree is going to waste & that I'm not backtracking to get another Bachelor's), I find it hard justifying doing the Master's just for an RN. I'm also confused as to how I would go about trying to become an NP or an advance practice nurse down the line if I'd already have an MSN. Would I do a post-master's certificate or would I have to do a whole other Master's program for NP?

Any thoughts?

5 minutes ago, letsbringhealth said:

Oh, I meant to say I am looking to do a BSN or MSN first, as DNP programs do seem to require BSN/MSN prior to admission, so, just to clarify, I have not found any direct DNP programs...

Good luck to us!

OHSU, in Portland has a Direct entry DNP program where you get your BSN then move straight into DNP program to specialize. And youd likely be looking at the "baccalaureate option" https://www.ohsu.edu/xd/education/schools/school-of-nursing/programs/doctor-of-nursing-practice/

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1 minute ago, lilikingadas said:

OHSU, in Portland has a Direct entry DNP program where you get your BSN then move straight into DNP program to specialize https://www.ohsu.edu/xd/education/schools/school-of-nursing/programs/doctor-of-nursing-practice/

lili, thanks, but it seems that it still gives a BSN first...
item 3... "Post Baccalaureate (BS) (BSN) for those who desire to become an advanced practice nurse and earn a DNP."

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10 hours ago, dirtyrice said:

One thing to consider is the extent to which you can pay for it - you will get much less government aid for the ABSN since it is not considered graduate level study and you may have exhausted your undergraduate aid during your first bachelors, whereas for the MECN you will get more funding. In either case you may not have time / be allowed by the program to work, so unless you have money lying around for living expenses and whatnot it may be more realistic to shoot for the MECN. I also know I want to go on to become an FNP so getting an MSN in the least amount of time makes sense - will go and do a post-master's certificate program at some point after for the FNP. If you are unsure about what you are looking for after you become an RN or if there is even a next step beyond that, I would do ABSN to not waste money on a grad degree. This is MY dilemma and really informed my decision to pursue the entry-level Masters! Maybe your situation is different. Best of luck!

I'm actually kind of in the same boat, where I would like to pursue the APRN/NP after working as an RN for a while! I'm pretty sure I've exhausted all the finaid I could get for undergrad during my 1st bachelors & am still in debt from the extra loans I took out to cover living expenses. I guess I will have to wait for the finaid package for graduate school to arrive before I can make a more informed decision on this!

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11 hours ago, llg said:

Don't let the length of the programs mis-lead you. The MECN is probably longer because you are taking graduate level courses in addition to your undergrad courses. That will cost you time and money up front to get those graduate-level courses done now. But taking those courses now might save you time and money later if you decide to get a graduate degree later.

Which is better? A lot depends on the quality of the specific programs/schools and what your educational and career path will be later. Depending on what you decide to do later, taking those MSN level courses may not help you at all ... or may save you time and money later.

I recommend choosing "what feels right for you" now ... with an understanding that you might feel differently later ... but you are willing to live with the consequences of whatever you decide.

A very valid point! I definitely shouldn't underestimate the MECN because it's a longer program. I didn't really think about the fact that some of the MSN courses could be transferable to a graduate degree later down the line 'til now. ? That's also very important to consider. Thank you for your insight!

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I did find one interesting, perhaps exception... the GW DNP program does not accept students with MSN entry into nursing degrees, but will accept BSN's... Seems more like an exception to the norm. I did see a few programs that will accept any MSN/BSN into their DNP...

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If the cost is not much more, I would do the masters. If it is significantly more then ABSN.

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25 minutes ago, CenterCourtRN said:

If the cost is not much more, I would do the masters. If it is significantly more then ABSN.

That’s a good point! Thanks!

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5 hours ago, CenterCourtRN said:

If the cost is not much more, I would do the masters. If it is significantly more then ABSN.

I think I will be getting some sort of financial aid for the master's program whereas for the ABSN I would have to pay it in full out-of-pocket (aka most likely private loans w/ high interest rates ?). Cost-wise, it seems like the master's will probably be better at this point! Thank you for your input!

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Specializes in Urgent Care, Oncology.
On 2/20/2019 at 4:19 AM, b00p said:

Both will grant an RN license at the end of it

You will be awarded a Master's degree or a Bachelor's degree, not a RN license. Upon completion of the program you will be eligible to sit for the NCLEX which will allow you to obtain a RN license.

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9 hours ago, letsbringhealth said:

I did find one interesting, perhaps exception... the GW DNP program does not accept students with MSN entry into nursing degrees, but will accept BSN's... Seems more like an exception to the norm. I did see a few programs that will accept any MSN/BSN into their DNP...

I think it might just depend on the program? It's interesting that some schools wouldn't take an RN, MSN in lieu of an RN, BSN as an application requirement, considering that it seems like the RN, MSN covers everything in the BSN + more.

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Specializes in Midwife, OBGYN.
On 2/21/2019 at 6:39 PM, lilikingadas said:

@Ohm10, do you know specifically what type of employment a CNL can have? I know they get their RNs so I assume hospital work, but what exactly does it mean to have a "nurse leader" cert? Does it mean you work less on the floor, and more in administration/ leading different teams or does it just depend on the job?

The CNL title is still relatively new. The first group of nurses to sit and take the CNL exam happened in 2007. This means that the CNL compared to the other nursing roles/titles is relatively new at 12 years. There are groups of nurses graduating from CNL programs every year so the number continues to grow but comparatively the numbers are still very small which is why you won’t find many of them in the hospital setting and not many roles on job search boards. If you do a search they are there and they are mainly hospital jobs and the nurse will normally have mentoring, coaching, training duties in addition to their bedside nursing duties. A CNL will most likely be helping to coordinate patient care and work on patient satisfiaction and conduct surveys to that effect. There could be innovation projects and change projects but not the same extent as the CNS. Normally they would want you to have some experience in leadership or training and you would probably have to create or meet metrics to measure change and performance just to name a few examples.

If you do a search online for CNL jobs you can see some of the job specs and what they expect of a CNL. There are also more jobs available for CNL if there is a CNL program in the same area as the hospitals but there are many areas that still have no idea what a CNL is and what the role entails especially since you are a MSN educated nurse but not an APRN. You will probably need to explain what the CNL role entails depending on where you plan to practice and you will have to see how receptive they might be to hiring a CNL.

I personally considered going through a CNL program but I ultimately decided against it because I knew what specialty I wanted to go into after my volunteer and work experiences so I didn’t want to go through a master’s program to only have to go back for a post masters. I am also an older student so a direct entry masters program worked better for the stage of life that I am currently in. But if I was a little bit younger I would consider a CNL program so I could finish the program, work a few years while trying out different areas of nursing to find the specialty that I would like to specialize further in and then take my post masters in that specialty.

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Specializes in CNL, CNE.

I am in the same boat. I've been accepted to an entry-level msn advanced generalist program and an accelerated bsn program. I am leaning strongly toward the master's, since the cost ($72k vs $60k) and program length (27 months vs 15 months) aren't very different.

One thing I'm not sure of, though, is how helpful a master's degree actually is. Does it really open more doors? Does it often mean higher pay? Or is it mainly just a helpful gateway into pursuing specialties down the road (like CNM)?

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