MSN in nursing for people with different bachelors good deal?

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I am looking at Western University of health science entry level Masters and wanted to get your opinions on whether it is worth it or just go the ABSN route. For their program it is 3 years and you get your bsn and then it is required you work in a hospital for a certain number of hours to get your msn. So theoretically you would graduate with a MSN with a years of clinical experience it looks like. If you then like to become a NP you can apply to their FNP program directly which would be about 4 years.

Now I am interested in nursing, but I would have to say I am also interested in the administration side of things as well. I like options. Would going this route open a lot of doors in the future? or is it better to just go the ABSN route? Tuition is about 100k on their website not including the FNP program. To me it kind of seems that going back school to get another bachelors is disheartening. LIke it was a complete waste of my time. I currently have a bachelors in biology.

Here is their website please take a look before commenting. Welcome - Master of Science in Nursing - Entry (MSN)

I believe you can get your masters online while working. The year's experience is to get into the FNP program.

It's your $$ but at the very least, I'd look at their pass rates for the NCLEX (if you don't pass this, kiss being an RN goodbye), whatever certification the MSN is supposed to give you, and the FNP pass rates. And find out how much FNPs make around where you live or want to live, how much experience they have, and if all those loans are worth it.

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Everyone needs to read the program. I spoke one of the representatives of the program and this is

what she said "he current MSN-E program is full-time on-campus for the first 16 months of the program until you receive your RN license. Once you receive your RN, you are able to work as a registered nurse while completing the remainder of the degree online. I believe this is what you are referring to. Please let me know if you have any other questions."

I read it, and I don't think anyone is misunderstanding you. Basically, those first 16 months are nursing classes to get you ready to take the NCLEX (the RN boards). It doesn't matter if you are in an ASN or BSN or accelerated BSN or masters entry program, they all are theoretically supposed to prep students to take and pass(!) NCLEX so you can be licensed. After that, it's another what, year and a half to complete the entry masters? With an ABSN, you're done after 12 months (at least most of the ones I've seen), assuming you pass boards, you work as an RN and can also do a masters program online pretty much anywhere. With previous credits, you might be done with an ASN/ADN a lot sooner (and much cheaper) than you think too. Its all your choice obviously, just be aware a lot of magnet hospitals want and require BSN prepared nurses...doesn't matter if you have a masters. Like others have said, you may be overqualified for bedside experience and under qualified for leadership positions.

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Saw this post by someone who got their msn.

"I'm in the minority here on this sub, but let me offer the alternative perspective for you to consider. There is not a right or wrong answer, you decide what's best for your situation. Here are some thoughts cut and pasted from my previous responses to similar threads:

Look at the degree as basically a glorified BSN. I went through 4 years of undergrad to get my B.S. in Psych. Worked random jobs, decided I wanted to go into a stable career. Took some pre-reqs at a community college, and I was accepted to the MSN-RN program. (I actually considered the BSN at the community college but their director told me to do MSN instead because I already had a B.S.) The program is 16 months or 4 semesters. You basically get the same foundation lectures and clinical experience (we actually got about 100 more hours than our BSN cohorts), but a few extra stats/leadership classes. Bonus, my program was a Clinical Nurse Leader prep, so I elected to take the test at graduation and came out of school with a national certification already on my resume. Myself and my classmates had ZERO problems finding a job. We all work in metro Atlanta and received job offers within a few weeks of applying. I was offered a position the day after my interview.

I started an RN residency program with BSN graduates. We're treated as the same. The only thing is, my degree will go further in the long run. I'll be paid more by the hour (especially at facilities like the VA), have a quicker route to advance, and more job options/a higher ceiling after getting a few years of bedside experience.

This is where I have a hard time understanding everyone else's advice, why would you go back to undergrad to get a second bachelor's degree? Unless you save a lot of money going ABSN v. MSN, there's almost no reason not to go MSN. Yes, you come out of school with 0 experience, but guess what, so do all BSN-RN graduates!

If you have any specific questions, feel free to comment and I'll do my best to answer them.

I will add that a few of my classmates are already enrolled in NP programs, so they didn't seem to have any issues with getting accepted into higher education programs with less than 1 year experience. As for me, I was able to leave bedside/my former institution and get a new job with Kasier Permanente in under 2 weeks. Many of my peers told me they've applied to KP system for years and couldn't get in. Now I have a cushy job handling referrals and I get paid $7 more than my bedside job. COME ON MAN."

I live in socal what are your thoughts? I do kind of lean towards the administration side of things i like to have options i guess.

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Specializes in Psych/Mental Health.
Everyone needs to read the program. I spoke one of the representatives of the program and this is

what she said "he current MSN-E program is full-time on-campus for the first 16 months of the program until you receive your RN license. Once you receive your RN, you are able to work as a registered nurse while completing the remainder of the degree online. I believe this is what you are referring to. Please let me know if you have any other questions."

Perhaps give it a more detail read and research more. This school's Master-Entry program does not prepare you to be an NP, but rather, you get a MS in one of the "leadership/administrative" tracks. Then if you want to become a NP, you apply to a post-master certificate in FNP. It's not the typical Direct-Entry NP program that most people go for to become NP right away.

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Not if you can't get hired. Many hospitals require the BSN. Many of these ELM programs skip that degree all together. A masters prepared nurse is often skipped over in the application process for being too qualified. Hospitals don't want to pay more for that masters degree at bedside when they can pay BSNs and ASNs a cheaper rate. And whether or not that masters prepared nurse is asking for more money is not the issue. It's the way HR and administration looks at it. They see masters and think no way.

I haven't ran to anyone that I met that graduated with an MSN without a BSN who couldn't get hired but I live in Southern California where there may be more work. Everyone has a different experience but when I read these forums I haven't found any MSN grads that are complaining they couldn't find a job after graduation. I have however seen posts of ADN grads finding it difficult to be hired because of these ABSN/MECN competition. Did you have any statistics/references showing HR skip on MSN grads for ADN? From my understanding LA county pays BSN/MSN same 2-3% differential over just ADN.

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I read it, and I don't think anyone is misunderstanding you. Basically, those first 16 months are nursing classes to get you ready to take the NCLEX (the RN boards). It doesn't matter if you are in an ASN or BSN or accelerated BSN or masters entry program, they all are theoretically supposed to prep students to take and pass(!) NCLEX so you can be licensed. After that, it's another what, year and a half to complete the entry masters? With an ABSN, you're done after 12 months (at least most of the ones I've seen), assuming you pass boards, you work as an RN and can also do a masters program online pretty much anywhere. With previous credits, you might be done with an ASN/ADN a lot sooner (and much cheaper) than you think too. Its all your choice obviously, just be aware a lot of magnet hospitals want and require BSN prepared nurses...doesn't matter if you have a masters. Like others have said, you may be overqualified for bedside experience and under qualified for leadership positions.

I currently work at a magnet hospital and have called HR in others around Los Angeles and I get the same answer they prefer BSN or higher. Which magnet hospital is telling you otherwise?

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Specializes in SICU, trauma, neuro.

It sounds like you have your mind made up, but there is no way in hades I would pay six figures for nursing education of ANY type.

Something else, extremely impirtant to keep in mind is "one clinical year" will in no way qualify you for a position in nursing administration. It takes at least a year of full-time nursing to even be really competent. A nurse-manager is expected to be an expert; after all, as my *assistant* manager has said, their team are OUR nurses.

They need to make the hiring decisions. They write nurses' performance reviews -- some of which have been at the bedside for 20, 30, 40 years.

They have to form and implement improvement plans for staff who are not up to par.

They have to plan the staff's orientation including didactic portions, and other required competencies. Where I work, these same people TEACH most of those classes -- that task doesn't go to a nurse educator or CNS.

If physicians are being difficult, or if pts/families are being unreasonable to the point of interfering with our work, the manager needs to be able to stand up for the staff. They have to be strong enough to not be intimidated, knowledgeable enough to advise on best practice, and diplomatic enough to maintain a healthy work environment.

I personally would never accept a position under a manager who was too inexperienced for all of that.

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I paused at the $100K price tag. I work with people who have that kind of debt. They work 4 or 5 12 hour shifts a week. They like overtime pay, weekend and night differentials help too, but that kind of debt takes its toll.

I doubt that that price would be worth it for a nursing degree when you can find a better deal elsewhere.

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If you already have a bachelor's degree, either an ABSN or Master's Entry program is reasonable. However, if you are not quite sure what your future nursing career path will be, I'd recommend an ABSN, then work for awhile, then apply for an MSN specific to your career interest. In addition, if you are working as an RN, your employer will likely pay for part or all of your MSN.

Western is not a good program. Here in California, the MDs and NPs I know sneer at it. It is also ridiculously expensive. It is more expensive than Johns Hopkins! Just go to a solid reputable school!

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I currently work at a magnet hospital and have called HR in others around Los Angeles and I get the same answer they prefer BSN or higher. Which magnet hospital is telling you otherwise?

If you're talking to me, I'm not from

soCal but the Midwest. And there are two very highly respected teaching hospitals/magnet hospitals in my metro area.

*shrugs* to the original poster, it's your $.

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I haven't ran to anyone that I met that graduated with an MSN without a BSN who couldn't get hired but I live in Southern California where there may be more work. Everyone has a different experience but when I read these forums I haven't found any MSN grads that are complaining they couldn't find a job after graduation. I have however seen posts of ADN grads finding it difficult to be hired because of these ABSN/MECN competition. Did you have any statistics/references showing HR skip on MSN grads for ADN? From my understanding LA county pays BSN/MSN same 2-3% differential over just ADN.

First of all, thete ate tons of threads on here about this. Second, I have personally talked to HR reps in different hospitals in my local area. They won't hire it.

It's the OPs time and money, not mine so they can do with it what they want. The clinical experience the OP is talking about is not the same as actual working RN experience. My clinical experience was not considered on my resume when finding a job.

And depending on what area of the country you are in, ASN and BSN degrees have no issues finding jobs. Southern CA is not one of those areas as it is quite impacted right now. The new grad unemployment rate out there last time I saw was around 45%.

It seems to me, the OP has vaguely researched programs and tracks to become a MSN but not the job market and the employability of an Entry level MSN. A MSN is not the "new degree" needed for bedside. I have yet to encounter a bedside MSN.

But like I said, not my $100k to spend, it's the OPs.

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I currently work at a magnet hospital and have called HR in others around Los Angeles and I get the same answer they prefer BSN or higher. Which magnet hospital is telling you otherwise?

I work in a magnet hospital and was hired with an ASN. Was never told I needed a BSN, but obtained it for myself. There are no MSNs working bedside where I am. And if there are where you are located, that just tells me how ridiculously saturated your market is.

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