Hi there! I have a bachelors in psychology but recently decided I wanted to be a nurse instead. I have been accepted to 2 schools: 1 to get my second bachelors degree in nursing, and the other is a masters entry program for nursing.
Which school should I go to? Is it better to have a masters degree in the nursing field? Or will that hold me back because I will have a higher degree but no real nursing experience? I know that with psychology you can't get a job without a masters degree but I have no idea how nursing works.
I would greatly appreciate any info or advice! Thanks!! :)
I meant to say JUST a simple explanation. I thought your "its not a new topic to the board" comment was unnecessary. Maybe you weren't trying to be rude, you can never tell through posts how people are saying things. If not, sorry for getting defensive.
I think I might have misread your tone too- your first post seemed almost accusatory to me. My apologies.
To the OP, I would do some research on the direct entry MSN first, including local impressions about it. There are some folks who post here who suggest that direct entry MSN students have earned bad reps at their facility.
To the OP, I would do some research on the direct entry MSN first, including local impressions about it. There are some folks who post here who suggest that direct entry MSN students have earned bad reps at their facility.
I definitely agree with this. I went to school in what, at least from this website, is one the worst new grad markets in the country and did a MEPN program (not an NP program; a CNL program), yet almost everyone from my class had a job before graduation. Though I believe the person that wrote that was talking about schools with bad reputations, mine had a very good one and many local hospitals definitely weighed that into hiring our graduates. Personally, I moved across the country shortly after graduation (not by choice nor driven by my own employment), but it definitely didn't hurt me here, though I don't really know if it helped me. I had a very easy time finding a job, though recruiters spoke more to my previous employment (completely unrelated to nursing), but in interviews, employers were fairly intrigued by my degree-path and asked questions about it, but seemed very open to the idea and were very receptive to what I had to say. I applied to new grad RN programs, just like any other new grad RN and am currently working as a staff RN on a med/surg floor. Where I go from here, I don't know right now, but I like the options that are available to me, should I choose to pursue them.
I faced a similar situation and chose the BSN route, so now I have two bachelor's degrees; and I feel like I made the right decision.
At my school, I could have went into a CNL program which was a master's program. The CNLs took the same classes as the BSNs and had to do extra papers. The big thing is that if you were to decide to become an NP later on, NONE of those "grad" level classes would count for that NP degree.
As far as I know, the starting pay is the same or close to the same (and the same is true if you are starting as a nurse with an associate's degree.) Nursing & education aren't necessarily treated the same as it works in the business world.
You really need to do your research on this one. I would ask around to potential employers and get their take on it. Good luck to you. If you have any other questions feel free to private message me directly.
I am faced with the exact same situation and by the same situation I mean I have BA in Psychology as well! First off I agree with the above poster in that you should definitely do your research about the school you would like to go to... what I would suggest is find an old thread about the school and send PM's to all of the students that got accepted and ask them about the program and whether or not graduates are being offered jobs.. that is what I did and I got a ton of responses. I chose the direct entry MSN and the short answer to why is because it leaves every option open to me... This particular school that I will be starting in the fall awards a BSN after the first 14 months and then a MSN with either a CNS speciality or a NP after the last 18 months... My thinking is... after I receive my BSN if I want to I can drop out with my BSN and work as a staff nurse... or I can continue and pursue and NP degree or CNS (I have already been accepted so I won't have to reapply, which I would have to do if I decided to go to the school that only offered a BSN) No one knows how the economy will be in 2 years from now and maybe it will be worse (not likely) than it is now and I won't be able to find a job well in that case I will continue on and get my masters. There are so many graduates with BSN's that don't have the option of continuing on to get their MSN without reapplying to a school and are stuck without a job. BTW once you receive your BSN from what I have researched most nursing schools require at least 2 years of nursing experience in order to get your MSN. So by not having an RN currently that is sort of an advantage to you. I am guessing that the Accelerated BSN you would go for would take around 14 months anyway so it will take the exact same amount of time to get your BSN in the direct entry masters program. Once again you do have to do your research because some direct entry MSN do not offer a BSN on the way they only offer a MSN. I have done a ton of research on MSN vs BSN, direct entry programs and know actually a couple of nurses personally who went through these programs... I would be happy to answer any questions you have... Just send me a PM. Also not sure where you live but I am in Orange Country California... so if you have any particular questions about the area where I live I can help you with that! Good luck! Either way be grateful you got accepted into 2 schools... there are lot of future RN's out there that are having a really difficult time getting into school...
The direct entry MSN program in my area has a "foundation year" to start off, and you take the NCLEX at the end of that first year----it's basically like doing an Accelerated BSN and then jumping straight into the Masters' coursework. (Edit: thus, you can start working as a new nurse while also working on your Masters, I guess? Seems like a lot to take on)
I picked a second bachelors' instead of going for masters programs because I don't know what area of nursing I want to go into, AND because this program (and some others) doesn't make you an NP at the end. It seems like it's more focused on administrative/leadership stuff, which is cool too, just not what I want.
Overall, I think you need to have a strong idea of what you want before going into a direct MSN program. A lot of them make you apply to a particular track going in, so it's not always flexible if you change your mind or discover interest in a different area.
I took the entry MSN route. The only thing that kept me from being hired right away was my pregnancy (had many interviews, all went really well, but no dice). But I was hired when my son was 3 months, and started when he was 4 months. I was honest in my interviews-I have no floor experience and my intentions right now is to focus on that. Later on (and I am thinking at least 5+ years down the road) I can think about putting the MSN portion of my schooling to good use. For now, I am focused on just learning how to be a nurse. Nothing more, nothing less. I am as green as they come right now.
To the poster who said that more education can't hurt you, I 100% agree. Furthering your education is never a bad thing, at least IMO. But you just have to know that newly graduated and licensed, your advanced degree isn't going to count for as much-at least in the short term. If you are okay with that, then why not go for it?
Specializes in psych, addictions, hospice, education.
I have a first degree in elementary education and when I decided to go into nursing, there wasn't a program that went from BS to MS available, so I got a BSN. It was a valuable experience. Lots of my courses for my education degree counted toward my BSN, so I only had to do about 2 1/2 years worth of work.
I don't know if programs that link a bachelor's and a MSN in nursing give you clinical courses or not, but I learned more in those than I learned in the lecture courses. I think without them, you would have a more huge learning curve if you're going to be a direct-care nurse than someone who does have clinicals.
Does the school you're considering have anyone who's been through the program, that you can contact, to see how it worked for him or her. I think I'd want to talk to someone who's done it.
I would say go for the Master's. Yeah maybe for the first 6 mos you might be overqualified but I doubt. Too much education is a good thing! And the masters will open other doors for you. If you can do I say go for it!
I was not aware when I got my 2nd bachelor's degree that I would not qualify for govt loans or scholarships. If I had to do it over I would go for the MSN. It was soooo stressful dealing with money concerns while doing an Accelerated BSN.
OP, I was standing quite literally where you are this time last year. I have a BA in Psych and was accepted to CSUN's ABSN and CSULA's ELMN program. I ultimately went with the Masters program because I didn't want to have to do the whole application process AGAIN, and I do eventually want to work as an NP (though the more I learn about nursing, the more I can see myself being a bedside RN for awhile). We're almost done with the RN portion and I really love my program. That said, it is tiring to be in school nonstop and think that even once we finish the RN, we have two to three more years before we're awarded a degree (we can take the NCLEX and get our RN, but we won't have an ADN or BSN or MSN to back it up until we graduate.)
As for others' reactions to the program - they've been mixed. I've met some RNs who seem to like to discourage you and tell you that you shouldn't even attempt a Masters in Nursing without quite a few years of RN experience. I've also heard of hospitals who like the students from our program and appreciate that we want to further our education.
I would suggest making a list of pros and cons about both schools. It should include even seemingly unimportant things like semester vs. quarter, distance from your home, cost, etc. Either school will help you get where you're going, so you might as well go to the one that has the most pros.
I was faced with the same decision when I applied to schools. I chose ABSN over ELMSN because I wasn't sure exactly what sort of nurse I wanted to be, and the EL Master's options seemed rather limited. I'm glad that I chose BSN because I wound up in critical care, and could not have gotten a CNS or NP in that specialty (thank god) with no experience in the field. Now I'm applying to grad schools for exactly the MSN that I want.
If you are sure that you want to stay in the field of Psychology, then you should go for the Masters for sure if it's a NP program. If the schools you are looking at only offer CNL Masters degrees, then go for the BSN. No offense to the CNLs out there, but you will not get much respect from nurses as a "leader" if you have no experience working as a nurse. I'm not even really sure what people are supposed to do with those degrees, since all the ones that I know are working as floor nurses. I suppose it's a good thing to have if you eventually want to go into the rewarding field of nursing management.
hiddencatRN, BSN, RN
3,408 Posts
I think I might have misread your tone too- your first post seemed almost accusatory to me. My apologies.
To the OP, I would do some research on the direct entry MSN first, including local impressions about it. There are some folks who post here who suggest that direct entry MSN students have earned bad reps at their facility.