Need Advice- what route should I take for RN license?

SpiceChick01 · Jul 25, 2006

36 views since 2:30, nobody knows anything? Come on guys.....REALLY need some feedback, as I am considering going in to the University I got my Master's from THIS WEEk doing an app.....

BCzito · Jul 25, 2006

go into a masters entry program. BS can go into higher management ranks where as it can be difficult if not impossible with an associates (depends where you live) many positions require at least a bachelors.. If you get your masters and become an NP or i CNS (nurse practitioner or clinical nurse specialist) you can prescribe medications and do primary care on your own... Also you can teach at a university as a proffesor at the masters level in nursing... let me know if you have anymore questions... currently I am in a masters entry program in nursing at Boston College in Mass. and have just recently taken my NCLEX.

ukstudent · Jul 25, 2006

I don't think you can get a RN in two years either way. You need to talk to both the college and the university to find out what prereq's you will need if both the other degrees are not healthcare related. If your idea is to go into managment then go for the BSN, if you want to be a floor nurse then the cheaper way is fine as several hospitals do not pay any different if you have an ASN or a BSN.

If you don't mind me asking what did you do before thinking about nursing?

pyrolady · Jul 25, 2006

OK, I'll try to help....I have a BS in Career Planning and Placement and a BSN as well. First, it would be helpful to know what your other degrees are in. If you go to the university a lot of it may transfer as pre-requisites if, say it was in biology. They will also transfer to smaller college setting so a lot of classes could POSSIBLY be counted already for you. Business Admn, probably not....

I had a BS in Career Planning and Placement and decided to go for an RN. Went the BSN route because it was almost the same amount of time and got a BS vs. an ADN. Yes, they are both RN's, and you will take the same exam at the end. A BS will enable you to go into management more readily though not having one won't stop you from certain positions. A Master's in Nursing will more than likely be used for teaching purposes at the university level, research, or specialization in certain fields (ie: CRNA, Nurse Practioner, etc.). If you enjoy teaching, the nursing field is in desperate need....however, you will find that more money will be made outside the academic realm. You can teach at the commmunity (junior) college level with a BSN depending on where you live. If you have a RN (two or four year) you can become a LTC administrator or DON and be in a pretty nice pay bracket ($80,000 + depending on where you are and the size of the facility). RN on the floor will put you in the $22 - $25 dollar range per hour to begin with depending on where you are (unless you're like California and I don't know anything about that, only Michigan and FL).

Hope some of this is helpful - good luck to you !!! Pyrolady

BCzito · Jul 25, 2006

I don't think you can get a RN in two years either way. You need to talk to both the college and the university to find out what prereq's you will need if both the other degrees are not healthcare related. If your idea is to go into managment then go for the BSN, if you want to be a floor nurse then the cheaper way is fine as several hospitals do not pay any different if you have an ASN or a BSN.
If you don't mind me asking what did you do before thinking about nursing?

I had a bs in neuroscience (although some of my classmates had bachelors in finance and english) and I am in a masters entry program and received my RN in one year, and will continue on in my second year to be an NP/CNS (its a 2 year masters program). most programs are 3 years though and there are pre reqs.

also whats nice is you can work part time after you get your RN as a nurse and pay off some bills if you want...

won't lie though its expensive.... much more than 18,000

bczito

SpiceChick01 · Jul 25, 2006

Thanx for the replies! It seems that based on the responses I should look a little further into a second Bachelor's or second Master's. I can't say that I would want to be at the bedside for my entire career, so it may be to my advantage to do this at the University level.

For the person who inquired about the previous degrees: I have a Bachelor's in Corporate Communication, and a Master's in Sociology.

SOOOO unrelated to each other, and this field!

BCzito- I read the course descriptions of the Master's courses offered at the school I got my Master's and noticed that they seem geared toward teaching Nursing as opposed to bedside Nursing. Do you think that this type of curriculum would benefit me if I want to actually Nurse as opposed to teaching it? I've heard that the opportunities to teach abound because of a shortage of Nursing faculty in schools. What do you think? Thanx!

GatorRN · Jul 25, 2006

I"m just going to throw my two cents in here, for what it's worth. Other replies have pretty much answered your question as I see it. As others have stated it depends on what you want to do with your nursing degree. If you want to do bedside care it really doesn't make a difference if you have an ADN or a BSN the pay scale is the same. Specialty areas such as ICU or CVICU the pay increases.

A junior college will give you an ADN and allow you to do nursing at a much cheaper cost for your education and sooner. I don't know where your located, but here our jr. college works closely with a university. You could get your ADN from the jr college, take the nclex test, and begin working as a nurse. Then, if you chose to later, take a ADN to BSN course at the university if you wanted to go on for your BSN. Again, I'm not sure if this option is available in your area.

That is what I did. I saved money and time getting my nursing degree by going to the jr college. After doing bedside care for awhile I wanted to get into more of a mgmt/admin position, so I went back and did the conversion course at the university. Most of my core classes transfered over. Although, I continued to do bedside care, go figure....lol. What can I say..I liked my job and the ppl I worked with. If you prefer to get into teaching nursing then you would require a Masters, at least in my area.

Just food for thought. It all depends on what your goals are as a nurse. Good luck whichever way you choose to go. We always need more good nurses. :)

dottimur · Jul 25, 2006

I have a BS in Math. I had a long career in software development, the last 10 of which were managing people. My route will be: CNA (complete) then LPN (beginning 8/21) then ADN then BSN then Master's. I can skip the BSN and go from ADN to Master's as my local college offers that option for people with Bachelor of Science degrees like you have too.

My question for everyone is: is there any disadvantage to skipping the BSN and going directly into a master's program, especially since I have 10 years management experience already? I want to do bedside care for the experience for at least 2 years and then go into management.

I decided to go into nursing in Feb 05. Since then I have taken about 26 hours of prereqs (Dev Psych, Biology, Chemistry, Spanish was an elective, Physiology, Anatomy and now Microbiology). I paid about $80 an hour at our junior college. I had a good paying job and was able to pay for that coursework.

What I found in my city is that it is incredibly hard to get into a nursing program as there are more applicants than spots. In Feb 05 I thought I was going to get into an ADN program by Aug 05. The reality is that it is going to be more like Aug 07. People do not get into the ADN program here locally until they have almost all their prereqs out of the way (that is what I can glean from talking with the college and others).

What helped me in my decision making process was to create a list of all the courses I lacked and which program required them and when I could take them. Then I talked to the schools to find out the # of apps vs how many got in. Locally we also have hospitals that will fund our nursing education if we agree to 6 months work with them for each semester they pay for.

I think I am picking up on your desire to hurry up and get this education. I was that way too until I found out that getting into nursing isn't as easy as just signing up for classes in math or sociology. It took me research and time to figure everything out.

Good luck to you and I hope things go well for you.

pyrolady · Jul 25, 2006

Your degree in corporate communication is more related than you may think. If you get an MBA specializing in Health Administration and/or finance and couple it with your Corporate Communication as well as RN you can count on HUGE bucks in the corporate world. I think if you like business as well as healthcare you should head down that road....there is definately a need and HUGE salary to go with it. Good luck whatever you decide ! Pyrolady

kizzysmom · Jul 25, 2006

The very first thing to do is check out the pre-reqs for all programs; ADN, Second Bachelor's, Direct Entry Master's. You may find, as I did, that you'll have to repeat a few if they are outdated. I had to retake Anatomy and Physiology and Microbiology as they were 20 years old. My BA is in Political Science and Master's in Education. I went the ADN route at first and hated it. Wish I had taken the financial leap and gone direct entry MS. I ended up transferring to LPN, now I am doing Excelsiors bridge to RN then Masters in Nursing , probably at Boston College. I am 491/2 with a 13 year old son. Good luck and feel free to email with any questions.

P_RN, ADN, RN · Jul 26, 2006

The varying entry levels have been discussed here quite a bit. You may want to read some other comments

https://allnurses.com/forums/f118/adn-vs-bsn-entry-level-nursing-151423.html