New Grad, New Location, New Dilemma

[8babynurse8]

I graduated in May and have recently been offered a position at a great hospital in a new state. I have my BA, in addition to my ADN, and am very interested in going back to school for my BSN. In July, I was accepted into an RN to BSN program which is designed for working nurses where I would be taking one 8 week course at a time.

I recently decided to enroll in the program where I will be taking two 8 week courses for the Spring 2014 semester. My first course begins in mid January and by then I would be about 8 weeks into my 12 week orientation. Although I am beyond exhausted from school because I did not take a break between finishing my BA and starting my ADN, I really want to complete the BSN program as soon as possible. I have been told that RN-BSN programs aren't nearly as difficult as a traditional RN program. However, I have been advised from friends and family member's who are nurses that I may be taking on too much with adjusting to a new position and starting my RN-BSN at the same time.

Honestly, my goal is to start this new position, gain experience and start my RN-BSN program. I figure that way in a year or two if I want to move on from this position I have way more options than I would with only my ADN. I really got first hand experience of how difficult it is to obtain a position with an ADN (in my area in particular) and never want to go through that again. Any advice?

[Wrench Party]

Depends what you think you can handle and how rigorous your program is. My orientation at the moment requires a certain amount of extra classes and meetings in addition to 3 12-hour shifts/week on the floor, but I still have ~3 days/week after that for the rest of my life. I think it's doable if you work 12s.

[ChristineN, BSN, RN]

It depends what sort of new grad position you took. If it is med-surg, which is similar to most clinical rotations in nursing school, then it might not be bad. However if you are working in a specialty area such as ICU, you may have homework for work, tests for work, etc that you need to pass in order to keep your job.

I choose to go back for my BSN after coming off of orientation. I graduated in June, started my new grad job in Aug, came off orientation Oct/Nov, and started my RN-BSN program in Jan. I was still in school mode, but taking the semester off allowed me the time I needed to get acclimated to my new role.

[8babynurse8]

I know a few people who have completed this program and they have all done it while working full time ( but they are experienced nurses)so I don't think it is too rigorous. However, I forgot about the courses I will be taking during orientation ( basic arrhythmia class and acls). I am working on a telemetry unit.