Night/Weekend Second Degree BSN programs???

merky · May 25, 2010

I have a Bachelors in Bio and am starting my (long) pathway to MSN. Sorry to say there are no shortcuts. You will need two years to do your RN clinicals because unless you are in an accelerated program, they schedule these classes only once a year, and you need 4 semesters worth of clinicals. Accelerated programs are full time and you cannot work. I am getting an ADN through Penn State which will still take me 2 yrs to complete regardless of the fact that I have all of the core courses completed via my BS in Bio.

After i get my ADN, I need to work med/surg and/or ICU for a couple of years as well, so I feel your pain. I wish I had decided on this path earlier in life, but, hey there's no time like the present as they say : ) There are many ADN to MSN programs, especially for second degree holders, but they're expensive, so I may just get my future employer to reimburse me for an online BSN and then apply for an MSN.

Also keep in mind it is VERY difficult right now for new grads to find new jobs, so it may take awhile before you get an ICU position. Everybody is kinda "taking what they can get" right now as far as jobs go- which means not their preferred areas and not even full time. See the graduate nurse forum.

litllivie · Jun 17, 2010

Hi,

Try looking at a night/weekend program at Long Island University, I believe they have what you're looking for. However, it might be an expensive program since it's a private college.

PSUStudent · Jun 27, 2010

Hi,

Thats a tough situation...I'm in a 2nd degree program at Penn State and you literally cannot work while your in this program...I would probably develop narcolepsy if I had to work, let alone finding a job with hours that I could work...I am not aware of any night/weekend/online 2nd degree programs and even if they were an online 2nd degree program, with clinical's and study/reading time it would probably be hard...It sounds like the option that you have come up with would be the best for you.

Best of luck :)

TexHaws · Jan 6, 2011

I will be starting the Second degree program at Methodist College of nursing in a couple weeks. It is nights and weekends. Tue and Fri nights and all day sat and sunday. Their site is mcon.edu

chuckster, ADN, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Jan 6, 2011

There are many evening/weekend nursing programs - your local CC would be the place to start. I'm not sure where you'll be able to find a one-year evening/weekend ADN program though. I certainly am not aware of any - all that I'm familiar with are nominally 2 year programs (due to prereqs, they will likely take you 3 or more years on a part-time basis, even as second-degree student). I speak from experience on this and safely assert that even if you're down to just the nursing courses, you will have a pretty full 24 months. You will have classes 1 - 2 nights each week and clinical rotations every weekend (both days, essentially through 4 semesters). If you're lucky, your rotation will start at 0-dark thirty in the morning and conclude by 2 or 3 PM. I say lucky, because this way, at least you'll be able to get something done around the house on the weekend or maybe watch a football game. If you're not lucky, you'll start in the late afternoon and not get home until evening. You may have most of the summer off but you almost certainly will need to take a nursing elective for one summer session. Working while in the program is difficult - again I speak from experience - but doable. My grades suffered enormously as a result: My GPA went from close to 4.0 (for the nursing prereqs like bio, chem, micro, A&P, etc) to 2.9 (the nursing courses were 8 or 10 credits and I got C's in some of them because I just did not have the time to really study due to work commitments).

I also think you will find it very challenging to find a job as ADN-RN right now - again I speak from experience. Less than 10% of my graduating class from a well-regarded CC program have been able to find jobs. Many, if not most hospitals now will not even accept applications from ADN nurses (though some will hire ADNs who were previously techs or interns at the facility). So the job market is a bit easier for BSN-RNs but still tough. There are lots of RN-BSN programs, many offered on-line. If you do a search on this site, you'll find lots of questions and comments about these. My personal feeling is that on-line is fine, though I'd hedge this a bit and say that I'd go with one from a real brick and mortar school rather than one of the virtual, for-profit colleges [Disclaimer: I plan to enroll in "traditional" classroom eve/weekend RN-BSN program at one of the local state schools here in PA]. Bottom line is that you probably shouldn't count on finding work until you get the BSN.

It sounds like you are really interested in becoming a CRNA. I'd caution you to make certain that this is truly the case before committing to a plan of action. I'd also advise you to research the job market carefully before committing. The job market for nurses in general is pretty dismal - hopefully this is not the case for CRNAs. Just make sure because it will really, really suck to get to the end of the lengthy, arduous and costly process of becoming an NA, only to find out that jobs are few and far between

Sorry to rain - hopefully more like a light shower - on your parade but better to know the risks up front than to find out later.