nursing requirements

[kgionet]

Hey everyone :)

I'm a senior in high school and attending a community college next fall and I have a couple things I need to clear up about my education because I want to get my Nurse Practitioner's license specializing in Pediatrics. I'm going to try to make this as less confusing as possible, so my plan was that I was going to go take my pre-reqs at the CC I'm going to attend and then transfer to a University to get my BSN and then go for my MSN from there. I was looking at the website though, and the University has three programs I was looking at, RN-BSN, BSN-MSN, or RN-MSN. Couple of questions:

1. Do these require you to have your RN license to get into the programs or can I take my pre-reqs and transfer into the program and get my RN license after? I feel like this is kind of a dumb question since it say's RN right in the program... sorry

2. To get my RN license, I need to do my pre-reqs and then get my ASN and take my NCLEX-RN correct? So would this take me two years or three(how long are pre-reqs and how long does the asn take?)

3. So, since my main goal here is to get my NP license, would it be smarter to do my pre-reqs and ASN degree at the CC, get my RN license, and then transfer into the RN-MSN program? It won't get me my BSN but since I want to be a Nurse Practitioner, would I really need it? If anything happens I can fall back on my ASN.... or would it be better to fall back on a BSN; from what I read they're not really that different

Thanks everyone; I know they seem like simple questions but they've been confusing me and this kind of seemed like the perfect place to ask.

[TexRN, BSN, RN]

If anything, get your BSN first. From what I've heard ASN and BSN take almost the same amount of time to complete. Also, you'd have better chance of landing a place to work with a BSN come time. If you're in highschool see if you can't do some duel enrollment at a community college. Prereqs can go as fast as you want them to depending on how many your BSN program requires, but I Think if you want MSN then there are even more prereqs for that. If you manage time and can dedicate your life to school you can knock out quite a few classes per semester. Retaining the information is more important than trying to get through it as fast as you can, so if it takes the normal 2 year of school to complete the prereqs going at a normal pace, so be it.

[pmabraham, BSN, RN]

Good day, kgionet:

Go for your B.S.N. with taking your prerequisites at a community college to save a lot of money.

Thank you.

[Herrington]

For your 3rd point, if something does happen and you need to fall back on another nursing degree, I would say go for the BSN, as a lot of places (hospitals primarily), are listing it as a job requirement. It'll make you more marketable later on.

[meib92]

1. It depends on the University to which you apply. Most universities have a pre-licensure BSN program-- as in you don't need your RN license to get your BSN, only prereq's and general ed are required. But the RN-BSN program means getting your ASN degree/RN license first, then getting your BSN.

2. Correct. After completing prerequisites, and then upon admission into a nursing program, you will get an Associate's or a Bachelor's in Nursing. Prerequisites and general ed required to get into these programs are two years full-time. ASN programs are two years after that, and most BSN programs are 3 years. So you're looking at 4-5 years in school total for your BSN.

3. I would recommend taking your prerequisites at a community college (because of the low cost!), get VERY VERY good grades (these programs are super competitive), then transfer to university and do the BSN program, so you have a BSN to fall back on rather than an ASN. There is a nationwide push for nurses to have their BSN, and many hospitals are starting to only hire nurses with their BSN.

Hope this helps answer your questions. And I wish the best of luck to you!

[kgionet]

okay so I should go get my BSN, I figured that would be the smartest thing to do, just in case but so you guys are saying that like I take my prereqs for my ASN, which can be like 1-2 years, then go for my ASN degree(2 yrs) and this will be three years, then go for my BSN, which is another 2 years = 5 years altogether? + 2 yrs from MSN

The CC has all the prerequisites for the ASN to take one year, and I can't take BSN classes because I won't have my license lol I have to talk to an advisor about everything and plan out my schedule and stuff but thanks for clearing some things ups for me because I dont want to go in and say something dumb lol

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

okay so I should go get my BSN, I figured that would be the smartest thing to do, just in case but so you guys are saying that like I take my prereqs for my ASN, which can be like 1-2 years, then go for my ASN degree(2 yrs) and this will be three years, then go for my BSN, which is another 2 years = 5 years altogether? + 2 yrs from MSN

The CC has all the prerequisites for the ASN to take one year, and I can't take BSN classes because I won't have my license lol I have to talk to an advisor about everything and plan out my schedule and stuff but thanks for clearing some things ups for me because I dont want to go in and say something dumb lol

Don't worry about saying something dumb :) Because of the multiple entries to practice that are available today it could confuse anyone. And don't forget, there are still diploma programs out there that are hospital-based and do not result in a degree at all, BUT qualify the graduate of such a program to sit for the same NCLEX licensing exam as a BSN graduate. Confused yet?

Hang in there. Talk to the school advisor, and read around this website, on the various forums dedicated to the topic of "what program do I pick?!"

Good luck :)

[RunBabyRN]

If you want to get your BSN, you don't necessarily have to do your ASN first. There are generally pre-licensure BSN programs (check with the school. If that's not available, I would say to do the ASN then the RN-MSN program.