Nursing student in need of advice.

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Specializes in Psychiatric, Mental, and Behavioral Health.

Hello there!

I am a second year nursing student attending a local community college for my Associate's in Pre-Nursing. I need advice from my fellow nurses on which path I should take to become a registered nurse. Becoming an RN is my first step in my nursing career. I live with my parent's and do not have many financial responsibilities. I do not mind being a full-time student, and I do not need a job right away. I currently have my C.N.A, and I work for an in-home caregiving with clients who are disabled, by the way, this is just a summer job so I can save up for nursing school. What are some of your thoughts about going for ADN vs. APN vs. BSN? Thank you :)

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.

If you can afford it, you would be better off going for the BSN first. After you get some experience and see where your interests lie, you can decide if advanced practice is for you.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.

Associates Degree in Pre-nursing? I've never heard of that. And I'm immediately suspicious because you can earn an Associate of Science in Nursing degree that qualifies you to sit for the NCLEX-RN.

I'm glad you're at a Community College. That is the single best, least expensive way to earn your RN.

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
Associates Degree in Pre-nursing? I've never heard of that. And I'm immediately suspicious because you can earn an Associate of Science in Nursing degree.

I'm glad you're at a Community College. That is the single best, least expensive way to earn your RN.

I think he means "APN" as in "Advanced Practice Nursing." I could be wrong, but I've seen it abbreviated that way before.

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Specializes in Psychiatric, Mental, and Behavioral Health.

Oh, well at my school, Associate's in Pre-Nursing is a transfer degree to get into a university. You are not eligible for any NCLEX exam because the classes you take is basically the pre-reqs for a BSN program.

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Specializes in CMSRN.

I've never heard of an Associate's in Pre-Nursing. I have my ASN, which qualifies me to move on to a BSN (and then I should be able to complete that in only 3 semesters). If you're going to get an Associate's degree I would recommend just going for the ASN and being able to work and gain experience while doing your BSN. If you're going to get an Associate's first, that would make the most sense to me, as opposed to getting an Associate's that wouldn't really do anything for you career wise if something in your personal situation were to change and you weren't able to continue to your BSN right away.

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I would finish your pre nursing prerequisites and transfer to BSN. Confirm with the BSN schools that will accept all your credits and classes for their nursing programs

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Specializes in Emergency Department.
Associates Degree in Pre-nursing? I've never heard of that. And I'm immediately suspicious because you can earn an Associate of Science in Nursing degree that qualifies you to sit for the NCLEX-RN.

I got my associates in pre-nursing. It just showed I had the first 60 credits (non nursing) that were required for a BSN. You can't do anything with that associates degree obviously, but it was just something to add to my resume. I earned it at the community college & the following fall transferred into a BSN program & started my nursing clinical courses.

I saved so much money by doing those first two years at a community college. And I was able to get a great job because I went straight for my BSN.

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