Online degree/Traditional route

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  1. If you had a ADN what would you do?

    • 0
      Continue on to a BSN through the traditional route.
    • 1
      Work as an RN with your ADN.
    • 8
      Work as an RN while completing a BSN program online.
    • 2
      Work as an RN and complete your BSN once you have been established.
    • 3
      Ask your employer for assistance in obtaining a BSN.

14 members have participated

Hello,

I am a new ADN graduate, and Im ready to start working ASAP. I want to work and pursue an online BSN simultaneously. My elders advise me to continue on the traditional BSN path before starting work. I'm wondering if the national push form ADN to BSN will make online degrees the new norm, or if they will be looked down upon career wise. I am planning on obtaining the online degree through a state ran university if that makes any difference. I was wondering what everyone's thoughts were on the subject. Thank you.

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Specializes in ER.

Every manager in the area that I work with and have had interviewed for had no preference between online or traditional. They just wanted the BSN to tick a box. In all honesty, most managers realize the need for flexibility. Nurses like to work a lot and online offers a certain degree of flexibility. In the past, there were BSN courses that came to "satellite" campuses to offer the classes once a week for nurses. However, the programs in my area are very limited now and most are moving to an online format.

Why? Because it reduces costs for the university. They do not have to pay for the buildings (and all the fuss that comes along with them like security, maintenance, heat, etc) although they do have to pay for licensing to utilize some sort of online program like Blackboard and for server management.

Also, it was easier for employers. Online? No hassle trying to schedule nurses around classes. If they have set rotating schedules then an online class wouldn't interfere. Not to mention classes change nearly ever semester so someone doing a M/W class may need T/R off the next semester. It's a pain.

I did Ohio University and no one batted an eye. Granted, I live in Ohio. When I worked in Michigan, most employers loved the program and said they wanted their workers to use the program so they could keep them. Heck, I have had people who had free tuition choose to go through OU just because of how simplified it was (not easy, but simplified).

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Specializes in Nurse Scientist-Research.

Pretty much no one cares anymore. As long as the school is accredited. The biggest thing in my opinion is finding a program that won't cost you an arm and a leg. The thing that sucks people in to some of the more expensive programs is usually something like: we won't make you take chemistry or a State history. I'm not saying those things aren't attractive but consider if it's worth getting out of a course or two when you wind up paying 5-10 thousand more for the same degree.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

I worked full-time 12-hour night shifts as an associate degree nurse (ADN) while completing my BSN degree online. It was very doable. The process took me 10 months, 34 credits and approximately $5,800 in tuition and fees from the time I enrolled in the online BSN program to the time I completed it.

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I get the impression these elders advising you are not actually familiar with nursing education at all. I have literally never heard anyone suggest holding off on finding employment prior to completing an RN to BSN program, and can't think of what the rationale would be for that.

It sounds to me like they think that, after completing an ADN, you just join up with a BSN class to complete the BSN. It's not like that (with perhaps a few limited exceptions). ADN is not a midway point in the BSN process. RN to BSN is a totally separate program, regardless of where you take it.

RN to BSN programs, whether "traditional" (I assume that means classroom-based) or online, are generally intended for people who are currently working as nurses. Most accommodate it, some require it.

The line between "traditional" and online is blurring. A lot of brick-and-mortar schools, whether state or private, now offer RN to BSN programs that are primarily or exclusively online, so you still have online options if you're concerned about having the reputation of a state school. However, when it comes to BSN, most people doing hiring don't care where you got a degree from, just as long as it's accredited appropriately. They're basically just trying to meet quotas.

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Specializes in Outpatient/Clinic, ClinDoc.

I have an online BSN from an all-online school. It's to 'check the box' and none of my employers have had any issue with it. "You have a BSN? Great!", next question..

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Specializes in Med/Surg, LTACH, LTC, Home Health.

As a former LPN, my ASN and BSN were 100% online. No issues, no pay increase for full time status, (actually there was a pay decrease between my many years of LPN experience and new-grad RN status), not even a 'congratz on getting your BSN'. Some places inquired about it; other places required it; no one has yet to pay me for it. Otherwise, like a PP stated, "who cares" as long as it is from an accredited school.

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