Other than BSN

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I have my RN and have tried two different online BSN programs. I feel the BSN content will not help me give better patient care nor increase my critical thinking abilities. In fact, I have dropped out of both programs because most of both have had non-nursing assignments and both have only focused on APA citing. This is NOT how I want to further my education! Is there anyother degree out there which would be comparable? If I do not get my BSN, can I still continue on to NP after getting a different medical degree?

Specializes in PACU.
I will never understand how people associate certain aspects of school with ability. I know C students that passed the NCLEX in 75 and their straight A classmates took over 200 or even failed.

Grades and paper writing ability don't mean squat!

The girls are great at killing themselves over an A and are fabulous at papers. Us ADHD guys could care less.

The point is that you lack trustworthiness. You cheated in school. You hired people to write your papers for you. That's fraudulent and you earned your grades under the false pretense that you wrote them.

Shame on you.

I wouldn't want a nurse that cuts corners on something so simple.

It has nothing to do with your skill as a nurse and everything with your character as a person.

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The ability to write papers, which I openly admit I lack, has absolutely ZERO to do with my ability to be a good nurse. I am confident a poll of my coworkers would indicate that I am one of the people they hope would be around when stuff goes down.

Anyone with a 5th grade education has the ability to write a paper. You chose not to. You didn't earn the marks that you received. You might have clinical skills, but I can bet your professors, coworkers and definitely your employer wouldn't be thrilled to find out you cheated. Maybe you missed the essay on integrity. Sounds like you certainly could have benefitted from it. And also, most of the nurses I've met who think they are THE BEST NURSE EVER, aren't.

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
It has nothing to do with your skill as a nurse and everything with your character as a person

Exactly. As a manager, I would never hire anyone who lies, cheats or steals, and proudly admits it. You could be the most skilled nurse, but so are a lot of other nurses, and I put high value in integrity and honesty.

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Google a program called PERRLA...it does all the APA citing for you, sets the margins. All you have to is write the paper and select the type of reference you're citing and it will ask you for all the info and put it in the correct format. Takes a lot of the BS out of the BSN LOL. I don't think if you are really wanting to go further and get a DNP or masters that there is any good way around it. I feel much the same way you do but I'm forcing myself to push through all the stupid assignments (that won't make me a better clinician) and get the 3.5 GPA I'll need for grad school.

Like I said, I don't think a BSN will magically make me a better clinician but I already had a very solid science and medical background before I went into nursing and that has worked to my advantage. I think the most important way for an RN to improve critical thinking and clinical thinking skills is on the job hands on experience. I totally disagree with the notion (as well as resent it) that a new RN with a BSN is somehow superior to an RN with an ADN. A new nurse is a new nurse...period. Everyone starts at the beginning...

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Only thing I ever cheated on was fluff paper writing. I'm a REAL GOOD person to have nearby when you have to call a code blue.

Let me tell you a story. When I was in boot camp for the Navy we had to do all these things that seemed totally absurd, and everyone complained about them constantly. They seemed insane and trivial and guess what, they were. Alone by themselves they were just fluff. It was NOT the actual task that was the lesson, it was completing the task that was the lesson. All those student things taught us how to follow through, how to do something 110% every time, how to pay attention to detail, how to function under pressure and a slew of other things.

All those "stupid fluff" papers are just like all those "stupid fluff" tasks in boot camp. You don't realize what you learned until later on down the road when its hits you in the face like a ton of bricks.

So not I don't believe you are a REAL GOOD person to have around, you just think you are, and as long as you think this was you are a liability to yourself and everyone around you. Period, tell yourself you aren't all you want, but that doesn't make it true.

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Okay, I laughed out loud when I read this. Smartnurse, you have been asking about various RN-BSN programs for FIVE YEARS. You realize that if you would just choose one and be done with it, you would be long done with your BSN by now, right?

I think I remember giving you this same advice a year ago when you were asking about online vs. B&M programs.

Except.....that was not EVEN a year ago when i asked that question.

I just heard of WGU not that long ago to be honest.

I do not stay on Allnurses like that,and even then its the PDN forum.

Second,i did not even ask you,so your advice was not even needed.

Some of you are always saying "Do your research".

Are you not supposed to research before jumping into something?

I do not exactly have $15,000 laying around,and i am not eligible for Pell grants and other Federal programs.

I do not want to be like the nurse who paid $60,000 for the Bsn program.

Life got in the way.

My Pdn agency was even toying with the idea of firing the RN's and replacing them with Lpn's 3 years ago.

I saw evidence of nursing homes hiring all Lpn staff when i was in South Carolina and North Carolina,and that was in 2009. From what i hear from former coworkers,those states still do not hire Rn's in non-acute ltc facilities and for Pdn.

I want to stay in Pdn,but a Bsn would not have helped me if the agency did that.

I do NOT have any desire to work in any other setting.

As a matter of fact,they STILL are toying with that idea due to insurance cuts,which is why i even asked on the NJ Nurses how to reactivate an Lpn license that expired some time ago.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, High-Risk L&D, Antepartum, L.
The ability to write papers, which I openly admit I lack, has absolutely ZERO to do with my ability to be a good nurse. I am confident a poll of my coworkers would indicate that I am one of the people they hope would be around when stuff goes down.

Earning your BSN isn't about proving you are a good nurse. Earning your BSN is about becoming more educated...clearly something you haven't done. Maybe if you wrote your own papers you would have learned something. I wouldn't trust you to care for my loved ones. I don't care how good of a nurse you are...you are a liar and that right there is enough for me to never want you near anyone I know.

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
Except.....that was not EVEN a year ago when i asked that question.

I just heard of WGU not that long ago to be honest.

I wasn't talking about WGU, specifically. You have been asking about various RN-BSN programs since 2009. I just found it amusing. At some point, one has to quit doing research and just make the leap.

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There are several ASN-MSN programs. Simmons college offers online ASN to MSN ...here is a list by state

RN to MSN Degree Programs by State

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I wasn't talking about WGU, specifically. You have been asking about various RN-BSN programs since 2009. I just found it amusing. At some point, one has to quit doing research and just make the leap.

I do not have $$$ like that,so i cannot just make a leap.

I am ineligible for financial aid.

Look at all the Bsn college grads who made a leap into degrees costing $40,000,or the ones who did not like the program they were in.

I never said you were talking about WGU specifically.

I said i just found out about WGU this year.

The original post asked about writing papers in an APA format.

Another poster said hers was a good program that focused on actual nursing.

ALl i did was ask which school that was.

I thought research was supposed to be good?

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Specializes in Med/Surg, LTACH, LTC, Home Health.
I do not have $$$ like that,so i cannot just make a leap.

I am ineligible for financial aid.

Look at all the Bsn college grads who made a leap into degrees costing $40,000,or the ones who did not like the program they were in.

I never said you were talking about WGU specifically.

I said i just found out about WGU this year.

The original post asked about writing papers in an APA format.

Another poster said hers was a good program that focused on actual nursing.

ALl i did was ask which school that was.

I thought research was supposed to be good?

Hi there!

Research is a good thing. The problem with research is that your findings, as permanent as they seem to be, are always temporary. In your situation (just as some of my personal LPN friends), the longer you wait to start, the more it's going to cost. I compare it to buying a car: next year's model of the same vehicle is going to cost more than this year's model. But if I buy the one I see today, my price will be locked in even though other little 'fees' (insurance, repairs, etc) may or may not increase.

When I made my selection on an ADN program, the cost of the exams was around $225-250. Because of an option at the time of my enrollment, the cost for me was $120/month until the bill was paid. How cool was that! It allowed me to sprint through that college in record time (RN license in under a year). That was in 2010. The friends that I tried to convince that it was the perfect time to enroll, well, they stalled, hesitated, researched further, whatever....but never enrolled and now, they are still LPNs and if they choose the same college today, it will them nearly $100 more per exam (paying or financing full price before being allowed to test), no more options exists like the one I had, an additional $50 fee per exam at the testing site, and 8-16 weeks longer plus an additional charge due to one component that was a 4-page booklet (that could be completed in a day's time) which turned into a semester-long course. And that doesn't include the fees that increase annually just like clockwork. That $60,0000:eek: BSN that the one nurse mentioned will probably cost $65,000:nailbiting: next year.

As a person that does not have money lying around, just like many of us here (both of my hands raised high with me standing in a chair:D), if you're going to pursue higher education, the time is now, because things are not going to get any cheaper. WGU seems pretty constant, but even the cost of textbooks and supplies increase. I would suggest deciding upon a program, performing an assessment of your personal situation (finances, family obligations, etc) and revamping/revising what you need that would allow your situation to co-exist with the program you selected, and then 'officially' start your journey even if it includes setting up payment plans for one course at a time. If you were to choose a program today and not apply/enroll, there is no guarantee the options you liked will be available for you tomorrow. Good luck to you!

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Hi there!

Research is a good thing. The problem with research is that your findings, as permanent as they seem to be, are always temporary. In your situation (just as some of my personal LPN friends), the longer you wait to start, the more it's going to cost. I compare it to buying a car: next year's model of the same vehicle is going to cost more than this year's model. But if I buy the one I see today, my price will be locked in even though other little 'fees' (insurance, repairs, etc) may or may not increase.

When I made my selection on an ADN program, the cost of the exams was around $225-250. Because of an option at the time of my enrollment, the cost for me was $120/month until the bill was paid. How cool was that! It allowed me to sprint through that college in record time (RN license in under a year). That was in 2010. The friends that I tried to convince that it was the perfect time to enroll, well, they stalled, hesitated, researched further, whatever....but never enrolled and now, they are still LPNs and if they choose the same college today, it will them nearly $100 more per exam (paying or financing full price before being allowed to test), no more options exists like the one I had, an additional $50 fee per exam at the testing site, and 8-16 weeks longer plus an additional charge due to one component that was a 4-page booklet (that could be completed in a day's time) which turned into a semester-long course. And that doesn't include the fees that increase annually just like clockwork. That $60,0000:eek: BSN that the one nurse mentioned will probably cost $65,000:nailbiting: next year.

As a person that does not have money lying around, just like many of us here (both of my hands raised high with me standing in a chair:D), if you're going to pursue higher education, the time is now, because things are not going to get any cheaper. WGU seems pretty constant, but even the cost of textbooks and supplies increase. I would suggest deciding upon a program, performing an assessment of your personal situation (finances, family obligations, etc) and revamping/revising what you need that would allow your situation to co-exist with the program you selected, and then 'officially' start your journey even if it includes setting up payment plans for one course at a time. If you were to choose a program today and not apply/enroll, there is no guarantee the options you liked will be available for you tomorrow. Good luck to you!

Seems like the Rn-Bsn programs are getting cheaper,more numerous, and shorter in length in my opinion.

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