Peds Nursing Education - RN to BSN to MSN? Or RN to MSN

[peds_luv]

Hello!

I'm in my last year of nursing school in an ASN Program and trying to think ahead to my next steps. Assuming I graduate & pass boards... lol.... I'm wondering if you all would recommend going RN to BSN then MSN.. or just RN-MSN.

I think that I want to eventually become a pediatric nurse practitioner (love the idea of learning more and also having autonomy). The MSN program I'm looking at has a 2 year requirement of experience before you can even be admitted to the MSN program (if I were to do the RN-MSN track) so I'm thinking I should just do the RN-BSN before that and then figure out if peds is REALLY what I want to do. I'm sure it will be very different than school! I LOVE children though and really feel drawn to that specialty but am still open and figuring out where I should apply next spring...

I hear a lot about how it's good to start out working on Med Surg floors as a new grad. So I'm thinking about applying to Riley on the peds med surg unit ... getting my BSN (I already have a bachelor's degree in a liberal arts major so I have the general ed requirements) ... and going from there....

Also - how would you describe peds nurses? I know it's not good to *stereotype* specialties, but I'm curious what qualities and characteristics are important for pediatric nurses - - & what seasoned nurses see and recognize in real world peds nurses.... Thank you in advance!