PharmD to RN

Oldmahubbard · Jun 29, 2019

1 hour ago, PharmD to RN said:
I have been a pharmacist for about 20 years and am considering going into nursing. Can anyone give me an idea of how to go about this?

You scare me beyond belief.

Sadly, not much of your education will count. It will be too old, or not applicable.

JKL33 · Jun 30, 2019

Can't answer any further than to say that you would need to get started on prerequisites for a program of interest.

What do you envision yourself doing in nursing and any chance you feel like sharing your motivations for this move?

allnurses Guide · Jul 1, 2019

Find a college that offers nursing degrees. Have your transcript evaluated so you know what you will need to retake (almost all math and science courses). Get your pre-reqs out of the way, then apply to the school of your choice. Attend, graduate, pass NCLEX. Voila. Nurse.

Good luck!

llg, PhD, RN · Jul 1, 2019

As someone who already has an advanced degree in a related field, you might be able to "do better" than starting at the beginning. I recommend looking at a wide variety of schools and types of programs in nursing before choosing one. Are you flexible and able to move to another city or state?

The reason I ask about relocating, is that there are program specially designed for "2nd career" nurses that you might be interested in. Many of those offer a Master's Degree as an entry-level degree. Such a program might give you more credit for previous coursework taken, thus reducing the number of introductory/pre-requisite courses you might have to take. They also combine a lot of undergraduate and graduate content to reduce the number of courses and award an MSN at the end and are eligible to sit for specialty boards.

There is also an entry into nursing possibility called an CNL "Clinical Nurse Leader" degree. It is a Master's level entry into nursing program that produces a "advanced generalist" in nursing. You don't have to choose a specialty at that point.

However, while Master's level entry programs exist, they are not available everywhere -- and you might have to move to another location to participate in one. To find one, search far and wide. Search online for "Master's level entry" nursing programs ... MSN programs, CNL programs, etc. to find such schools. Maybe ask the question on this website, "Can someone help me find a list of Master's level entry programs?" etc.

You also might want to consider some BSN programs that are geared towards 2nd careerists. Duke used to have such a program (called it an ABSN - advanced BSN -- program), but I am not really sure what exactly they are doing now.

Anyway ... find a few schools that seem attractive to you ... and then contact them directly to find out how many courses you would need to take. It will vary, depending on the program you choose.

Good luck!