Planning my education around conflicting messages

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Hey folks! First off, while I am brand new on the forum "officially", I've been reading allnurses posts for months now! Yes, I am a creeper :sorry: ! I've really enjoyed reading the posts, and have already got a lot of valuable information from many that have "been there, and done that".

A little background before I throw my question out there: I'm an approaching 40 woman with a BSN degree from years back, who has decided on a career change. I became interested in nursing during a period of a couple of years when I became a caregiver to my ailing elderly father. I am now enrolled in an LPN program at a local community college. I'm loving it and doing great in my classes (i'm only 3 weeks in though!). I am a "thinking ahead" type person, and I'm trying to decide what to do education wise after I become an LPN. I would like to become an RN. I will have 2 prereqs left to get into RN program after I become an Lpn. I'm getting conflicting information on what's involved in getting your BSN in nursing if you already have a bachelors, I have even heard that in my situation, it isn't much harder to just go ahead and shoot for a masters. And who are the people to ask? I have already made inquiries with people that should be "in the know" and they all said something different! It may sound like I'm putting the cart before the horse, but I sort of like to have a rough game plan. I'm always up for changing it up later. Thank you in advance, I'm hoping to prove that you can teach an old dog new tricks :cool:

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Specializes in Peds, Med-Surg, Disaster Nsg, Parish Nsg.

Hello and welcome to the site. So glad you decided to join us. You should get some helpful comments here.

Just for clarification.....in your post you state that you have "a BSN degree from years back". Maybe you meant something else?

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Specializes in ER/SICU/House Float.

Not sure about msn but you are looking for a program "second degree accelerated bsn program" There are many colleges that offer this type of program. I would think it basically gives you a BSN within the time frame of an associate. I personally have not done this type of program but just give you some Google research help ;) When you find a college near you (do to clinical/skills labs a basic rn education want be online) Then you can start getting some real answers. Good Luck hope you enjoy your second career.

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Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

I think your best bet is to take your transcripts to an academic advisor at the school from which you intend to get your degree. They can best tell you what is needed and the best approach.

How can you have a BSN degree from years back? Do you mean you have a college degree from another field? If you had a degree in nursing I believe most of your questions would be answered by now.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
I think your best bet is to take your transcripts to an academic advisor at the school from which you intend to get your degree. They can best tell you what is needed and the best approach.

How can you have a BSN degree from years back? Do you mean you have a college degree from another field? If you had a degree in nursing I believe most of your questions would be answered by now.

THIS.

As far as wanting a BSN: research your market, research what you are interested in as far as what opportunities are offered, meaning, if you want to go farther and be an educator or a NP, then you would want to get the BSN either sooner or later; either way it will be based on what you would want to do, your previous transcripts and your plans.

Best wishes.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
I'm an approaching 40 woman with a BSN degree from years back, who has decided on a career change.
Welcome! Do you truly have a BSN degree, or did you intend to say you had a BS degree in a major or concentration other than nursing?
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So, if I am understanding correctly, you have a Bachelors but not in nursing, and you are in an LPN program with the opportunity to go on for an RN with an Associates Degree? I guess it depends on what you want to do. RNs usually are assigned more responsibilities than LPNs, they are allowed to do more within the state nurse practice act than LPNs. If the opportunity to go on for your RN is now then I would recommend you do that, more opportunities will be open for you. As far as the Bachelors, I was under the impression that to obtain a Masters in Nursing one had to graduate from an NLN(National League of Nursing) accredited Bachelors program. If your Bachelors is not in nursing I am not sure what accredited college will take it to start in their Masters Program. Nursing is different than other careers in that most employers want to see the progress in the appropriate field. Bachelors of Nursing usually has more science and social classes than other Bachelor degrees. I do know in the current market place most acute facilities are looking for RNs that have a BSN to start at their facility. Frankly, being a graduate from an ADN program when I first started nursing, I was prepared for hospital nursing with that degree. I'm sure there are some of us who graduated from a RN diploma program and those nurses pretty much ran the hospitals at that time!!! However, we are in the era of advance education and with nursing attempting to be recognized as a profession a higher degree is preferred. Hope this helps!!!

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If your goal is BSN and beyond, rather than doing an associate's RN program, look into accelerated BSN programs, which are for those already holding a bachelor's degree.

Whether you decide to go directly for your masters depends on what career path you are looking for. Many MSN programs not only require you to already have a BSN but may require up to a few years of clinical experience as an RN, often in a hospital setting. If you find a direct-entry MSN program and decide to go that route, just be aware that you will still be competing for jobs with experienced RNs. There are numerous threads debating this subject that you can find using the search function on this site. My personal view is that in the majority of cases it is better to go with the BSN first and get some solid experience before continuing on to graduate school. Having that experience as a nurse may also help you decide what ultimate career path will work best for you.

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Yes, I misspoke. I have a bs in agricultural sciences.

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I appreciate all the great feedback!I'm sure that a bsn would be required first. I had actually checked into the accelerated programs, but they were too far away and I was unable to make a move at the time. i welcome all suggestions of what I should research.

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