britney32

Sorry, I suppose I was not very clear so I think you may have misunderstood what my intentions are regarding pursuing education to become a NP, but thank you for making those clarifications for others. If I do pursue an ELM program, I was already planning to commute, so that I can avoid accumulating more student loans for rent/living expenses. I was trying to say that LA is not an option for me to commute to; I was not saying that I am not willing to commute in general. It's not possible to commute to LA as it would take 4 hours to drive and 4 hours to drive back during the weekdays with traffic, so commuting there is not realistic. But there are a few options of schools I can go to that I would realistically be able to commute to. And yes, I am aware that I may not be accepted to the programs that are near me, so in that case I would change my plans and look into re-locating. As of now, I think it would be best to avoid re-locating if possible. As I previously mentioned, I would like to limit the amount of debt I will accumulate as these programs are already so expensive as it is. I am not looking for a program that does not exist, I am aware that I will have to commute or re-locate, and that the ELM programs in CA are quite pricey. I am just hesitant to take on that amount of debt which is why I may not even pursue this option at all, and instead pursue a different degree that is more affordable. I was just looking into all of my options, and seeing what option would be best for me if I do pursue this. I am still not completely sold on becoming a nurse/NP, it is just one of the careers I am looking into pursuing right now, so I was just looking into the steps I would have to take to pursue this profession. There are other careers I'm interested in as well, so I am just looking into all of my options right now. After contemplating this further, if I do decide to pursue this I think I may just do the accelerated bachelor's program, and then go on to do a traditional MSN with the nurse practitioner specialty, even though that would take longer to complete, but it would be more affordable as I can do this through a Cal State school, and they offer a cohort for the accelerated bachelor's program in my city, and the MSN program is still pretty close to my location. It was where I got my undergrad degree. You have been very helpful and you have given me a lot of clarity on how to pursue being a NP having a non-nursing bachelor's degree, so thank you again. :)

I have already researched all of the entry level MSN programs in California. What I meant earlier was, this program is not available at any CAL STATE schools in California, which would be the most affordable option. The UC schools are still very expensive, and some of them like the University of San Diego are even more expensive than some private schools, like Azusa. A lot of the programs in California would not work for me since they're not in my area. I live in southern CA, but even UCLA would be too far for me. There is an accelerated bachelor's of nursing degree available in my city, but I am not really interested in doing that, since it would be a very long process to do a 2 year "accelerated" bachelor's program, and then another 2-3 years to become a NP, so I would rather just go directly into a master's degree and be able to finish my education in about 3 years. But that would be great to not have to commute, so I am still considering it. Thanks again for all of your help! :)

Thank you again for taking the time to write this thorough response, it is much appreciated! I started to put the pre-requisite courses from various schools together in a document to compare them, and what is becoming frustrating is that ALL of the potential schools have slightly different pre-requisites requirements. Each school has about 1-2 additional courses that the other schools do not require, so this makes it more difficult to apply to several different schools, since I would have to take quite a few extra courses overall, to meet the requirements of all of them. Also, how much does an MSN degree costs on average? The entry level MSN degree is only offered at private schools here in CA, and so it seems to be extremely expensive. The degrees that are on the "cheaper" side still seem to be $80,000 - $100,000, and other schools seem to be more. I was wondering if this degree is cheaper elsewhere? Or is this the typical cost of this type of degree? But even if it's cheaper elsewhere, I don't know if it would even be possible to complete this degree out of state, since as far as I am aware, you can not work while completing this degree. So I would have to live with family while completing it, so I believe that moving elsewhere to complete the degree wouldn't be an option.

I just wrote out a super long reply, and it looks like it never posted.. so I'm not sure what happened. But anyway, your response has been very helpful so thank you! I am interested in being a family nurse practitioner, or possibly a psychiatric NP. So I would need 1-2 years of working as an RN to pursue this? I am interested in working in primary care. Would I be able to gain the work experience working in primary care as an RN? It seems like mostly doctors, nurse practitioners, physician's assistants and medical assistance work in primary care, so I wasn't sure if it's very common for a typical RN to be employed in a primary care setting? I would rather not work in a hospital, but I would if necessary. I have been extensively researching entry level MSN programs, and I was already planning to avoid for profit schools since I don't think they're very good in general for various reasons. I still need to complete some of the pre-req courses. I've already taken Anatomy & Physiology 1 & 2. It seems that most of the schools in California require just A & P, statistics, and microbiology. So I was wondering, what type of statistics course would be sufficient? Would elementary statistics fulfill the requirements? Also, I would like to have the option to apply to out of state schools, which seem to have different requirements, so can anyone recommend what courses I should definitely take to meet the requirements of most schools? Also, what qualities would make me a competent applicant? I am not exactly sure what my undergrad GPA was after completing my last semester of college, but it should definitely be a 3.5 or higher. I've never gotten anything below an A or B. I got A's in Anatomy & Physiology, which I know is important to have a high gpa in the science pre-req's. I also studied abroad in Spain and Argentina, where I learned Spanish, so I was wondering if this would help my application as well? I also have volunteered in the maternity ward of a hospital, but I didn't complete a lot of hours doing this, so I was thinking of volunteering again.

Thank you for your response. I figured that the MSN degree would only allow me to become a RN instead of an NP. So, to become a nurse practitioner, I would have to get a master's degree that is specifically designed to become a nurse practitioner? I would be interested in doing an entry level NP program that would allow me to become a RN on the way. There actually are programs for this? I haven't had much luck with finding any, I've only really found entry level MSN programs. I am currently looking at an entry level MSN program, and it says that it would make me eligible to apply to become a nurse practitioner, so this means it would make me eligible to APPLY to a NP program? I'm also reading an article on how to become a NP from a non-nursing bachelor's degree, and it says you can get an MSN and then go on to get a certification to become a NP? So do you have to get a master's degree that is specifically for becoming a NP, or is it just a post-master's degree certification?

I have a non-nursing bachelor's degree, so I am really interested in pursuing an entry level MSN degree, and becoming a nurse practitioner. I know that being a NP requires a master's degree, so would the entry level MSN fulfill the requirements to become a nurse practitioner? Or does it require additional post-grad certification after completing the entry level MSN?