Moogie

Diane von Furstenberg designed some uniforms in the early to mid-1980s. I wore them. They were pretty and practical. (Keep in mind these were white uniforms, mostly dresses...not scrubs like we wear today.)

You're welcome. I learned this the hard way. I started at one MSN program that was not right for me, left the program, and finished elsewhere. Definitely made the right decision but the transfer process was brutal.

Transferring graduate credits can be daunting. Most programs allow for no more than 9-12 credits in transfer so you could be taking courses that you'd just have to repeat later. You will need to provide course syllabi so that a committee (or the individual instructor, depending on the school) can evaluate the courses you've taken and compare them to the courses offered at the school at which you want to finish your degree. Some instructors are pickier than others. I had particular trouble transferring a 3-credit health care policy and finance class because one instructor said that it lacked an ethics component (which was covered in a different course) and another at a different school said that it didn't include some nuances on policy that she had in her course. I ended up retaking the course at the school at which I finished my master's. You can also run into problems with credits per course. For example, some programs require 3 credits of pathophysiology. Some require 4. The program I took required 6. I know of a program that only requires 2. If you take 3 credits and the school you eventually attend requires 4 or 6, you will need to retake it. Most schools only allow transfer of credits that have been taken during the past 7 years, so if your credits are older than that, you will need to retake the courses. Frankly, if I was in your situation, I would probably wait for a couple of years until you have relocated or do an online program. Transferring in graduate credits is a hassle. It's much easier to take everything at one school and not worry about transferring credits. Good luck in whatever you decide to do!

Shhhhhhh....don't give them ideas! Recently saw a commercial for a children's hospital in my area. Sophisticated CGI graphics with cute, Disney-esque characters and promoting the idea that hospitalization is fun, fun, fun. There definitely needs to be an element of fun in a children's hospital---it has to be a kid-friendly environment---but do they have to make it seem like a trip to Disney World? Seriously---the CT scanner morphs into a log flume ride. Seems to me that this sort of thing is setting up customer expectations---and those customers are going to be unhappy when they find out that hospitalization is not as much fun as going to a theme park. And I can't help but wonder how many nurses worked short to pay for the CGI graphics.

There have been a number of articles written about ADN grads who have had previous bachelor's or higher degrees who have not been able to get hired by hospitals that hire only BSNs. Unfortunately, hospitals that are inundated with new grad applicants often don't look past the nursing education of those applicants. In some places, ADN applications don't get a second look and the recruiter isn't even aware of previous experience in health care or previous education. It isn't right but it's reality. Years ago, I knew a clinical educator at a major medical center who had an ADN and a bachelor's in education. He had been a teacher before becoming an RN. Today he would need a master's in nursing (MSN, MN, MS in nursing, MA in nursing) for that kind of position. More recently, I knew a professor at a state university who had a master's in education (not in nursing, not in nursing education) as well as an educational doctorate (EdD). He had to go back to school to get a master's in nursing to continue teaching in a school of nursing. Doesn't make a great deal of sense, but again, he did what he had to do in order to keep his job.

I did my master's in nursing education online at a state university not too far from where I currently live. I enjoyed the flexibility and not having to commute, but I decided against doing an online PhD. My biggest concern was that I felt disconnected from other classmates and the faculty. I had the luxury of being able to go to campus to see my advisor (and she was wonderful!) but I still felt like I was out there all alone much of the time. That feeling of disconnect was enough to make me think twice about whether I wanted to do a PhD on campus or online---and I decided to do a campus-based program. Your experience might be different and maybe being on campus won't be as important to you as it is to me. I just felt that not feeling connected with the university, my classmates, or the faculty was the biggest downside of doing a program online. If you do end up doing an online PhD, make sure that you choose a school that has a good reputation and experience with online delivery at the PhD level. Some schools that are just venturing into online education and/or doctoral education might have a few growing pains that could make your experience more stressful than necessary. Talk to students who currently attend a program that you might be considering. Ask about how things like class discussions or group work are handled. Ask about the experience level of the faculty and the institution with both online education and doctoral education. Something else to consider is how many PhD students are fully funded. A school that is well-established will be more likely to offer funding to doctoral students. Some newer programs simply can't offer the kind of funding that larger, more established programs can offer. It is possible to work as a GTA or GRA online but a well-established school may have opportunities that go beyond these. Good luck with your decision!

:ancong!: Yes, I know how good it feels! I was so glad to have gotten through that miserable exam with a decent score and my sanity intact! Get some well-deserved R & R. Celebrate! Before I took the blasted test I found an article that disputed the value of the GRE in determining success in graduate school. However, it was a requirement for my top pick so I wasn't going to quibble. Increasingly there are programs that waive the GRE for students who have high undergraduate or graduate GPAs. My second pick for a PhD program waived the GRE for students with grad school GPAs higher than 3.5 (but I got into my first choice so that's moot.) Best wishes to you in your graduate program. What are your plans? Have you applied to any schools yet?

What are your interests? Where do you see yourself in five years? Ten years? When you retire? An MSN in nursing administration will prepare you to be a nurse manager in a hospital setting. Some hospitals require nurse managers to have MSNs, some don't. If you want to progress past the initial nurse manager level and get into senior management positions, you will likely need an MSN. An MSN in nursing education will prepare you to teach in a school of nursing, usually at the community college level. Many BSN programs will hire master's prepared faculty but more are starting to require those instructors to go back for a PhD. Some will allow DNPs to teach. Many nurse educators who have MSNs work in staff development. Clinical Nurse Leader is a new role, geared toward the nurse who wants to remain at the bedside. The CNL works to coordinate care and is a managerial/educational/resource type of role. You're wise to know your career goals prior to starting a MSN program. You can take some courses (usually stats, theory, research, health care policy and finance, and pathophysiology) at most schools without declaring a track but you will want to figure out what you want before you get too far into a program. An MSN is a lot of work and you don't want to get into a track that is incongruent with your goals. You don't want to, say, get almost done with a NE program and then realize your heart is in administration. I wish you the best in your decision and good luck with your educational journey!

This is a really good post. I agree with you. I took weight training for my PE class in my ADN program. I guess it WAS pretty relevant to nursing!

I would love to take a course on French cuisine. I would not want to pay $1600 a credit for the course, though. ETA: I wish I would have had a better variety of electives available when I did my BSN. I always felt like I missed out on something by going the ADN route first. I got a great nursing education, but I wish I could have had a few courses that were not related to nursing. I would have loved to have taken a couple of art courses or a course on contemporary film. However, there's always community ed...

You bring up an excellent point. I did my RN-BSN program back in the early 1980s, before my university actually had a separate track for the AD and diploma grads. We took the same classes as did the pre-licensure students and, honestly, it was stressful for students and for the instructors. RN-BSN students have very different learning needs than do pre-licensure BSN students. An RN-BSN track should build on previous learning and nursing experience. After my class graduated the school decided to offer separate tracks for the pre-licensure and RN-BSN students. To the OP, with a previous bachelor's and an ADN, you might be an excellent candidate for an RN-MSN bridge program. However, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. One is that many schools are discontinuing their MSN programs in advanced nursing practice (NP, CNS, CRNA, CNM) and switching to the DNP. I think that those schools that already accept ADNs or diploma grads (especially those with non-nursing bachelor's degrees) will probably continue to accept them into DNP programs but this could be a potential problem. (MSN programs for nursing management, nursing education, and other non-advanced practice specialties will continue and not be affected by the move to DNP.) The other thing to consider is that some bridge programs don't grant the lower degree when the student completes those requirements. Some RN-MSN programs grant a BSN when the student finishes the requirements for the BSN. Some don't. If you have to drop out of the RN-MSN program before finishing the MSN portion and your school does not grant the BSN for that work, you're sort of stuck in limbo---educated at a BSN level but not able to take a job that requires a BSN. It might seem a tad redundant and illogical but if you'll only have to take a few courses after your ADN to get your BSN, you might want to go that route. Maybe I'm overly cautious but I had second thoughts when I applied to a BSN-PhD program. I'm glad I did the more traditional MSN route. Good luck in your educational journey and make sure to wear your seat belt. It's a bumpy ride! :)

Do as many practice math questions as you can. The math isn't at a terribly high level---I could probably have done it in high school---but when you're out of HS or college math for a while, you forget how to do many of the problems you'll find on the GRE. I did the computerized practice testing but could not put as much time into studying as I would have liked. Was taking a full course load for my master's program. However, my score was high enough to get accepted into my top choice PhD program. If I can get through it, so can you! Try to de-stress and relax and good luck to both of you on Thursday!

Two amusing incidents that happened to this old ADN grad: When I had finished my ADN program, I ran into a high school classmate who had flunked out of a BSN program. She asked me if the ADN was "easier" because it was at a community college. Uh, no. A couple of years later, I ran into an old boyfriend, also from high school, and told him I had just finished my BSN. He told me he was proud of me for "finally" becoming an RN. I politely told him that I had been an RN ever since I passed boards after finishing my ADN. After an ignorant statement like that, there was no hope whatsoever to resurrect that romance! And one from my master's program: Years later, I was complaining to a friend and her husband about the difficulty of my MSN program and the husband said that he just didn't understand why I was so stressed and challenged. His sister had two master's degrees (accounting and MBA) and said her programs were easy peasy! So why was I studying so much? Moral of the stories: no matter what route you take with your education, some ignoramus is always going to try to belittle your achievements and put you down. Success is the best revenge. Go out and do the best you can in whatever program you're taking!

But you see, that wouldn't get ratings. Listeners who enjoy shock jocks want to be titillated. They don't care about nurses being competent; they care about nurses being sexy (or not sexy enough). Ever listen to Howard Stern? What do you think he'd say about being in the hospital? That his nurses were competent and caring or that they didn't feed him steak and lobster and look like Hooters' waitresses?

Please check with your instructor or with your bookstore to see if there's an e-book version available. If you have a Kindle or Kindle software, check Amazon. If you have a Nook, check Barnes and Noble. If the problem is physically carrying your book around, you might consider having the book rebound. You can have it cut into sections that might be easier for you to carry and not be so cumbersome. Please check at an office supply store; many of the chain office stores offer this service. Also, consider investing in a rolling backpack. They're much kinder on your back, especially when you have many books to carry around.