erinkm

Hi there...new here. I'm sure there have been five million questions like this, but my situation is probably a little unique and I'm having a hard time sorting out all the options. I am 30 years old, have two kids, and my husband is a stay-at-home-dad. I work in healthcare in a non-clinical role and make okay money, but not great and there is little room for growth in my current position/industry. I have a BS in Marketing and an MBA. My job has given me access to many high-level administrative folks, which is a nice perk. I love healthcare, 100%. I honestly never gave any though to nursing or medicine because I was a very squeamish person, which I didn't think I could overcome. I've pretty much overcome that issue due to the nature of my current job. I am pretty sure I would like to pursue nursing, and more specifically, being a NICU nurse. I've had personal (both of my babies were in the NICU) and professional experience and feel very, very strongly that is where I want to be. I am not sure how to approach my education, and was looking for some advice. I first have to take 4-6 pre-reqs, which is pretty set in stone regardless. Afterwards, is where it gets tricky. Getting my ASN while working full-time and using my connections to hopefully get a foot in the door to start working as a nurse, and finish whatever else I need to do for my BSN. My employer also offers tuition reimbursement (not much, but every little bit helps). Quit my job after my pre-reqs are done, move in with my MIL, have my husband find a low-paying job that offers benefits, and completing an Accelerated BSN, and begin working once that is done in about 15 months. I would be missing out on about $3,000 of tuition reimbursement, but I would also be free to work for whatever hospital I'd like, and my connections would still most likely remember me just a year out. I was really hoping someone would do a part-time accelerated BSN, but that does not appear to exist. It would have been the perfect solution. Anyway, I appreciate any advice. I feel very passionately that working as a nurse in the NICU is what I want to do. If I changed my mind at some point, the degree would still be very beneficial to me because I am qualified for a lot of different hospital jobs based on experience, but they want a nursing license as well.