Pursuing Nursing - Need Direction

**CommunityRNBSN, BSN, RN** · Dec 29, 2019

I was the same age as you, in the same position. (I have an MEd instead of an MBA.) I spent a couple of years working while I took one pre-req at a time. The only reason I did that so slowly was that my son was a toddler at the time; you may not need 2 years to accomplish it. Then I enrolled in an accelerated BSN. Mine was at a highly-ranked school and it was great. I graduated before I was 40 and am doing great in my new job. Best of luck!

Oh edited to add: I do want to be a provider at some point. I have realized that there are tons of RNs of all ages working full-time while they pursue that. I plan to start planning (haha) for that soon. If I enroll in a part-time PMHNP program, and continue working, I will have 5 years of RN experience when I graduate. It is a common, predictable path to advanced practice. When you mentioned the MSN I concluded that you want to be an APRN but sorry if I misread.

VRS82, BSN · Dec 30, 2019

13 hours ago, CommunityRNBSN said:
I was the same age as you, in the same position. (I have an MEd instead of an MBA.) I spent a couple of years working while I took one pre-req at a time. The only reason I did that so slowly was that my son was a toddler at the time; you may not need 2 years to accomplish it. Then I enrolled in an accelerated BSN. Mine was at a highly-ranked school and it was great. I graduated before I was 40 and am doing great in my new job. Best of luck!
Oh edited to add: I do want to be a provider at some point. I have realized that there are tons of RNs of all ages working full-time while they pursue that. I plan to start planning (haha) for that soon. If I enroll in a part-time PMHNP program, and continue working, I will have 5 years of RN experience when I graduate. It is a common, predictable path to advanced practice. When you mentioned the MSN I concluded that you want to be an APRN but sorry if I misread.

I would love to know what kind of nursing you are doing? Are you a psych RN? I am 37 set to graduate in May and am still uncertain as to which type of nursing I want to do.. thank you!!

Pampam82 · Dec 30, 2019

For a moment I thought that I had written this post ?...

I applied to both the ABSN and the Direct entry programs. Either one will get you where you want to be unless you want to move on to NP. If NP is your goal you may as well just do the direct entry. Anywho, I am currently in the ELMSN program at Pacific Lutheran University. I am glad that I went the direct entry route. After a few years of bedside experience I feel that I would have more opportunities for leadership positions than if I had chosen ABSN.

southike · Dec 30, 2019

On 12/28/2019 at 9:22 PM, db2xs said:
When you ask, "Even if I get the master's, I could work as an RN first, right?" I am assuming you mean you'd want to get into a direct-entry master's program. From what I understand, the first year is like an accelerated bachelor's but you would not earn a BSN, although you could sit for the NCLEX to obtain your RN license. I don't know if the program would allow you to take a year off to work as an RN before going on to the master's portion; someone who attended a direct-entry program could better answer that.
But if you truly wanted to be an NP, I would ask you why you would want to work as an RN after graduating from NP school. The duties are different and the majority of the skill set is different as well. You don't have to work as an NP after NP school, but then why go through the trouble of the NP program? Better at that point to just go through a BSN program, work as an RN, and then apply to an NP program. Hope that helps

db2xs - I just assumed that a NP should work as an RN first. I guess that's not necessarily the case. Seems crazy for me to go straight from being an Accountant to being a NP lol, but maybe I'm wrong.

1 hour ago, Pampam82 said:
For a moment I thought that I had written this post ?...
I applied to both the ABSN and the Direct entry programs. Either one will get you where you want to be unless you want to move on to NP. If NP is your goal you may as well just do the direct entry. Anywho, I am currently in the ELMSN program at Pacific Lutheran University. I am glad that I went the direct entry route. After a few years of bedside experience I feel that I would have more opportunities for leadership positions than if I had chosen ABSN.

Pampam82 - That's a good point. I can see how the Master's will offer you more opportunities, possibly. I looked up your program. WOW, that's expensive. Is that a typical cost of of a Nursing Masters?

southike · Dec 30, 2019

On 12/28/2019 at 10:07 PM, shiftingtides said:
If you want to work as an RN for a while, I would highly recommend going for either an associate's degree, or, if you have an affordable option in your area, an ABSN.
I know that coming from your background you may view having an MSN as a bigger plus than it really is in nursing (NP MSNs aside). Coming from a similar background as yours, I thought the same. But in nursing, it is more about the license than it is about the number of years you spent on your education. In many places, an RN with an ADN will earn exactly the same salary as an RN with an MSN. I know that's tough to picture coming from a business background.
Once you get an RN, increasing your education to a BSN or MSN can be done online (again, excepting NP, which can be done mostly online save clinicals), and you can finish a BSN very quickly once you have your RN. I would recommend taking the least expensive route to the RN, then evaluate from there what you need for where you want to work. In some areas, hospitals will require a BSN, but a BSN versus a non-NP MSN will not make much (if any) difference in your salary or ability to get a job.

shiftingtides - Honestly, my main goal is to get the RN. I'm not super concerned with the degree I get. I was merely thinking....while I'm getting an Associates, I could have just got a Master's in the same amount of time and have the option to be a NP? Instead of two years for the assoc or bachelor's and THEN two more years for the NP masters. Does that make sense? Not sure if I'm being clear.

southike · Dec 30, 2019

15 hours ago, CommunityRNBSN said:
I was the same age as you, in the same position. (I have an MEd instead of an MBA.) I spent a couple of years working while I took one pre-req at a time. The only reason I did that so slowly was that my son was a toddler at the time; you may not need 2 years to accomplish it. Then I enrolled in an accelerated BSN. Mine was at a highly-ranked school and it was great. I graduated before I was 40 and am doing great in my new job. Best of luck!
Oh edited to add: I do want to be a provider at some point. I have realized that there are tons of RNs of all ages working full-time while they pursue that. I plan to start planning (haha) for that soon. If I enroll in a part-time PMHNP program, and continue working, I will have 5 years of RN experience when I graduate. It is a common, predictable path to advanced practice. When you mentioned the MSN I concluded that you want to be an APRN but sorry if I misread.

CommunityRNBSN - That's great. You were in the same exact place I'm in. Thanks for your insight. How long did it take you to get the pre-reqs and bachelor's finished? Did you do in-class version or online? You are right; I did mean APRN. You did not misread. What school did you get your BSN at, if you don't mind me asking?

Pampam82 · Dec 30, 2019

7 minutes ago, southike said:
db2xs - I just assumed that a NP should work as an RN first. I guess that's not necessarily the case. Seems crazy for me to go straight from being an Accountant to being a NP lol, but maybe I'm wrong.
Pampam82 - That's a good point. I can see how the Master's will offer you more opportunities, possibly. I looked up your program. WOW, that's expensive. Is that a typical cost of of a Nursing Masters?

The cost of most direct entry programs are absurd. My tuition is covered by the military, if I was coming out of pocket...I would have just stayed in business management or I would have pursued the adn route. I think Vanderbilt is 100k for theirs but not 100% sure.

Rogue1 · Dec 30, 2019

I was 47 with a non-nursing undergraduate degree and an MBA. Spent 3 years getting an ADN at the community college 15 minutes down the street (one year on the progression of Chem, A&P I, A&P II and Microbiology, then the 2 year ADN program full time--all other prereqs I had covered). Cost was a whopping total of <$9000 for the entire 3 years (including books, fees, gas to clinicals). Passed the NCLEX less than a month after graduation and got my absolute dream job of pediatric RN on a med/surg and burn care unit of a large metro area children's hospital less than two months after that (after passing up several other opportunities elsewhere), and have been there 3 1/2 years. It has a Magnet Hospital designation and is a wonderful place to work. I absolutely love my colleagues and appreciate the depth and breadth of experience I have gotten. I also became a Certified Pediatric Nurse.

My criteria for the nursing degree to obtain the RN were 1) cost and 2) location of the classes/clinicals (time is valuable). Beware of the high cost of some programs--community colleges are hidden gems in terms of quality and cost. I did not have to work while in nursing school, and I would highly recommend you devote yourself full time to these studies. The ADN I went through was the most demanding academic program by far that I have ever experienced. (ADN programs usually require 2 years of prerequisites in addition to the 2 year program itself so I always question people who tell me BSNs have "more education", but that is a discussion that has taken place on many other threads.) Employers commonly offer funding for RN to BSN programs, and these are not difficult (academically) to complete.

There is no shortage of programs out there. I would recommend first figuring out what you want your career path to be then go for the least expensive option you can find--don't get oversold--and then build it up after that as you go along. This will give you the greatest flexibility at the least cost. Not sure if it is even practical to become an NP without first becoming an RN, as bedside nursing is a huge education in and of itself, and a foundation for so many advanced areas of nursing. Your first employer will want you to have the license (the RN, obtained by passing the NCLEX), the energy, and the personality (focus on safety, inner drive, ability to work well with everyone else, empathy, and fiscal and personal responsibility) to do the job, period.

Best of luck in whatever you choose!

Megarline, CNA · Dec 30, 2019

Aim for the ? RN. If you have enough gen ed to apply for an RN, go for it. If you don't have enough gen ed to was apply, an ADN is there for you. Your goal is to get the RN.

For your note, RN certification (there no such thing; RN is a license). I think, you mean an optional RN but will be harder to get out of state if you plan to move to... Many gen ed can be done online with RN to BSN.

Just let you know, both ADN and BSN have similar or equal clinical hours. Magnet hospitals highly prefer BSN-RN. In income, it's for you to find out but don't be sour over it.?

db2xs · Dec 30, 2019

11 hours ago, southike said:
shiftingtides - Honestly, my main goal is to get the RN. I'm not super concerned with the degree I get. I was merely thinking....while I'm getting an Associates, I could have just got a Master's in the same amount of time and have the option to be a NP? Instead of two years for the assoc or bachelor's and THEN two more years for the NP masters. Does that make sense? Not sure if I'm being clear.

Hi there. It sounds like you're more interested at this time to be a registered nurse. If that's the case, you can get a general master's in nursing and not become an NP and work as an RN. I had plenty of colleagues who took that route.

In my opinion, the thing about having the "option" of working as an NP but not working as one after school may be a bit more difficult because what you don't put into practice, you'll forget.

Irregardless of the pay, I am of the thought of skipping the ADN and just going straight for the BSN.

2BS Nurse, BSN · Dec 30, 2019

I would suggest a different career altogether. You are in for many years of stress throughout school and throughout a nursing career. Getting through the holiday season has been exhausting. I was sitting around my kitchen table yesterday with family (unable to celebrate on Christmas Eve or Christmas day because I was working) thinking "Wow, all these people around me are automatically off work for the holidays!" Be sure you are willing to make that sacrifice.

If you choose nursing, think about the amount of debt you want to accrue. I got through an ADN program for about $8,000. My employer paid for the online BSN (minus about $500 in student fees). I am working the same job with nurses who are thousands of dollars in debt.

From what I've observed at my clinic, NP is a hard, stressful job. They are expected to take the overflow of patients from our specialists with long wait lists of patients waiting to be seen. They have an extremely hard time using PTO.

**CommunityRNBSN, BSN, RN** · Dec 30, 2019

21 hours ago, VRS82 said:
I would love to know what kind of nursing you are doing? Are you a psych RN? I am 37 set to graduate in May and am still uncertain as to which type of nursing I want to do.. thank you!!

I work in a Federally-Qualified Community Health Center. We are huge (I think all FQHCs are), so we have internal medicine; pediatrics; podiatry; psych; women's health; optometry, and even more. I work in the internal medicine department. However, I am recently getting opportunities to work in the psych department as well, in addiction medicine especially. I'm really enjoying it. I know that many people do med/surge after graduation, and I'm sure there is a lot of value in that. But for me, for the moment, this is exactly the right fit.