Question: Previous degrees

yellow finch, BSN, RN · May 17, 2006

Hi there, I graduated with a BA in Developmental Psych with a minor in Fine Arts 10 years ago and worked in a few different fields before going back for my BSN through an accelerated program. Honestly, my first degree hasn't much helped with nursing except for looking at personality disorders among patients and coworkers. As for employers looking favorably upon two degrees... not really. In fact, it has never been brought up by any recruiters or managers. I don't even think they read that part on the application.

Not an especially helpful response. Sorry. :)

HeatherLPN · May 18, 2006

I have a Marketing degree and it hasn't been brought up in my nursing career. They did have a marketing position open that another nurse took, but even if they had asked me I wouldn't have taken it. Marketing is just not what I want to be involved with anymore.

Megsd, BSN, RN · May 18, 2006

I was in the same boat as you... halfway through a BA and decied to finish and go back for nursing. My BA is in Spanish, and although I live in the midwest, everybody tells me it'll come in handy. I'm starting an accelerated BSN this fall.

anne74 · May 18, 2006

I have a previous degree in Advertising/PR, and worked in the corporate world for 7 years. Healthcare recruiters really don't care, and you don't get paid more for it. They only want to know what specific clinical healthcare experience you have. Maybe it helped me personally because I had some life experience under my belt before I entered nursing. However, I heard of one hospital thinking about compensating nurses with additional degrees and non-healthcare related professional experience. I think the accelerated programs are still relatively new, and hospitals haven't reacted yet.

sharann, BSN, RN · May 18, 2006

I just wondered how you guys do the accelaerated programs. When I did my ADN it was 2 full years(summers off) and I worked my butt off. How can one leatn all the clinical and theory and still be a safe nurse? I know that we learn much more once out of school, but still it seems too short of a time!

My major was Psych too before nursing.

Multicollinearity, BSN, RN · May 18, 2006

I have a friend in an accelerated BSN program. She had to take the nursing pre-reqs before starting. Her program is 14 months. Basically she tells me that it's like 70 hours a week of class, clinicals and studying. The students sign a contract saying they will not work. Very intense.

RNtugladimurnurse2b · May 18, 2006

I have a BS in Health Science with an emphasis on Community Health. I originally started as a Pre-Nursing major but I let outside influences steer me towards Health Science. Nursing has always been in my heart so where am I now??? On my way back to nursing school hopefully in Spring 2007. I don't regret my degree though because I figure it will help me about 15 years from now when I get tired of being a floor nurse and want to work as an administrative RN. No education is a waste!

amanda sue · May 18, 2006

I just wondered how you guys do the accelaerated programs. When I did my ADN it was 2 full years(summers off) and I worked my butt off. How can one leatn all the clinical and theory and still be a safe nurse? I know that we learn much more once out of school, but still it seems too short of a time!
My major was Psych too before nursing.

All accelerated programs have many pre-reqs (AP I and II, Microbio and Lab, Chem and lab, Developmental Psych are the basis for most). Then the program is year-round 14-18 months. So they take into consideration all your liberal arts credits from your first degree, and you basically jump right into junior-year major nursing courses. Sounds intimidating, I know! :lol2:

amanda sue · May 18, 2006

No education is a waste!

I completely agree! Even if there is no direct professional connection for my Psychology/ Biology BA, I know that I will personally benefit from it. I can already see how things I'm learning in my classes now will make me a better nurse. People who have studied Psychology know it's a broad subject area, and people tend to focus on different areas for their BA (such as clinical psychology, developmental psychology, or cognition, etc). I'm kind of doing all the pre-clinical psychology classes, and I've learned things in some classes about just how to better related to/understand people. So I think my Psych background will at least be definately personally rewarding, I was just wondering about the professional effects.

Thanks to all who shared their stories!

barbnyc · May 18, 2006

I have an M.S. Health Sciences with a concentration in end of life care. My B.A. is in health services management. I'm starting nursing school in the Fall and I feel all of my education has led me to this point. Now that my girls are grown, I can devote the next half of my working career to nursing. I feel one advantage of having been through the college process is that many skills were acquired for organizing studies and my time. The prior education also refined my future goals and gave me a concrete starting point for the specialty of nursing I would like to explore.

My A&P professor told me last night he is going to start an MPH program (he already has a doctorate). He said he is "ready for a change".

In addition, there is no greater joy than when a program tells you your past learning can offer many transfer credits over into their program.

elcue · May 18, 2006

Hi all.

I am a 23 yr RN, 28 yrs in nursing total, 22 yrs in OR. Came to nursing with a previous BA, then did an ADN in nursing.

My Liberal Arts education has always been a benefit to me, not because my major relates to nursing, but because a liberal arts education teaches someone to take a broad view of things, helps one to organize their thoughts, and usually trains one to write well.

I have never been paid more because of my first degree.

I believe that having a broader education prior to entering nursing has made me open to question some of the baseless rituals that pervade nursing. Also, even at this late date, there still is a culture in nursing that nurses need to be micromanaged, that it is acceptable to treat nurses like children. I think that if I'd gone to nursing school right out of high school, I may have been indoctrinated into this culture. Since I'd been out in the world first, educated in an environment that encouraged independent thinking, and expected to function as an adult I was unwilling, when I entererd nursing, to accept this kind of treatment.

So...I've always been glad I had that first, unrelated education.