RN to BSN dilemma (for an older RN)

[tbmb90]

I have been a nurse for over 30 years.

I am in my early 50s.I am youthful for my age and very active, but still, in my 50s.

I went back to work part time a year ago after being a stay at home mom for many years (I have two teenagers).

I absolutely LOVE my job (I am an infusion nurse), BUT...in order to keep it I need to get my BSN.

I agreed to this upon hire and planned to start online this semester.

I had no idea how expensive it would be and how time consuming!

This is going to cost me thousands of dollars after tuition reimbursement. And the university states to plan 15-20 hours/week per class.

And, I am not a person who loves school.

I regret not doing this when I was younger (although when I was younger and working a BSN was almost never required)

I am just not sure at my age this is worth it. Not to mention the reason I work part time instead of full time is because our family life is very busy.

Anyone else out there been in s similar situation? Any words of wisdom?

[RNperdiem, RN]

You and me both. I will be sending my first child off to college soon, and am not excited at the thought of paying even more tuition. But, if I ever need to leave my per diem job and have some choices in full-time jobs, I will need a BSN. My husband's job pays the health insurance for the family, but now his health has declined, and it might soon be up to me to be the one to provide health insurance.

I wish I had done BSN sooner.

[guest974915]

Like you, I have been a nurse for a long time and also like you, my employer mandated that all staff RNs attain their BSNs within five years. I did it, graduating at age 50 and when all was said and done, I had spent about $25,000 out of pocket for an online RN-BSN program, not to mention the many hours of study and frustration. Although I graduated with honors from a well respected program, I went right back to doing the same job I had done pre-BSN for all these years and for the exact same pay. Yes, perhaps a BSN may someday open up a career opportunity that I wouldn't have had otherwise, but my experience has been that many hospitals' compensation for this additional credential is negligible. Lastly, I honestly feel like my BSN added very little to my clinical practice; no new skill sets, no real 'must have' information, just a lot of fluff and filler that I could have just read on the side. It's also just laughable to me that the content of those many Blackboard posts and papers didn't matter at all as long as perfect APA formatting was used-unbelievable!

[mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN]

I got mine @ 51 through a state school online program. It took one calendar year and I got reimbursement through my work. Cost me next to nothing. The program was set up for working nurses and it was not difficult at all.

["nursy", RN]

Is there any possibility that your infusion skills would transfer to another setting? A lot depends on where you are located, but when I lived in Florida there was a huge demand for independent contractor PICC nurses. The reimbursement was quite good, and you could set your own hours. There are also outpatient infusion centers, and oncology centers that use infusion nurses. These probably would not require a BSN.

[HandsOffMySteth]

15 hours ago, tbmb90 said:

I have been a nurse for over 30 years.

I am in my early 50s.I am youthful for my age and very active, but still, in my 50s...

Are you going to work until 65? That is still 10 years.

[Golden_RN, MSN]

I would encourage you to look at state schools to get the best value (maybe you are already going thru a state school...it's not clear). I did a mostly online RN-BSN program, and I found it WAY easier than the Associates program. I found the clinicals (which were VERY minimal compared to my Associates program) easy and interesting. It was more like job shadowing. Good luck - you might end up enjoying it.

[UTAandGray, ASN, BSN, RN]

I accepted a position at a magnet hospital and was given three years to earn my degree; my employer paid the tuition. It was just as difficult as the first time around, 25 years ago, because I had to work full time (5 days a week) and I have ADHD. I thought I might drop from exhaustion, sleeping approx. five hours a night; it was as close to hell as I want to get. I already had the knowledge but there was a lot of "busy" work. I'm single, independent and in my mid-fifties; unemployment is not an option and I live in an area where the degree is all but required to work in acute care. I graduated with honors last July and I couldn't be more proud of the accomplishment. Once you have looked at the personal factors of your life, you will arrive at the decision that works best for you.

[ruby_jane, BSN, RN]

Mr. Ruby Jane was an ADN who recently completed his online BSN in order to become a manager.

I had a BA and went through one of those BA to BSN in 18 short month programs.

Putting aside my whole thing about a wonderfully-trained ADN may be better than a newly minted BSN (which is 100% true) -

If you can find a way to do this, do it. It may be more worth your time going into an RN to Masters program. You'll have to do the research. But you said you would and this job requires you to do so. Perhaps HR may be helpful since it's their requirement?

Best of luck!

[Grengemly, BSN, RN]

Have you looked at WGU? Very reasonable tuition, flat rate per six moth term, so you can take as many classes as you want. I am fifty-two (although I have only been a nurse for a couple years) and have found the program to be very doable, even while working full time nights and having a teen. It isn't "prestigious" but it checks the box you need to check! ?

[BabyCatchr, ADN, ASN, RN]

I am 51 and have 2 bachelor's degrees and an ADN, and I will be going back again for my online RN to BSN. I currently already have over 300 college credit hours. I raised my kids alone (no family or babysitters) while working and going go college/nursing school, as their dad was military overseas and out of state, then we divorced. You can do it! Just do it!