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?
Specializes in orthopedic/trauma, Informatics, diabetes.
emerald42 said:
Hello do you mind sharing the program you went to?
I went to UNCW (part of the North Carolina University system, they have several schools-Wilmington, Greensboro, Pembroke). I am in NC so I got state rates and it was all online so no traveling.
Specializes in school nurse, many past specialties in nursing..
I am 65 and still working full time. I am a young 65, a wife, mother & grandmother. I work for my local hospital and work trauma on weekends in the Winter at a mountain. I do not feel the need to go through the expenses and time. Both of which will not change my nursing practice. I will not be able to recoup either my time or money. I've been a nurse a long time, with lots of experience and knowledge. I do not believe that getting a BSN makes a better nurse or employee.
Specializes in Oncology, ID, Hepatology, Occy Health.
Nurse Judi said:
I do not believe that getting a BSN makes a better nurse or employee.
I agree with that sentiment, however I would say that higher education gave me skills of critical analysis that improved me both in nursing practice and in life in general.
No, you don't need a degree to be a good nurse, however the market forces of the workplace are such that if a new level of education becomes "normal" that's the new gold standard and it's a case of catch up or get left behind.
I did catch up getting my bechelors, very reluctanly, but found to my surprise that I loved the academic stimulation, to the point that I was chomping at the bit to get on and do my masters. To the OP, you may find the same. See this as a great opportunity, and as others have said, if you intrend working a good few more years, it's probably the best investment.
It's so disappointing that nurses are being forced to get a BSN or higher. I'm a RN diploma graduate in 1998 and the hospital program never provided information regarding classes taken were not transferable. Perhaps in small print or on a page that applicants wouldn't notice but unacceptable. In 1996, an associate or hospital based diploma program required the same academic prerequisite courses. In addition, diploma programs had a higher NCLEX passing rate! I'm 61 yo and do not feel that a BSN would pay for itself by the time I retire. At 50 yo, an online RN to BSN would be worthwhile. There is still a shortage of nurses and requiring a BSN may increase this shortage. In addition, employers are losing seasoned nurses. This is so ridiculous! If anyone knows how to protest this problem and keep our degrees valued, please respond.
Thank you all for your responses. I had actually forgotten about this as I originally posted it almost 5 years ago.
Here's my update:
I decided not to pursue my BSN. That said, if I had it to do over, I would have definitely gotten it when I was younger.
One month after posting this I switched jobs to a larger infusion center in an oncology setting at a hospital that did not require me to get a BSN. It was the best decision!
Although I already had lots of infusion experience, oncology was new to me. I have learned so much and learning constantly as new therapies and medications are constantly emerging.
I work with an amazing group of nurses ranging in age from 20s to 70s with varying degrees of educational background.
I love my coworkers, my patients, and my job. It all definitely worked out for me.
Funny thing, the hospital I left no longer requires BSN and asked me to come back. But I am staying put 🙂
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!
This is our own fault for allowing our accrediting agencies to approve these programs. Having said that, college isn't trade school and a bachelor's degree has liberal arts requirements. AND, you honored your contract and you get to keep you job. It just cost you $25,000 to keep it. I'm beginning to think that we should redesign our ADN programs but when I see on AN, the inability of some of these fly by night programs to even teach their students to write basic paragraphs, it makes me wonder......
mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN
3,319 Posts
I went to UNCW (part of the North Carolina University system, they have several schools-Wilmington, Greensboro, Pembroke). I am in NC so I got state rates and it was all online so no traveling.