RN to bsn online

peacelovestar · Nov 7, 2008

Depends on where you live. A lot of schools have online RN-BSN but they do require some, although minimal, in class requirement.

gabriella86 · Nov 7, 2008

I am curious about this too. There seems to be so many schools that offer online RN-BSN courses. I was talking to a friend of the family who is a nurse and she encouraged me NOT to do it online. Sometimes she is the one who helps the new nurses on the floor and she said the few that earned their bachelor's online were pretty clueless when it came to being on the floor. I do know that some people really feel that Excelsior was a really good school though.

queenjean · Nov 7, 2008

I can't imagine why getting your BSN online would make you clueless on the floor. You have to be an RN to enter the RN-BSN programs; and the RN-BSN programs are more about management, leadership, ethics, etc than clinical nursing. If the RNs who earned their BSN online are "clueless" then perhaps it is because they have never worked the floor before. It would have more to do with their prior experiences and their ADN education than the BSN portion of their education.

To the OP: I'm getting my BSN through Fort Hays State University. There are some clinicals that you must complete in the last semester of school. You can pretty much take as long as you want to complete the program.

Here is a link to their information:

http://www.fhsu.edu/nursing/undergraduate/bsn.php

I don't know how clinicals work, but I will tell you that there are people from all over the country in my classes; so there must be some sort of option for out-of-staters. I would contact them and ask. Fort Hays is also one of the most reasonably priced on line programs available---somewhere around $161 a credit hour. You can take most of your prereqs through http://www.edukan.org which is even less expensive (maybe right around $115/credit hour). Edukan is a consortium of community colleges--so your classes show up from those colleges. If the program to which you are applying accepts community college credits, they will accept them from EduKan.

I chose Fort Hays because it has been offering an online RN-BSN program for many years, and the nursing program is well respected in my state.

I'm not sure if getting my BSN is a good idea or not, honestly. I haven't learned anything in the program that helps my clinical knowledge or skills. It is very theory heavy, very much concerned with leadership and management. Not so much my area of interest. I want to keep my employment options open, especially for the future; that's the only reason I'm in the program. I probably need to adjust my attitude--but right now I'm finding most of the coursework for my first class very uninspiring. Probably not fair to judge everything based on my first class....I'm just a cynical grump, I guess.

idahogirl99 · Nov 12, 2008

I think that I want to take some sort of accellerated program. Anyone with any suggestions?

LuvofNursing, BSN, MSN, RN · Nov 26, 2008

It depends a lot on what you want to pay. i have found a fair amount of 1 year RN to BSN programs, although they require some classes before you begin (O.chem, stats, some gen ed that may be different than the ADN requirements). Some that you can look into are Cal State - Dominguez Hills, South University, University of North Carolina, University of St. Mary and University of Maryland. the prices ranged from $6500 to about $10,000.

As far as the comment about online degrees making you "clueless on the floor", it is quite the contrary. My ADN program required 16 hours/week during the 2 years that I attended school, then I will be working full time during my RN to BSN, which is essentially like getting 36 hours of clinicals per week during the year it takes to complete my degree. I will be an RN with one year of experience once I have completed my BSN vs having just freshly graduated with a BSN minus the experience.

I am fully in support of furthuring my education, but I feel associate degrees serve a very important purpose for those that may not have the option to go to the more expensive state school. You really can't beat community college prices.

Good luck wherever you go!

Aneroo, LPN · Nov 26, 2008

I agree with queenjean.

Look into state colleges. There are plenty of online RN to BSN programs, and you see a lot advertised online, but check out the state level first. It's significantly cheaper than the others. I am doing mine at East Carolina University (I live in NC). It's $99/credit hour for me.

A lot of programs do accelerated programs, or part time. I was given the option to do a 3, 4 or 5 semester option. If the 3 semester option includes summer, I will graduate in December next year, if it's doesn't, I'll graduate in May 2010.

allthemadmen · Nov 26, 2008

The nice thing, too, about going the Associates-to-RN-to-BSN-online route is, god forbid, you have to quit school for some reason (those of us with families must always be aware that Life and other domestic emergencies may intrude), as long as you've got your RN license you can work, and go back later, or take a class at a time toward your BSN.

I am going to finish my Associates' at my community college and am already taking GenEd classes through the four-year state college I am going to finish my BSN with (thanks be for New York State and the Fabulous SUNY system!).