RN ~ BSN @ 55 ?

What part of California?

Does anyone have advice on what aspects to look for in a part~time, online program ?

I am in California with a CA lic. and not familiar, at all, with online coursework. (Except for online CEU courses) But an online program would be best for me now.

Some of them I have looked at say their programs are a mix of online and in person classes.

I am near Sonoma State University. And that is where my previous course work was completed.

But they only accept full~time students into their RN~BSN program now and I am not able to pursue this full~time.

I would look for a program with both regional (e. g., Mid-Atlantic, New England, Western States) and national (CCNE, ANCC) accreditation. There are many such on-line programs and many are also run by colleges and universities that also offer a traditional classroom program. The next thing I would look for is reasonable tuition. This narrows things down quite a bit.

The overwhelming majority of schools meeting both the accreditation and tuition criteria will be state-supported colleges/universities. Examples include U Texas-Arlington, SUNY-Dephi (NY), Ohio U, Ft Hays State (KS), U Wyoming - there are a lot out there. Not sure what each now charges for tuition but as of a few years ago, none of them were more than about $10k for their complete RN-BSN program. There's nothing wrong with many of the on-line programs offered through private colleges such as GWU (DC), Drexel (PA) or USC (CA) but they will be much, much more expensive. The same is true for the "For-profit" schools such as Univer of Phoenix. Keep in mind that many for-profits are not regionally accredited either, which could make going on for a masters or even simply transferring schools, difficult or impossible.

Melissa ~

I hadn't thought of that. Thinking I had to earn the BSN first. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

I live in california, am 53 and attending the online RN to BSN program at University of Texas Arlington. It is going good so far. At this point the most difficult work was getting all my transcripts to them. I say never to old, and the positions that I am looking at in senior managment require a bachelors. Not necessarily a BSN though.

hppygr8ful ~

Thank you for your reply.

I participated in an RN run open clinic providing a variety of holistic care Nursing therapies. We offered Jin Shin Jyutsu, Therapeutic Touch and guided Meditation.

I saw some amazing results for our clients during that time. Including people with long term chronic pain coming off of heavy medications and returning to routine ADLs after having been bedridden for years.

I found it difficult to bring those therapies into my Med / Surg practice. For lack of administrative support and time. Though I was able to do so on a very limited level.

I did assist in teaching a couple of TT seminars for health care providers with an RN who acted as our Supervisor for a while. Unfortunately, she did not stay with that facility very long.

It was all very interesting.

Good luck to you in your endeavors.

NurseGizmo~

I'm curious how you decided on the program you've chosen. There are so many advertised and I'm not sure what criteria, other than accreditation, to look for.

Good luck with your program.

Jules A ~

I know what you mean. I go out to do those things I've always done and find, to my surprise, they are more challenging for some unknown reason ... lol

I agree that much of our society buys into the marketed image of who we "should" be rather than finding the courage to be who are authentically are.

Speaking for myself, at 52 I'm stronger and healthier than I was at 42, or even 32. At the risk of sounding like a Geritol ad, I lost 40 pounds, maintained it, bagged cigarettes and alcohol along the way, and I exercise and (finally) get enough sleep. In my 30s and early 40s, I was mostly authentically mega-stressed ("work/life balance"? Insert canned laughter here).

TJMRN, go for it if it's really what you want to do. You qualify for Pell grants as an undergraduate (depending on what your spouse earns, if you're married). My undergrad credits transferred except for the hard science courses (had to have been within the past 5 years to qualify for MSN, so I redid those).

In 2 generations, life expectancy for women has gone from 65 to 81 years. That's a lotta Matlock!

Nurse Gizmo, I hear you on transcripts. My undergrad was typed manually--couldn't tell you if it was Pica or Elite--so they had to go to some warehouse and dig it out to xerox.

Does anyone still say "xerox"....

emmawdhous ~

First of all, kudos to you for your achievements !!!

lol ... And thank you for your encouragement. You're right, I bet my kids and their friends,(in their 20's) don't know what "xerox" means.

I've been looking into online programs and see that some require current practice. I have not been in practice for ~ 8 years. Though I have kept my lic. current in "active" status.

I think I want to finish my BSN, just so I can say I did. I was looking at my transcripts and I can see, through the years, all the "life events" that took place while I was working on my BSN. (before online courses were a thing)

They portray both, my ability to juggle life's challenges and adventures while working as an RN, raising kids and pursuing advanced education ... as well as those circumstances causing me to fail in completing some of my goals. It's a double edged sword, it seems.

So now, (~25 years down the road) I'm not much interested in bedside practice, but I am interested in Public Health, Research or some kind of professional advocacy. ( I guess that would mean legal course work.) But actually, I think I'd simply like to finish for the sake of finishing.

I'm just not sure it's worth the expense, time and effort.

I hope I can share your success story regarding keeping fit !

Thank you for sharing.