Once you have completed your CMA requirments, have you found that your credits from the MA courses you took transfer to an ADN program or BSN program ? I really hope so. My freind that is an MA, bless her heart (one of the sweetest people you will ever meet), wants to go to school for her RN. I work with an CMA , who told me she went to a 11 month program , became certified and when she went to apply at an ADN programe they told her that none of the credits would transfer. She said she left in tears. She said she felt like she had been robbed. That it even sent her into a depression for a while. I hope this isn't true. My friend worked so hard ,payed a good sum of money, but has already found that the pay isn't what they had told her. I guess, I want to be prepared to be there for her if she faces the same difficulties. I like the CMA I work with but, I have to tell you , I hope she did somthing wrong. I really don't want my freind to go through this.
Ok, well, besides the time spend on pre reqs, isn't the ADN program there 2 years?
I think her point is that it takes usually 3 years full time to gain an ADN assuming you are at college reading, math and writing levels. Not to mention that many people have to plug away at these degrees part-time due to circumstance, increasing that 3 years to more. I understand your point and am inclined to agree somewhat but CMA and LPN are definitely a faster route and sometimes you just have to take the quicker way to earn money sooner. That extra year could make a difference.
I'm not posting this to pick an argument but you haven't met me or any of my classmates. I attended Hudson Valley Community College, from 1969 to 1971. That is just two years. And I graduated with an Associate in Applied Science, in Nursing, in May of 1971, as did approximately 68 of my fellow classmates. We had no prerequisites, just corequisites. Our program was just two years from start to finish. And 98% of our group passed NYS state boards on our first attempt.
Woody:balloons:
Woody i appreciate your experience, but wanted to point out that most community colleges that I have researched and based on the admittedly unscientific research from the experiences of others on this board, I have to say that it is very uncommon to find a school "now" that will graduate RN students in the 2 year traditional Associates degree timeframe. (none in the three states surrounding me do). Very few allow all classes to be completed as co-reqs. The amount of credit involvement has also increased. The 2 year degree is a misnomer at this point. I'm sure there are some schools out there that are truly 2 year schools, but this is not the norm anymore.
Happened to me! Although it was quite a while ago and it was an LPN course, we were told all the credits would be honored only to find out that they weren't. I guess your best bet would be to investigate the school of nursing you plan on going to. Find out from them who they accept credits from and who they don't.
Specializes in icu, er, transplant, case management, ps.
Woody i appreciate your experience, but wanted to point out that most community colleges that I have researched and based on the admittedly unscientific research from the experiences of others on this board, I have to say that it is very uncommon to find a school "now" that will graduate RN students in the 2 year traditional Associates degree timeframe. (none in the three states surrounding me do). Very few allow all classes to be completed as co-reqs. The amount of credit involvement has also increased. The 2 year degree is a misnomer at this point. I'm sure there are some schools out there that are truly 2 year schools, but this is not the norm anymore.
Perhaps in your part of the country but it is not true in upstate New York. I went back to Hudson Valley Community College in 2003. If you were a full time student, even in 2003, it was possible for a student to complete the program in two years. They even have a part time evening program, for L.P.N.'s who have to work but cannot manage the full time commitment of the day program. And that program takes three years to complete if you follow the guidelines. Even four year programs are possible to complete in four years, another thing I hear takes five or six. The four year programs expect their nursing students to complete all of their prerequisite in the first two years. And take their nursing classes as well as upper division classes during their last two years.
There are many programs that do require prerequisites but they are programs that are attempting to weed out likely failures. And if confronted, I sure the faculty would say yes their program can be done in two years and be willing to allow a student to take the prerequisites as corequistes. There is nothing magical about taking A & P as a pre req or microbiology as a prereq. The courses are neither harder nor easier. The idea of requiring preqs started back in the 80's when the number of nursing students began to drop off. It was purely a money making preposition for the community colleges. Do you really think that you would be unable to take corequistes along with your nursing courses and not be able to pass them both? It takes a commitment to go to classes five days a week, sometimes for ten hours a day. And it takes energy to work on your non-nursing courses two out of those five days and take all of those courses all day long. And I believe that a lot of courses were changed to prerequisites because of complaints from students that corequistes took too much of their time.
As for a degree requiring more then 62 credits, if it does, then it is not a two year program, no matter how many years it takes. An associate degree is defined as one that requires 62 to 64 credits in order to obtain the degree. That is set by state Department of Education, not a community college. Just as the minimum number of hours and clinical practice are set by by the BONE. If a program choses to require more hours, it is their option but it is not one set in stone by state law. Not in any state.
I took more then 60 hours of college level courses, at a local university, when I was in my nursing diploma program. The State of New York had also set the minimum number of hours for nursing theory and clinical during my first year. We took our theory on Fridays and we did our clinical practice when everyone else at the local university was on vacation. We didn't even get much time off during the first summer. We had to take two course in the summer session and spent the rest of the week in the clinical areas of our hospital putting our theory into clinical practice.
I wanted an education. And I was willing to give up a great deal to get it. Even time from my family. I didn't expect a program to model itself to my time frame, I had to model myself to theirs.
Neither program left me with a lot of free time. And I spent a lot of nights getting very little sleep, writing papers that were due for my courses. And this was all long before the age of personal computers and access to college libraries on line.
Not even my graduate program took me more then two years. And I took a full course load and worked full time. And saw my daughter on my two weekends a month off. But there were a number of students in the program that had been working on theirs for three, four and five years because they didn't want to take a full load.
Education has always been a priority for me. I guess I got it from my Dad. He thought education was important and always encouraged his children to seek it out. After my Dad got his commission in the Army, I was the first one, on either side of our family to graduate from a four year program and a graduate program. And I can still remember the big smile on my Dad's face, when I was presented with my graduate degree. It was like he had earned it along side of me. And he had, by encouraging me and by taking care of my daughter while I was in school.
Specializes in icu, er, transplant, case management, ps.
Happened to me! Although it was quite a while ago and it was an LPN course, we were told all the credits would be honored only to find out that they weren't. I guess your best bet would be to investigate the school of nursing you plan on going to. Find out from them who they accept credits from and who they don't.
Unless you CLEP some of the course or took it at a community college, none of the credits you received while studying to be a PN are accepted by any nursing program. They are not taken at a college but at a vo-tech, which is definitely not a college.
God info Woody, U gotta want to and it is hard! I raised a son while going to school FT and worked 2 jobs. The LPN to RN Bridge program I am involved with took all 96 of my credits and once I actually start the program it shaves 62 credits off , so I will complete in 1 full year. (Both summers for clinicals as well as during the year). I hope u can get back to NYC someday, u sound very determined!
Specializes in icu, er, transplant, case management, ps.
God info Woody, U gotta want to and it is hard! I raised a son while going to school FT and worked 2 jobs. The LPN to RN Bridge program I am involved with took all 96 of my credits and once I actually start the program it shaves 62 credits off , so I will complete in 1 full year. (Both summers for clinicals as well as during the year). I hope u can get back to NYC someday, u sound very determined!
I'm planning on a stop next summer when I go to Glacier National Park, via Amtrack. Unless there are no trains traveling to where I want to go, I'm no longer flying. Long distance travel on Amtrack at least gets me there on time.
Where I live (AZ) none of the credits are transferable. I had a friend in the same situation. She went to Apollo College and then wanted to go to nursing school, but none of the credits were transferable. She had to start from scratch. She paid a lot of money for it as well.
Specializes in icu, er, transplant, case management, ps.
Where I live (AZ) none of the credits are transferable. I had a friend in the same situation. She went to Apollo College and then wanted to go to nursing school, but none of the credits were transferable. She had to start from scratch. She paid a lot of money for it as well.
One of the reason's it is advised that one check out, with a potential program you may want to transfer to, after completing the initial one, what, if any credits they will accept. No college or university is required to accept credits from another one. Agreements have to be reached between colleges, after the courses are laid out and content examined and compared. And at no time will a community college or a four year college accept credits from a vo-tech or trade school. The content of their courses are just not of the same caliber of a college or university. Sorry but this is just unfortunately true. Not even some colleges are of the same caliber.
If you want to use one program as a stepping stone up to another, do your homework first. Get a copy of the course description from the first program you are intending on attending. Check with the college or university you are planning on transferring to. Find out if they have agreements with other schools. Find out how many credits, in total, you can transfer.
DO YOUR HOMEWORK and you will save yourself a lot of money and a lot of heart ache. And a lot of time.
Interesting that the programs are maintained at 2 years where you were Woody. I still say that those schools are probably in the minority at this point. Not saying that is a good or bad, but there it is.
Specializes in icu, er, transplant, case management, ps.
Interesting that the programs are maintained at 2 years where you were Woody. I still say that those schools are probably in the minority at this point. Not saying that is a good or bad, but there it is.
Hudson Valley may be in the minority but they didn't bow to student pressure to lessen their requirements or less their clinical time. And HVCC has one of the highest passing rate for state boards, which can't be said for programs that have their students do all their co- requisites as prerequisites. There are six two year programs in my present area. And none of them have one of the best passing rates in Florida. So what have they solved except to bow to students complaints that doing a two year program in two years is just too much for them.
Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
I attended an MA program at a vocational school about 7 years ago, and the credits earned are not transferrable, as the educational institution was not regionally accredited. The school was approved by the state to operate and grant diplomas and certifications, but not accredited by a legitimate entity.
smk1, LPN
2,195 Posts
I think her point is that it takes usually 3 years full time to gain an ADN assuming you are at college reading, math and writing levels. Not to mention that many people have to plug away at these degrees part-time due to circumstance, increasing that 3 years to more. I understand your point and am inclined to agree somewhat but CMA and LPN are definitely a faster route and sometimes you just have to take the quicker way to earn money sooner. That extra year could make a difference.