RN thinking about going back to school

[whoaitschrista]

I have been an RN for the past 3 years. I am currently 23 and married. I have been thinking about going back to school to either be a nurse midwife, CRNA, or pharmacist. I currently have an Associate's Degree. How much schooling would I need to be either of these?

[athena55, BSN, RN]

I could be wrong but you would be attending on the graduate level for all three so you would need to complete your BSN or have a BA (for the Nurse Midwife program) and that program is 24 months long. CRNA: you need to be accepted (into a program) after about one year of critical care experience and the course, I believe, is 24 months long. Pharmacy, at the very least 2 years but most people I know have gone to a 4 year program.

[NSALVADORE]

You'll have to look into individual programs.. Some masters programs will let you transfer as an RN meaning BSN not needed!!

[RhodyGirl, RN]

I know for a fact (because I used to work in pharmacies, and because I have a friend who just graduated last year and is now working as a RPh) that becoming a pharmacist is a doctoral level program. It is six years in length and extremely competitive to get into. Here's an example of the curriculum at a highly regarded university in my area:

Pharm.D. Program

Curriculum

In the first two years of study, students are expected to complete General Education requirements along with their pre-professional coursework. During the third through sixth years, students must maintain a 2.00 qpa in required professional courses in order to remain in the program. No student will be allowed to begin the sixth year of experiential training without a 2.00 professional qpa. Student must achieve a 2.20 qpa in professional coursework to graduate. They may repeat up to 10 credits of pharmacy courses in order to achieve this requirement.

The six year entry-level curriculum is presented below for your information. Professional and/or legal exigencies arise from time to time which may necessitate changes in a pharmacy course, progression, and/or graduation requirements. Students should review their status with academic advisors on a timely basis and refer to current publications for updated information.

Third Year (P1)

Fall

Credits GradeFound. Of Human Disease IPHP/BPS 3112 Introduction to Pharmcol.BPS 3212Principles of Med ChemistryBPS 3132Dosage Forms IBPS 3012Dosage Forms II BPS 3032Dosage Forms III BPS 3052Pharmacy Technology labBPS 3181Pharm.Prac. in HCPHP 3172 15

Spring

Credits GradeFound. Of Human Disease IIPHP/BPS 3102 P'Col & MChem CVRBPS 3342Therapeutics, CVRPHP 3323Law & EthicsPHP 3163Drug Metab. & BioAnalysisBPS 3252Integrated Lab I PHC xxx1Interactive Learning *PHC 3271DI & Analy. Of LiteraturePHP 3053IPPE IPHP 3400 17

Fourth Year (P2)

Fall

Credits GradeFound. of Human Disease IIIPHP/BPS 4092 P'Col& MChem, ID Pulm.BPS 4212Therapeutics, ID PulmPHP 4133Self-Care IPHP/BPS 4183Pharmacy ManagementPHP 4013Integrated Lab II PHC xxx1Interactive Learning *PHC 4171IPPE IIPHP 3500 15

Spring

Credits GradeFound. of Human Disease IVPHP/BPS 3122P'Col & MChem, Neuro PsychBPS 3222Therapeutics, Neuro PsychPHP 3242Pharmacokinetics IBPS 4033Nutr in Health & DiseaseNFS 4443Professional Elective 3Interactive Learning *PHC 4271Integrated Lab IIIPHC xxx1 17

Fifth Year (P3)

Summer

PHP 450 (Community) IPPE IV*

Fall

Credits GradePharmacokinetics IIBPS 5043P'Col & MChem , GI/Endo BPS 4222Therapeutics, GI/EndoPHP 4143Health Systems IPHP 5032Found. Of Human Disease VPHP/BPS 4102Professional Electives 3Integrated Lab IVPHC xxx1Interactive Learning *PHC 5171IPPE III*PHP 450 0

17

Spring

Credits GradeFound. of Human Disease VIPHP/BPS xxx2P'Col & MChem, Hemo/OncBPS 5213Therapeutics, Hemo/OncPHP 5132Health Systems IIPHP 5043Professional elective 3Integrated Lab VPHC xxx 1Interactive Learning PHC 5271 15

* IPPE IV can be taken in the fall or the spring semester of the P3 year

Sixth Year (P4)*

Summer, Fall, Spring

Credits GradeCommunity x1PHP 5916Inpatient x 1PHP 5926Elective x2PHP 59312Institutional x1PHP 5946Ambulatory Care x 1PHP 5956 36

**Student must be certified in CPR/First Aid (1credit), and Physical Assessment before rotations.Total credits required for graduation: 202

If I were in your shoes, I would check out RN-BSN programs or even some of the direct entry masters programs. The direct entry ones may be more difficult to find, but I know they are out there. If you're truly interested in pharmacy I would say go for it, but it's definitely a long committment just for the education! Good luck in your decision! :redpinkhe

[RB2000]

I am pretty sure that CRNA you need to have a bsn first and a minimum of one year critical care exp. I think that this much is set by the AANA and not the school itself. Other things like gpa's and gre scores, etc. I think is on a school by school basis. Program length varies as well as cost. One school that I know of is around 60k for the program.

Midwife I am not 100% sure but I thought that it was the same.

I am not sure about the pharmacy program. However, I have heard that you can get into some with an associates.