Should I do a BSN or MSN program? Asking as a non-nursing college graduate...

[epohle]

Hi all, I'm looking for some major career guidance and complete honesty. I am currently working as an RD and have been out of college for about 5 years. I want to make a career change and move into nursing but am unsure which education path to take. My current options are an accelerated BSN program or a Direct Entry MSN program. I would love to do the MSN program as I feel I would have better salary options after graduation, but I'm nervous that this would hinder me from getting a job since I did not pursue a BSN first or have clinical experience. Both programs are similar cost; however, the BSN requires me to take some prerequisites, and I can apply for the MSN today.

As experienced working RNs, what is your recommendation?

[klone, MSN, RN]

You will not have better salary options as an entry level RN with an MSN.

Do the ABSN.

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

New grad pay is new grad pay.get the less expensive degree.

[City-Girl]

Depends on what your ultimate goal in nursing is. If you plan to stay at the bedside, a BSN should suffice. If you have a future interest in nurse management, Nurse clinical educator, clinical nurse specialist or Nurse Practitioner, the MSN may be a better fit.

[klone, MSN, RN]

Depends on what your ultimate goal in nursing is. If you plan to stay at the bedside, a BSN should suffice. If you have a future interest in nurse management, Nurse clinical educator, clinical nurse specialist or Nurse Practitioner, the MSN may be a better fit.

Except that it's nearly impossible to get a job in one of those areas without actual nursing experience. If that is her desire, it makes much more sense to get the BSN, work as a nurse for a few years, then go back to school to get the applicable MSN.

[AceOfHearts<3]

I completed an ABSN program and I would make the same choice again. A masters would serve me no purpose right now and will be more meaningful when I do get one because of my experience.

[City-Girl]

I can only speak from my own experiences of working alongside NPs who had done direct entry as their career path. They already had bachelor's degrees in other fields and it was a lot less course work to complete going straight for their master's.

[City-Girl]

Except that it's nearly impossible to get a job in one of those areas without actual nursing experience. If that is her desire, it makes much more sense to get the BSN, work as a nurse for a few years, then go back to school to get the applicable MSN.

I can only speak from my own experiences of working alongside NPs who had done direct entry as their career path. They already had bachelor's degrees in other fields and it was a lot less course work to complete going straight for their master's. I think it also depends on what part of the country you live in.

[llg, PhD, RN]

What is your local job market like for graduates of that particular MSN program? That's the information you need to make an informed decision. Also, what specialties and/or job roles does that MSN program prepare its graduates for? Are those the kinds of jobs you want?

If it were me ... I would choose the MSN program if (but only if) there was a reasonable job market for its new graduates and those graduates were getting the types of jobs I was interested in and being prepared for the types of careers I was interested in. That doesn't mean they would need to step right into advanced roles. I have known several people who graduated from such programs and who to bedside staff nurse jobs right after graduating. They got experience in patient care and after 2-3 years, were able to secure jobs requiring an MSN. But by starting with the MSN, they saved lots of educational time and money. Is that possible in your region?

[RNNPICU, BSN, RN]

OP:

Are you looking to be an NP, or an RN. If you want to be an RN, do the BSN, regardless if you have an MSN, you would still be considered a new grad, thus new grad pay. Alos, if the Direct entry MSN is one of those for Leadership, it is hard to understand and grasp what is an RN Leader without ever having done an assessment as an RN, or have an understanding of patient flow from the RN perspective.

As an RD, you have a very different view point of patient care management and patient assessments. I think that experience will help you as an RN. I understand the appeal of the Direct entry MSN since you have a BA, (Not sure what the correct degree for registered dietician is) but those direct entry that are aimed at "leadership" or something similar may give you book knowledge of RN leadership but not the practicality. The BSN will give you everything you need to know about becoming a new grad RN.

Good Luck with your decision.

[TheDudeWithTheBigDog, ADN, RN]

Except that it's nearly impossible to get a job in one of those areas without actual nursing experience. If that is her desire, it makes much more sense to get the BSN, work as a nurse for a few years, then go back to school to get the applicable MSN.

A degree lasts for life. If the goal is something like being an NP, as long as there's no time frame limits between finishing school and testing and licensing in the OPs state, then there wouldn't really be any harm in getting the degree out of the way and then focusing on the clinical requirements.

[FNP2019, MSN, APRN]

Even if the two are the same cost, the question is: what job do you want to do? If you want to try out nursing, the ASBN is a terrific option. It'll give you the chance to really learn about being a nurse. You can also make good money as a nurse- often comparable (or more) than an NP- because you get hourly wages with shift differentials, overtime, etc vs salary.

I am a strong believer that one should get nursing experience before becoming an NP- after working with direct-entry NPs, I gotta tell you, their lack of experience in nursing shows in an awkward way (making them difficult to work with), even if they are technically good at medication management and some of the other "advanced provider" tasks.

Good luck!