Should I try for the ADN or BSN??

[mara1419]

Once I finish my medical assisting program online in about jan/feb...I will have 6 of the gen ed completed for the JJC nursing program in addition to classes being transferred from another college as well. I am at a crossroad whether to try for my ADN or BSN. The schools in my area are Lewis, Aurora, St. Francis, has anyone heard anything good about any of these schools or are currently in the nursing program at these schools? Also it seems it would be quicker to get my ADN rather than BSN. Also since medical assistants are usually employed full-time, how long do clinicals usually last, are they all day and how many days a week. I have to factor in how much time I would basically be spending away from my son while trying to pursue either degree. Any advice or suggestions is greatly appreciated!!

[TheSquire, DNP, APRN, NP]

Well, do you already have a bachelor's in another field?

[mara1419]

No I don't have a bachelor's

[TheSquire, DNP, APRN, NP]

Aighty - I'm in a Master's Entry program, which runs its RN portion more or less like an accelerated bachelors, so your mileage may vary a bit. My clinicals are 8 hours per shift - except for Critical Care, which is 12hrs/shift, and you're only at clinical one day a week for class. For the past two terms I've had a total of about two full days of instruction per week on top of clinicals. Depending on your program, your school may want to have more structured time, though.

Medical assistants aren't really on the continuum of the nursing profession (which runs from CNA to LPN to RN to APN), but yes they do work full 8 hour shifts. Many hospital RN shifts are 12 hour shifts, but then you only work 3 days a week.

If you had a bachelor's, I was going to suggest either an ABSN (such as the one at Lewis) or a Master's Entry (if you were willing to come into the city). However since you don't, you're looking at either an ADN or a BSN. Time-wise they're about comparable, once you factor in the time you'll have to spend doing prerequisites before even being looked at by an ADN program. However, the ADNs are all at community colleges while the BSNs are at four-year institutions, and so the cost of an ADN is usually significantly cheaper than a BSN. Also if you get your ADN and want your BSN, there are a lot of RN-BSN bridge programs out there.