I am a new RN, graduated from one of the toughest nursing programs in the country.
I was lucky enough to land a job in this economy, even better in the department that I love the most!
Life is great, seriously..What could go wrong?!
Its another day in nursing orientation, a handful of us new nurses listening to lectures, performing skills, participating in work shops. FUN!
One day, for the head to toe assessment, a nursing instructor from a private school sits in with her clinical group to listen to the head to toe lecture.
She starts off by saying..
Congratulations you all have jobs!!!
Its because you all have your bachelors... be sure to tell that to all your friends who have their associates.
I was the only one in the group with an associates in nursing.
So I said, I have an associates, and last I checked I have a job.
I SOOOOOOOOO wanted to go on.
I wanted to ask her, with a genuinely dumb look on my face..
The nurses with their bachelors, do they take a different board exam from those associate nurses?
Wait for a response, then come back with EXACTLYYYYY!
I felt about 2 inches tall, but whatever. The school I went to had 1500 applicants, and I was the lucky person to be included in the 150 to get accepted ...of those 150, i was the lucky 70 to graduate on time (we had 90 something at pinning but we had about a dozen of LPNs and the rest were students who had to repeat a course)
Needless to say, I felt small. Was unable to concentrate, but I reminded myself of the little things..and began to feel better.
No student loans to pay back!! So my first paycheck, Im going to blow it and go shopping!!!
I am only making a whopping...drum roll please...50 cents less per hour than those with a higher degree.
I saved a ton of money by taking the NCLEX once and passing it on the first try, with 75 questions baby!
I am going back for my bachelors, my masters even (i would love to have that clinical instructor work for me one day) this time the place I work for is going to reimburse me for my tuition.
This post is not an invitation to flame and debate some more on why one is "better" than the other
This was an opportunity to share my experience, hopefully lift the spirits of someone who had a similar story.
Good point, I thought about that too - I think I shouldve went with a title that had more to do with the story..I guess this was the first thing that popped into my head when I decided to share the experience, and look at how well that turned out. LOL Note to self!
Of course there are always some massively overpriced private programs, many of which do NOT even offer the benefits of the school you mentioned (particularly for-profits). Of course, there are also plenty of public BSN programs that cost less than 33,000 for the final two years (you do the first two at CC).
I went to a CC for my prereqs and paid less than $3000 for my AS degrees (NOT in nursing). I'm attending a private (non-profit) BSN program, but I will be debt free on graduation from a baccalaureate education that will cost me less than $20,000 due to:
1. Grants
2. Scholarships
3. Working during school
4. Saving up before school
So I get irritated when people people say stuff like:
....
In response to someone saying they graduated from BSN programs debt free. I resent the attitude that BSN entry is only for the rich or those who want mountains of debt.
I get what you're saying. If I could interject though, not all schools are equal and there are plenty of nursing students who are facing much steeper challenges in funding their education than you have faced. What you describe is quite doable, however I would wager that there are quite a few more BSN students than not who are either paying exorbitant tuition prices, or who are unable to manage paying a significant portion of their tuition themselves, due to issues with access, location, local economy, additional responsibilities (children, caring for parents or grandparents), etc.
Consider yourself lucky, but do not to make the mistake of assuming that your circumstances are universal and therefore applicable on any grand scale.
Edit: I didn't intend for that to come out all reprimandy...Damn you text!
do not to make the mistake of assuming that circumstances universal
Indeed, and that's what I ask of Blackhearted when discussing the topic. :)
There's plenty of people not in debt coming out of BSNs. There's plenty who are. There's plenty in debt and struggling to pay for their ADN programs too.
If you want to look at the real culprits who are putting students in debt, look at the for profit schools whether associate or baccalaureate!
Indeed, and that's what I ask of Blackhearted when discussing the topic. :)
There's plenty of people not in debt coming out of BSNs. There's plenty who are. There's plenty in debt and struggling to pay for their ADN programs too.
If you want to look at the real culprits who are putting students in debt, look at the for profit schools whether associate or baccalaureate!
MCC alum here, and GCU alum. Did the ADN program, got a job as an RN, finished the RN-BSN program and had my facility pay for it. Did it change how I practiced patient care? Not really, but it did give me a glimpse into a bigger picture that I didn't see before. It helped me grow as an individual to go through the program, but I still care for my patients in the same compassionate way. To each their own, and you're either a good nurse or you're not. :0)
There are some new BSN grads that post here venting that they are unable to get jobs without experience. So, not all BSN new grads are able to obtain employment w/o experience.
My DD is going for her AAS.
But about the debate over which degree is better,I was reading many new posts on this forum
and they say that hospitals arent hiring new grads without a BSN.
I guess the nurses with AAS and years of experience are able to still get jobs but the new grads arent without a BSN.
i have a BS (not in nursing) and when i checked into what would be the fastest way to be a RN considering i already spent 4 years in school - i found out getting an associate's or a BSN will take the same amount of time.
the core classes take 2 years and the nursing classes take 2 years. since i have the cores, i'll have to do the 2 years of nursing courses, but it would be 2 years if i chose to go to comm. college and get an associate's or 2 years at the university getting a bachelor's - so why not get a bachelor's?
actually, i'm applying for the accelerated 18 month program, but that just proves the point even more - for someone with a 4 year degree, 18 months is the fastest track.
This does not apply to people that ALREADY have a bachelors.
At least at my school, The pre-reqs could be done in 1 year.
ADN has a lot of advantages over a BSN. I decided to get the Associate degree first. The pay is the same, and jobs are still plentiful. I actually highly recommend doing it that way. For a few reasons. Most programs will let you test as an LPN after the first year. You will make more money (than a CNA), AND get nursing experience. A few reasons ADN is advantagious...
- Cheaper.
- Shorter time to complete.
- A lot of employers will pay for you to get your BSN as you are working as an RN.
- If you dont like it, you did not waste as much time or money.
- Same pay. (ADN/BSN)
- LPN experience/resume.
- After your BSN, you will not have to re-take boards.
I definitely agree with everyone that a BSN should be the final goal, but why not work as a nurse (both LPN and RN) while getting it?
This does not apply to people that ALREADY have a bachelors.
At least at my school, The pre-reqs could be done in 1 year.
ADN has a lot of advantages over a BSN. I decided to get the Associate degree first. The pay is the same, and jobs are still plentiful. I actually highly recommend doing it that way. For a few reasons. Most programs will let you test as an LPN after the first year. You will make more money (than a CNA), AND get nursing experience. A few reasons ADN is advantagious...
- Cheaper.
- Shorter time to complete.
- A lot of employers will pay for you to get your BSN as you are working as an RN.
- If you dont like it, you did not waste as much time or money.
- Same pay. (ADN/BSN)
- LPN experience/resume.
- After your BSN, you will not have to re-take boards.
I definitely agree with everyone that a BSN should be the final goal, but why not work as a nurse (both LPN and RN) while getting it?
Jay
This is a good option but doesn't work for everyone.
Nursing is a second career for me and I already had many bills to pay, so I needed to get it done in the shortest amount of time possible, get a job, and make a paycheck.
When I started looking into nursing programs in 2002-2003, community colleges in my area had begun to have long wait lists, but universities did not; you either got in or you didn't, and if you didn't, you just reapplied for the next semester.
I found a university in my area that had a 5 semester program and I discovered that I already had all of their required prereqs done. In the end, I finished my BSN, had a job lined up prior to graduation, and started bringing home a paycheck as an RN about 2 years before I would have if I had gone the ADN route first.
Fribblet
839 Posts
This whole thread begs the question:
If you're sick the debate, why did you bring it up?