Start PN or wait to apply for BSCN! Pls help

Your thread has been moved to our Canadian forum where people will be able to provide you with more specific feedback and answers to your various questions.

Thank you.

That it is up to you. I would wait and apply for the BScN program since if you do PN first, you need to work at least for a year in the field before doing the upgrade (if want to do the bridge over). Other then that you need to be in school for 4 years in the BScN. If you have good marks in your degree (around high 70's or even 80's), you should get in a second degree BScN program.

Thanks ktrop03

Thanks loriangle14

You do not have to work a year before doing the bridge.

you do, if you plan on doing Athabasca. They require 1700+ hours for admission

Hello Everyone,

I'm finding it difficult to decide to decide whether to start a weekend PN program(Jan start) which I just got accepted into or wait to apply to second entry BSCN programs. I got accepted into lakehead compressed program for 2016 but couldn't start as my family moved and I have a one year old. I am currently taking Psychology and hope to take Anat and Physio for SPP at Nippising. But being a mum and wife is so demanding that I hardly have time to read as much as I would have wanted to.

Should I start the PN program and upgrade later? My dream is to become a nurse practioner and this pathway will take almost forever.

Advise pls....

Thank you all in advance.

The bolded comment is my biggest concern out of everything you have said. A BScN program is extremely demanding (& exhausting). Make sure you have the time and energy to commit to it right now. You want to get the most out of whatever program you choose. Don't worry about how long things will take. Time will pass quickly and you will get there! Nursing school is tough but you also want to learn as much as possible when you are there: slow & steady is better than rushed & messy. If your goal is nurse practitioner then your grades in BScN also have to be stellar since grad schools are very picky and there are a LOT of applicants with high grades. Make sure you have time to study to get the grades you will need.

Doing the PN program might give you more options (you could work before bridging if you want). But if you're super keen to get moving on your path to nurse practitioner, do the compressed BScN -- but like I said, you need to be prepared mentally & physically & make sure you have a lot of support around you. It's not impossible, just know what you're getting yourself into so you don't set yourself up for failure. If you plan things out well, you'll be fine. :)

You do not have to work a year before doing the bridge.

It depends on the school you are applying to; the collaborative program between Ottawa U and Algonquin College requires that you work a full year with a diploma before applying to the BScN bridge. I thought it was a farce after obtaining my RPN diploma after already working for over 20 years as an RPN (with certificate). The piece of paper had made absolutely no difference in my skill set or scope of practice.

Hi, I've taken uni level science courses and finished my RPN program. Currently, I am doing my bridge to get my RN bscn degree. From my own personal experiences, I felt that the difficulty and amount of work in courses between the college and uni level are about the same. It's difficult studying a course that you're unfamiliar with regardless if it is at the college or uni level. If you have an interest in nursing, I'm sure you'll be fine regardless of the level.

So my suggestion would be to do the bscn compressed program if you have that option. It will be faster for you to reach your goal of becoming a nurse practitioner. Even if you decide not to become a nurse practitioner, you will be a RN and many RPNs do bridge to become a RN if they are able to which will take another 3 years on top of the 2 years of RPN. If you do apply for the compressed program, you should also apply to a 4 year bscn and a RPN program just in case.

However, the benefits of doing the RPN program is that the program is cheaper than the RN program and if you decide nursing isn't for you, you won't be losing as much as in the RN program if you decide to leave.