Thinking about getting ADN...

[prenursinggal]

Hello all :welcome: I am 28 years old and I currently have a BBA - Human Resources. However, I have been a stay at home mom for the past 3-4 years. I have a 2.5 yr old and 1 yr old.

I was thinking about getting my ADN, and entering the workforce as a nurse. I was thinking the ADN over the fast track BSN because it is way cheaper, and since I already have the BBA, there are a lot of MSN programs that I can apply to at a later time.

Can someone point out to me the positives of nursing? The negatives? Do you like working 12 hour shifts? Are the hours crazy? What is the average starting wage I can expect (I live in Texas), I am assuming at a hospital.

Is the nursing shortage as critical as the picture that is being painted?

Any other advice you can share due to experience will be appreciated!

[Quickbeam, BSN, RN]

You should get a lot of responses as you raise some issues upon which there is a lot of opinion here!

I'm a second career RN who went the accelerated BSN route. It worked for me since I needed to be employed again ASAP. If I had not been self supporting, I would have gone the ADN route. I just didn't have the time for a slower approach. Do be aware that there are a few categories of nursing jobs that require a BSN and a non-nursing Bachelor's degree won't substitute. In my state, that includes school nursing, public health, community health and a couple others. That varies widely state to state.

You ask if there is a nursing shortage. I'm of the opinion that there is a shortage of nurses willing to do traditional nursing care. I'm the only practicing nurse left from my class. In fact, I was the only one still practicing at the 10 year mark as well. People get disgruntled and leave for all kinds of reasons.

That doesn't mean nursing is bad. It is hard work but a wonderful career. It isn't for everybody but no job is. Best wishes to you!

[Joe NightingMale, MSN, RN]

:welcome:Those are some pretty invovled questions!

For the positives and negatives, all I can suggest is to look at the various posts here, and you'll probably get a pretty good idea of what those are.

The nursing shortage is much debated. The best I can tell is that there is both a need for more nurses and high attrition. Which one predominates I couldn't tell you, but, with some variation from region to region, demand for nurses remains fairly high.

Can't tell you about starting wages, but according to MODRN magazine the state with the best salary relative to cost of living is Texas.

Hope that helps.

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

What you really need to do is tool around this site, and read some threads on the exact topics about which you're interested. Every question you have has been discussed in detail many times, so you should find lots of opinions and ideas!

Good luck to you in whatever you decide.