911, This Nurse Needs Help ASAP

[Jnateman]

Hello,

I need some career advice. I went to University of Florida and graduated as a BSN nurse in 1987. Then I went to ARNP school at Florida International University in 1990-1991. It was the last year you could sit for the ANCC Adult Nurse Certification test without having a MSN. Well I passed it and started working and took one more class towards finishing masters. Then my employer said they would not give me any more time off to finish schools and they would not pay anymore even if I did so I forgot about it. Now I am having a hard time even trying to get a job as an NP even though I have almost consistently worked since then. All the hospitals say I need to have a MSN to be considered. I went back to the university and they told me I would have to repeat the whole program over which means expensive tuition, lost wages and possibly hiring a baby sitter to take care of my kids. I only had 3-4 more classes to finish. What does anyone think? I really want to hear from nursing professors also.

[Whispera, MSN, RN]

The facilities may require a MSN because many insurance companies require that in order to pay for your services...

[ThatBigGuy]

It sounds like you snuck in under the MSN wire 25 years ago, and now it's catching up to you as the industry has evolved over the course of a quarter decade.

While the ANCC doesn't care what level of degree you have, they aren't the ones hiring, so you're kind of stuck.

In regards to your classes, again, they are decades old. The information has changed quite a bit since then, hence the reason science classes generally have an expiration date. It's a not a money grab by the schools, it's simply the best way to ensure you are academically up to date.

I think it's time you advance your professional licensing by gaining your MSN. Western Governor's University has an MSN with a very flexible schedule and flat tuition rates so you know what you will pay and when you will finish. It's all online, on your own pace, and somewhat affordable. There are many other online only programs you can finish in two years.

Assuming you graduated with your BSN in 1987 at the age of 22, you're only 50 years old right now. You have 15 years ahead of you, every year of which will become harder for you to find employment. The writing is on the wall: go get your MSN and make yourself a viable candidate again.

[canigraduate]

Just wondering why this situation is an emergency.

It sounds like it's been building for a long time.

[NurseMedic28]

What if you do one of these ubiquitous MSN in education or leadership programs online and then attach your new Master's classes to your NP program transcript? You may need to contact Boards before you attempt it, but at least it would be not that grueling and may solve sitter's problem.

Is Excelsior College online program still running? I heard that you can transfer in like 95% of the credits, of course for a hefty fee, then take 1 or 2 classes there and voila, a patchwork degree! It may not be any cheaper than actually taking the classes, you may even pay more, but you'll save a helluva lot of time, and childcare costs. Excelsior used to do this a lot for service members and would even help them get military training turned into credits. This was a few years ago that I was looking at this, so I'm not sure if they do it anymore.

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

Is Excelsior College online program still running? I heard that you can transfer in like 95% of the credits, of course for a hefty fee, then take 1 or 2 classes there and voila, a patchwork degree! It may not be any cheaper than actually taking the classes, you may even pay more, but you'll save a helluva lot of time, and childcare costs. Excelsior used to do this a lot for service members and would even help them get military training turned into credits. This was a few years ago that I was looking at this, so I'm not sure if they do it anymore.

Lol. That is NOT how Excelsior College works at all with nursing-related degrees. They also don't offer an NP MSN, only non-clinical MSNs (Informatics, Leadership, Education).