UGH! I'm so confused... reconsidering school

jjjoy, LPN · Jul 2, 2008

It's true. ASN programs are usually two years (4 semesters) of coursework/clinicals. And many require that almost all non-nursing coursework be completed prior to entry to the nursing program. Given that nursing education builds over time and must have clinical time coordinated in as well, you can't just take all of the courses at the same time.

Maybe getting a second bachelor's is the way to go. I was in that situation, too. I could get into and finish a BSN program in much less time than an ASN program, especially since the pre-reqs often vary from school to school and I already had most the pre-reqs for the junior-entry BSN program. The BSN program also had competitive admissions versus a lottery or wait lists. Most programs have tons more applicants than spots available. Ask about that as well when checking out your options.

Since you already have a bachelor's degree, you might want to look into accelerated programs. They have some BSN programs specifically aimed at second-bachelor students that cram that two years of nursing coursework into a year (usually 12 straight months, no breaks).

dizze98765 · Jul 2, 2008

It's unfortunately true. There apparently are still a few programs out there that do cram all of the coursework, including content in anatomy, physiology, microbiology, etc into two years. I don't know of any personally, though. Most ASN programs have numerous pre-reqs and then are two years of nursing content.
Maybe getting a second bachelor's is the way to go. I was in that situation, too. I could get into and finish a BSN program in much less time than an ASN program, especially since the pre-reqs often vary from school to school and I already had most the pre-reqs for the junior-entry BSN program. The BSN program also had competitive admissions versus a lottery or wait lists. Most programs have tons more applicants than spots available. Ask about that as well when checking out your options.

Thanks, I have been inquiring about IUPUI's second degree program but it's ridiculously hard to even get an answer from someone. I'm just confused because it affects my prereqs. IUPUI won't take ivy tech prereqs, well they'll take them but look more favorably for admissions at IUPUI classes. Getting IUPUI nursing school prereqs for Ivy Tech is overkill since there are more than needed. So here I sit... registered for prereq clasess at both schools and not sure what to do lol!

obicurn · Jul 2, 2008

For the ASN program at Ivy Tech Indy, we will be going 4 semesters. Fall/Spring, Fall/Spring and we don't go in the summer. That is probably why it seems so long. If you have all your coreqs done already, it really isn't a "full time" program. The first semster is, as we have 13 credit hours. After that, though, we will only have 2 or 3 classes each semester. I don't have the papers in front of me, so I can't tell you exactly how many credits each semester, but it is posted online if you want to check that out. I wish we had the option to go in the summer and just get it all done as soon as possible, but we can't. I plan to go on and get my BSN after I finish. Ivy Tech works for me as far as the cost right now.

dizze98765 · Jul 2, 2008

For the ASN program at Ivy Tech Indy, we will be going 4 semesters. Fall/Spring, Fall/Spring and we don't go in the summer. That is probably why it seems so long. If you have all your coreqs done already, it really isn't a "full time" program. The first semster is, as we have 13 credit hours. After that, though, we will only have 2 or 3 classes each semester. I don't have the papers in front of me, so I can't tell you exactly how many credits each semester, but it is posted online if you want to check that out. I wish we had the option to go in the summer and just get it all done as soon as possible, but we can't. I plan to go on and get my BSN after I finish. Ivy Tech works for me as far as the cost right now.

Thanks, I just found the course schedule/outline online. I guess I just don't understand why semesters 3 and 4 are part time. That makes no sense to me. Why divide what could be 1 full time semester into 2 part time ones. According to their list, there are 14 credits to be taken between semesters 3 and 4. That's only 7 a semester and not even enough to still be considered 3/4 time for enrollment purposes. Do the clinical times conflict or something? I must be missing something.

sunnysideup09 · Jul 2, 2008

Clinical times do conflict, but the big reason is lack of sufficient clinical sites. There are so many nursing schools. Plus, alot of students work and can't afford to go to school full time. The program gives those that have to work that opportunity.

jjjoy, LPN · Jul 3, 2008

I thought there were other reasons than competition for clinical slots that have led to the "stretching" of the ASN from two to three years. My understanding is that originally the ASN curriculum could be completed in two years and included non-nursing coursework (A&P, micro) along with the nursing courses. Thus, credit-wise, each term was a full-load. However, when you add in clinical days and project assignments in addition to the ridiculous reading assignments of nursing school, that's a pretty tall order time-wise and energy-wise to handle. Toss in the pressure for nursing education to be more "well-rounded", more grounded in science, and more than just skills training, so the sheer amount of material to cover has increased over time as well.

Many community college students do have to work at least part-time, if not full-time, to support themselves through school, so I imagine they would've had a hard time pulling it off. I'm thinking making all of the non-nursing coursework pre-requisite might have been to increase student retention. Applicants couldn't just apply to nursing school on a whim, they'd have to show their commitment to it by taking the pre-reqs. AND many students might be more successful by not having to juggle nursing courses and clinicals with other non-nursing classes.

Also, clinical time doesn't count for much credit-wise but is usually something like two eight-hour shifts each week - maybe Tues/Thur 7am-3pm and often involve several hours of prep work the night before. Ask about that at the schools you are interested in.

In regard to the sequencing of nursing coursework - yes, coordinating clinical times is a major factor there. The clinical rotations reflect the nursing content being studied in class - general medicine, surgery, pediatrics, etc. Each school schedules "their" clinical slots at local facilities - which they have to compete for with other schools. Usually, the whole nursing class moves through the curriculum together, thus there are only specific clinical sites for each term - so not every site, every class, is offered each term.

obicurn · Jul 3, 2008

Thanks, I just found the course schedule/outline online. I guess I just don't understand why semesters 3 and 4 are part time. That makes no sense to me. Why divide what could be 1 full time semester into 2 part time ones. According to their list, there are 14 credits to be taken between semesters 3 and 4. That's only 7 a semester and not even enough to still be considered 3/4 time for enrollment purposes. Do the clinical times conflict or something? I must be missing something.

As someone else addressed, I believe part of the reason is just because it is such a huge workload in the last couple semesters. It does also allow time for students to complete coreqs. Thankfully, I got all of those out of the way before I applied so I can completely put my attention on my nursing classes.

The first semester has more credits because of Pharm and Skills Lab. We have to have that first because we will need that info in clinicals.

The summer off will be a great time to get those coreqs out of the way too.

pdz1979 · Jul 4, 2008

At the Madison Ivy Tech we do not take the summer off so this fall's class will graduate in Dec of 09. I am thankful that we do it this way.