WGU writes: RN-BSN in 6 months is a rumor, not do-able

[paradiseboundRN]

Here is a quote from the BSN community site mentor:

"Hi everyone! I know that there have been some rumors about finishing the RN-BSN program in 6 months, and I wanted to clear up those rumors.

A 6 month finish is highly unlikely due to the fact that certain courses can't be taken in the same term;please speak to your mentor about this. However we encourage and support students to accelerate through courses at their own pace It IS possible to finish the program in two terms (12 months) - and I have actually heard of students completing it in as little as 10 months - but 6 months is definitely very difficult. I know this may be disappointing to those of you who may have been hoping to finish it in 6 months, and I do apologize for that."

[Misskala]

I am in the Oct 1st RN to BSN class :) I am transferring credits and have 34 to complete the degree. I am really hoping to complete the 34 credits in just one 6 month term. I spoke to my enrollment counselor today and he said that the issue is with Community Health. It ultimately comes down to your mentor. You cannot complete the practicum (90 hours) until after the class is finished. He said that if I have all my classes including Community health nursing completed with plenty of time remaining in the term, then my mentor will most likely allow me to enroll in the course. He did say however, if I compete everything and only have 4 or 5 weeks left of the 6 month term, then he doubted that my mentor would sign off on it. Hope this helps!

I'm November 2013 start date, and my mentor stated she wanted to schedule my Community Health early on 1st term so I could work on the practicum during the term along with other classes. I asked her again directly if I could do the practicum while taking other classes and she said yes.

So that's my plan.

I really would like to finish in 6 months.

Any tricks? I saw featherz comment on scheduling the assessment the day you start your pre-assessment? I'm not familiar on the steps involved yet to understand this.

***ALSO*** Is it better to use a testing center vs. Webcam to schedule exams? Which is faster to schedule and get done? My mentor said it would take 15 days for a webcam to be mailed

[featherzRN, MSN]

If you have a testing center close by, personally I'd use that. The webcam is more convenient, but lately it's been a pain in the butt for some people. Until you get your cam in the mail (and even after that), if you want to schedule a test, just use a testing center.

[Danish, MSN, APRN, NP]

I've only taken 2 OA's so far, but I took both at the testing center near my home. I'm afraid to attempt the webcam and have technical difficulties.

I agree. My mentor said a good rule of thumb is if you pass the PA by 8-10 percent higher than the cut score, then you're ready for the OA. I scheduled both tests the day I passed the PA.

[bettyrn32]

For the ones of you who have completed the RN-BSN in six months how many hours a week did you all put in? I have the nursing classes and a few prereqs. History, stats, biochem off the top of my head. Is the history performance or test? When they say performance what do they mean? What about the biochem. Is it performance or test. I read stats is test. I would love to finish in six months but I dont want to kill myself either. I work full time.

[featherzRN, MSN]

I put in a lot of hours to finish in about three months. Probably at least 5/day. Biochem is a series of powerpoints. I didn't take history, but I think it is papers.

[Rathyen]

I worked full time when I did it, and probably spent about 5 hours a day, three days a week. The only class I had to take aside from the nursing classes, was biochem. It was the devil and took me longer than any other class. If it hadn't been for that class, I would have finished in probably 4 months.

[bettyrn32]

Thanks guys! Are there alot of exams or is it mostly competency based? How are the exams? Did anyone do this recently? Is the camera proctering a good way to go?

[featherzRN, MSN]

Biochem was one of my shortest classes, at only 5 days. My longest class took me around two weeks - that was humanities. I knew NOTHING about the subject matter.

Bettyrn32 - each class has something to do to prove competency - either a paper or a set of papers or a project of some sort or a final exam. All to prove competency - no quizzes or mini tests or whatever are required. Pass the test or write the paper(s) and you pass the class. And a lot of people use the camera - I didn't like it so I did most of my tests at a local testing site.

[bettyrn32]

So how many test are you looking at for the nursing part? I am hoping there are more papers, power points etc. than test lol ( I have been a practicing nurse for 20 years). So other than Certification exams I havnt tested in awhile. I am ANCC certified in geriatrics and also CCM certified.