So I am thinking about applying to a few schools in Illinois for the Master's Direct Entry program for Non-Nursing Majors. However, I have a few questions for anyone who is in the field or currently in this program.
- Do I receive my Masters in Nursing or just my RN license (diploma)?
- Will I enter the nursing field in a higher level?
Just reading around online and just very confused about this program. I want to eventually become a FNP -- so I plan on of course getting some experience under my belt and then returning back to school.
I'm confused. So now you can earn an MSN if you have an undergraduate degree in almost anything, take Boards and get an RN license, and you don't have to do all those pesky clinicals beforehand and be "just a bedside nurse," even for a minimum length of time?
Wow.
These programs have been around for decades. They are v. popular. You really haven't heard of them before?
All of the direct entry MSN programs that I've seen (there could be others) require you to do the BSN coursework (clinicals included) in an accelerated format prior to the MSN portion. Some award a BSN in addition to the MSN, some do not (but note on transcripts that the coursework has been completed). The direct entry MSN I was looking at also required one year of RN experience prior to beginning the MSN portion if you were on the track to become an acute care NP. Your spot in the MSN program was saved while you did this.
The direct entry MSN I was looking at also required one year of RN experience prior to beginning the MSN portion if you were on the track to become an acute care NP. Your spot in the MSN program was saved while you did this.
Some programs do it that way, many don't. The program I attended (as a traditional, experienced-RN student, but in classes with direct-entry students) had no such requirement. The direct-entry grads graduated without ever having worked a day as an RN, and made it v. clear that they had no intention of ever doing so. They went right into advanced practice positions (once they found a job, that is, which took some of them quite a while).
All the NP tracks other than acute care go directly to advanced practice positions. I have reservations about programs like this for people who have never worked in patient care but I assume they can't be too bad.
I respond to this post from the vantage of being a graduate of one of the earlier DEMSN programs (which program has long since been eliminated).
I graduated in 2009 and have been continuously employed as a bedside nurse since then.
If you meet the requirements for graduation, upon you will be conferred an MSN degree. If you meet the requirements for licensing, including passing the NCLEX, you will receive a nursing license.
The latter is required in order to practice nursing. The former *may* or *may not* be required by an employer in order to be hired.
Certainly not at the bedside. It is possible that entering with an MSN and some relevant experience will open up some kind of non-clinical job though your experience would have to be significant and specialized.
Ultimately, an MSN would enable you to apply for some teaching jobs and may be favorably regarded if you were to apply for managerial or operations positions (quality, case management, etc), though all of those would generally require significant clinical experience in order to be considered.
About what are you confused? It's pretty simple: The program was developed to provide a pathway for degree-holders in other fields to enter nursing and study at the graduate level in parallel or in sequence with covering the fundamentals of nursing needed to meet the requirements for licensing in the state in which the program is offered.
Heh. As someone who just finished a direct entry MSN program and is now in a FNP program, let me say this:
-If you can afford an ABSN program, and can manage a 1-year accelerated program, then get your BSN. You would save time and a lot of money. I did the direct entry route because I could not get enough loans to cover a ABSN program.
-If you really want to get the RN experience before entering a FNP program, then you are better off with a BSN than a MSN. The MSN makes one stand out with Human Resources but when it comes to unit managers with just a BSN...heh...yeah...well, pray that you encounter unit managers who like it when nurses further their education.
Side note: There are NPs who did not have any RN experience prior to entering their NP programs. In fact, there are some who said that their RN experience helped to an extent (such as, doing assessments). Look up their posts on allnurses.
-Some FNP programs require all of their students to have a BSN, even though they have a MSN. I kid you not. When applying to FNP programs last year, I kept encountering program coordinators who have not even heard of direct entry programs. Even after telling them about direct entry program, they still wanted me to go back for a BSN - like, what?! Luckily, I was able to get into the FNP program at the same school where I got my general MSN.
elkpark
14,633 Posts
These programs have been around for decades. They are v. popular. You really haven't heard of them before?