What To Expect From WGU, RN-BSN

[RDelgadoRNOCN, ASN, BSN, RN]

Hello all. I am two units away from completing the RN-BSN program at WGU. For starters, JUST do it! I am an ADN trained nurse in Los Angeles. ALL hospitals will require BSN in the future so you need to do it at some point. Time waits for no one, people!

I was hesitant at first. I was scared, no lie. I haven't been in school in years. In fact, statistics was 20+ years ago. Anyway, I pulled the trigger and signed up. I work for Kaiser, USC and City of Hope. I'm per diem but I work 32-40 hours a week as I am paying child care for TWO kids these days (thanks COVID). You probably won't believe me but I started 01/05/2021 and I will be done next week. Yes, three months! I can't believe it either. I am about to complete a total of 37 units. Absurd I know. Wanna know how I did it? Keep reading...

You must know that I do work three per diem jobs but I have weekends off. I have two small kids under 7 and they have been troopers! They miss their momma but thank God I'm almost done. WGU is truly a blessing. It's SO student friendly and EVERY single person I've had contact with has been a class act! They are super helpful and professional. You really get the feeling they care about your success. In fact, I've had instructors call me on a Sunday evening to ensure I was on the right track! Honestly there IS a lot of hand holding which will be great for the younger generation. I don't really need it and I've been rocking it out! If you apply yourself and commit to a couple hours a day or maybe a full Saturday, it can be done. 

COMMUNICATION- this class is kinda a pain in the neck. Only because you gotta be on zoom with strangers a few times and if you don't like talking it can be intimidating. A few papers for this class but nothing major. No research. 

STATS- I had to take it because my last stats class at Pasadena City College was 20+ years ago. Well WGU stats class is NOT as hard as the stats class I took. They have amazing instructors, videos, interactive quizzes and tons of notes you can view. I did this class in two weeks since it was my first "big girl" class. I was so intimidated so I kept putting it off.

Biochem- fun class! I took biochem at Pasadena City College many moons ago and they wouldn't accept it at WGU so I was forced to retake. Grrrrr. This class was actually fun and interesting. I watched the videos and re-learned the material from those. Passed first attempt after 10 days because I was scared to just take the test. This is not a real biochem class like at the junior college. It's not as hard. They only teach you the stuff you need to know. No extra fluff.

Older Adult- completed this in one afternoon. Review the notes and take the test. As nurses we do this EVERY DAY. Perhaps just review the Medicare info because that was my weakness but I still passed.

Health Assessment - easy. Can be done in a couple days. You have to do a simulation on an avatar. Again, we do this EVERY DAY! Piece of cake! Another task is doing a head to toe on someone and recording it. They are awesome and give you example videos of how it's done. Piece of cake!

community health- couple papers, child abuse info and you get to apply for the PHN certification in CA when done with BSN. the papers are fun and there is tons of help.

Community Health Field- dumpster fire! Beware! I recommend making an appointment with the CLINICAL instructor FIRST. Living in CA has special rules too so beware. Too many instructions but can be done in a few weeks while working on other classes.

Nutrition- exactly like the class I took at the junior college. Done in one day. We know this stuff people. We learned this already and we do it every day. 

Info Management- LOTS of vocab but I did it in one day. They have recorded cohorts and you can play jeopardy which is really helpful. 

Org Leadership- a few papers, nothing really difficult. It's an interesting class. You can do this one in a few days also.

Role- easy class. Just like the one in nursing school. Few papers. Nothing hard. This one takes ya back to good ole nursing school!

EBP- this one seems soooooooo hard because of all the instructions and cohort offerings and evidence lingo. It's not. My course instructor is a saint! She got on the phone with me and explained it all in 5 minutes. You can be done in two days with this one.

Leadership and Proff image- LAST CLASS! It's basically a class where you tie it all together and make a portfolio. It's pretty cool to look back and see ALL you have done. You earn certifications along the way too. I just don't recall which classes they are found in.

I will start my last and final class next week (kids on Spring break and we are going on day trips every day this week). YES, YOU start the class when you are ready. You can register for 4 classes and keep adding more classes to the semester as you finish more and more. So I will have a BSN in about a week and it will have cost me less then $4k from a regionally accredited school with CCNE. Don't delay. Sign up. You will be so happy you did. They have staff waiting and willing to help you with ANYTHING! It can be done. I'm a hands on mom with two small kiddos and I work per diem at three hospitals. I still spend time with my kids, we watch tv before bed and have fun on weekends.  YOU CAN DO IT!

[londonflo]

Congratulations! We are lucky to have someone like you in nursing! Instead of complaining about the course assignments, you just tackled them and developed pride of your accomplishments.  I do hope you go on for your masters...Your enthusiasm for the myriad subjects in nursing with such an enthusiastic response for what you learned  shows that you would be able to spark the beginning nursing student.

[RDelgadoRNOCN, ASN, BSN, RN]

Thank you for your kind words. I LOVE my job and I enjoy training new nurses. Nursing is a second career for me and I’m happy to have gone back to school. I was in the MSN program but decided to do BSN only at this time. Once my kids are a bit older I will return. Have a great day!

[simplyunique, RN]

On 3/29/2021 at 5:42 PM, RDelgadoRNOCN said:

Hello all. I am two units away from completing the RN-BSN program at WGU. For starters, JUST do it! I am an ADN trained nurse in Los Angeles. ALL hospitals will require BSN in the future so you need to do it at some point. Time waits for no one, people!

I was hesitant at first. I was scared, no lie. I haven’t been in school in years. In fact, statistics was 20+ years ago. Anyway, I pulled the trigger and signed up. I work for Kaiser, USC and City of Hope. I’m per diem but I work 32-40 hours a week as I am paying child care for TWO kids these days (thanks COVID). You probably won’t believe me but I started 01/05/2021 and I will be done next week. Yes, three months! I can’t believe it either. I am about to complete a total of 37 units. Absurd I know. Wanna know how I did it? Keep reading...

You must know that I do work three per diem jobs but I have weekends off. I have two small kids under 7 and they have been troopers! They miss their momma but thank God I’m almost done. WGU is truly a blessing. It’s SO student friendly and EVERY single person I’ve had contact with has been a class act! They are super helpful and professional. You really get the feeling they care about your success. In fact, I’ve had instructors call me on a Sunday evening to ensure I was on the right track! Honestly there IS a lot of hand holding which will be great for the younger generation. I don’t really need it and I’ve been rocking it out! If you apply yourself and commit to a couple hours a day or maybe a full Saturday, it can be done. 
 

COMMUNICATION- this class is kinda a pain in the neck. Only because you gotta be on zoom with strangers a few times and if you don’t like talking it can be intimidating. A few papers for this class but nothing major. No research. 

STATS- I had to take it because my last stats class at Pasadena City College was 20+ years ago. Well WGU stats class is NOT as hard as the stats class I took. They have amazing instructors, videos, interactive quizzes and tons of notes you can view. I did this class in two weeks since it was my first “big girl” class. I was so intimidated so I kept putting it off.

Biochem- fun class! I took biochem at Pasadena City College many moons ago and they wouldn’t accept it at WGU so I was forced to retake. Grrrrr. This class was actually fun and interesting. I watched the videos and re-learned the material from those. Passed first attempt after 10 days because I was scared to just take the test. This is not a real biochem class like at the junior college. It’s not as hard. They only teach you the stuff you need to know. No extra fluff.

Older Adult- completed this in one afternoon. Review the notes and take the test. As nurses we do this EVERY DAY. Perhaps just review the Medicare info because that was my weakness but I still passed.

Health Assessment - easy. Can be done in a couple days. You have to do a simulation on an avatar. Again, we do this EVERY DAY! Piece of cake! Another task is doing a head to toe on someone and recording it. They are awesome and give you example videos of how it’s done. Piece of cake!

community health- couple papers, child abuse info and you get to apply for the PHN certification in CA when done with BSN. the papers are fun and there is tons of help.

Community Health Field- dumpster fire! Beware! I recommend making an appointment with the CLINICAL instructor FIRST. Living in CA has special rules too so beware. Too many instructions but can be done in a few weeks while working on other classes.

Nutrition- exactly like the class I took at the junior college. Done in one day. We know this stuff people. We learned this already and we do it every day. 

Info Management- LOTS of vocab but I did it in one day. They have recorded cohorts and you can play jeopardy which is really helpful. 
 

Org Leadership- a few papers, nothing really difficult. It’s an interesting class. You can do this one in a few days also.

Role- easy class. Just like the one in nursing school. Few papers. Nothing hard. This one takes ya back to good ole nursing school!

EBP- this one seems soooooooo hard because of all the instructions and cohort offerings and evidence lingo. It’s not. My course instructor is a saint! She got on the phone with me and explained it all in 5 minutes. You can be done in two days with this one.

Leadership and Proff image- LAST CLASS! It’s basically a class where you tie it all together and make a portfolio. It’s pretty cool to look back and see ALL you have done. You earn certifications along the way too. I just don’t recall which classes they are found in.

I will start my last and final class next week (kids on Spring break and we are going on day trips every day this week). YES, YOU start the class when you are ready. You can register for 4 classes and keep adding more classes to the semester as you finish more and more. So I will have a BSN in about a week and it will have cost me less then $4k from a regionally accredited school with CCNE. Don’t delay. Sign up. You will be so happy you did. They have staff waiting and willing to help you with ANYTHING! It can be done. I’m a hands on mom with two small kiddos and I work per diem at three hospitals. I still spend time with my kids, we watch tv before bed and have fun on weekends.  YOU CAN DO IT!

If you don't mind me asking, which videos and material did you use for STATS? 

[RDelgadoRNOCN, ASN, BSN, RN]

Hello. They are found within the content if I remember correctly. If you don’t see anything ask the instructor. They are always willing to help. 

[simplyunique, RN]

Okay, thank you for your quick response. Also, how were the proctored exams? do they let you write certain concepts on the whiteboard?

[RDelgadoRNOCN, ASN, BSN, RN]

OK so the board has to be blank before you start. I suggest the INSTANT they tell you to start that you write down any thing you feel will help you. It’s honestly NOT difficult. It’s just like the PA. You can do it! 

[Amicrazy]

Can you share more about the Proctored exams and white board?  Looking into the program and I'm not sure how I feel about the tuition.   I understand at your own pace,  pay by term,  but the ambiguity about the final cost makes me nervous. 

[RDelgadoRNOCN, ASN, BSN, RN]

The proctored exams are simply you allowing a proctor access to your screen. You basically sign up for the test when you are ready and then log in. This person has you scan the room and then point the camera at your work area. They basically just watch to make sure you aren't cheating. The hours for this are nearly all day so you can test late at night or very early in the morning. I think they are in a foreign country as all of mine had heavy accents and I could hear roosters and animals in the background. Once you are ready to test they cut their sound off. They can hear and see you but you can't hear or see them. It's easy peasy.

WGU sends you a small white board and dry erase marker. You are allowed to use that for your tests. I didn't really use it but once the clock starts and you are testing you can write anything on it. So if you memorized a formula for stats or something important for another class you can quickly write it down and it won't count as cheating.

The price is the price and there is no scam there. I paid about $3700 if I recall for ONE term. I was signed up to take 4 or 5 classes. IF I was able to complete those BEFORE the six month period then I could fast track/add another or as many as I could before the six months was over. I finished ALL my classes in three months so I only paid for one term. 

Do it! You won't regret it. It's not difficult. It can be done. I have a full plate (small kids, needy husband, puppy, three per diem jobs, etc) and finished ALL my classes in three months. They are super helpful too. There are tons of resources and plenty of people available to help you. They really want you to finish so there is TONS of hand holding. If you don't need the hand holding they allow you to put the pedal to the metal! Good luck! Let me know if you have any other Qs.

[Amicrazy]

Thank you,  great info!

[dorkiexcici]

Congratulations on getting your BSN! 

I'm applying for WGU too! I hope to start in September 1st

How many courses have you taken in each term? 

[RDelgadoRNOCN, ASN, BSN, RN]

Hello. I did all 37 units in one term. Their terms are six months long. So you are given six months to take as many classes as you can. I finished them all in about three months. Hope this helps.