When is the "best" time to do an RN-BSN program?

[pearlypearl]

Hi everyone,

I'm curious to know when you think would be the "best" time to do an RN to BSN program? I'm sure the best time is different for everyone.. Or maybe there is no such thing as a best time, but for those nurses who have done a bridge program, when did you start it and what made you start at that time vs. a later or earlier time?

Here is my situation: I have a non-nursing bachelors degree. Im currently in an ADN program in the SF Bay Area and will be graduating next year. I plan to take my NCLEX soon after I graduate. I've just been hired as a unit secretary at one of the hospitals in SF as well and during the interview, the manager had asked when I'll be graduating. When I told him next year, he said "that's perfect!" I'm not too sure if that's a good thing for me... I'd like to hope that it's a sign that they'll hire me as a new grad. The thing is that this is a magnet hospital and I've understood that most hospitals in the Bay Area, regardless if it is magnet status, prefer to hire those with a BSN degree. They do hire SOME with an ADN though.

I was thinking, since I will be graduating with an ADN, it will probably be better to do a bridge program as soon as I can, to make me more "marketable." I had planned to bridge the following semester after I graduate. Here's why: maybe I WONT get a job right away, so all that time spent applying and having no luck can also be productive while earning a degree. Makes sense, right?

But now here's where I think I'd need some guidance... Let's say I'm lucky and the hospital I'm working for hires me as a new grad. Would it be better to work full time for a year and get the experience then go back to school later or do part time for both school and work? Which do you think is the better option? I don't think I'm in a rush to get the BSN, I just want to get it over and done with now, while I'm still In the studying mode. I've thought of the MSN, but I feel like I would like more experience before I choose a specialty.

Other things I'm trying to factor in is NCLEX, orientation, and school. I finish my program in May. I plan to take the NCLEX in June/July (hoping to pass on my first try)! The BSN program starts in August/September. Do you think it'll be doable for a new grad nurse to do school and work fresh out of an ADN program?

For those of you who have bridged over and worked right away, what was your experience like? Would you recommend it? Did you do a fully online bridge program or a hybrid one?

Any thoughts, suggestions and stories are greatly appreciated!

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I completed a fully online RN-to-BSN program approximately five years after earning my ASN degree and RN license.

Why did I wait so long? Two issues worked against me. First of all, the ASN program I completed was nationally accredited by ACICS instead of ACEN, and the school lacked regional accreditation. Therefore, many reputable RN-to-BSN programs would require me to retake multiple courses at great expense.

Secondly, I needed a college-level math course, but my math skills were too weak to ever successfully complete college algebra or statistics. I had been in the remedial/developmental level math courses on and off for nearly a decade and was never able to escape that vortex.

It took several years to find a CCNE-accredited RN-to-BSN program that would grant credit for my previous nursing coursework and treat me with leniency regarding the needed math credits. I was able to get away with taking a very introductory statistics course.

To keep a long story short, I completed the BSN program in 10 months while working full-time 12-hour night shifts.

[eggyweggy, MSN, RN]

I also have a non-nursing baccalaureate degree and completed my ADN in 2013. Passed my boards in June. Didn't get a job until August and a huge barrier was not having a BSN combined with zero healthcare experience. When I first started looking for jobs the language on the postings was "BSN preferred." Within a few months it became "BSN Required."

That was the point where I wished I had bit the bullet and gone straight into a RN-BSN program instead of waiting. I ended up taking a job in home care, which didn't have nearly the same learning curve as an acute care job would have been, and it would have been totally doable under those circumstances.

I spent that semester researching programs and applied to the one I could start right away the following semester. It took me 4 semesters, but I just finished my program and landed an acute care job this month. I would say that having the BSN in progress made a huge difference in my marketability.

I took 6-10 credits most semesters in order to get it done. There were times when it was a little overwhelming, but I told myself I could do anything for 17 weeks at a time. And I survived.

I did a hybrid program, so it offered a combination of structure and flexibility with online courses. Because the content is theory-based, you can absolutely do the program without nursing experience. I didn't have the same breadth of knowledge about healthcare as some of my classmates, but I also wasn't jaded going into it.

Whether it's doable for you right off the bat will largely depend on your work schedule, your family support, and how well you manage having multiple things on your plate. Most programs can be done either part-time or full-time. I started off with 2 classes at a time to make sure I could manage, then hit it hard my last two semesters and took 10 credits at a time. I decided that I could work moderately hard for three semesters and graduate in the fall or really hard for two and graduate in the spring instead. It was a tough 8 months, but I'm glad I knocked it out and got it done.

[AJJKRN]

As soon as I passed the NCLEX and landed a job I was enrolled into an RN to BSN program. I had already researched what program I wanted just as I had my ASN school which had an excellent reputation with the local hospitals. It was a full time, 22 month program that was six weeks per class with one class being online and the next (for the most part) meeting once a week in a classroom and the professor/university coming to my town as opposed to me having to drive all the way to the brick and mortor school. It was totally doable for me because I was focused on achieving a personal goal and job security! As a new grad you won't know how hard everything really is because you simply just don't know any better so you don't second guess and you just do it.

[blah_blah_blah]

I did my BSN program right after I got out of my ADN school, but that's because the schools were partnered and that's how the program worked. There were also quite a few experienced RN's getting their BSN's.

I don't know about other schools, but my BSN program was a cake walk compared to my ADN program. in the BSN program I wrote a lot of papers. I would personally suggest going right into the BSN program after you finish the ADN program. A lot of my classmates including me did this and we were fine. This way you won't lose momentum.

I know if I waited to get my BSN, I might have waited a long time to go back but that's just my personality. I have to get it all done at once or I'd never finish.

I also know the CA job market for nurses is really tough, so I suggest doing everything you can right from the beginning to improve your marketability.

[pearlypearl]

Daynuh, did you also work while in the program? If so, full time or part time?

[blah_blah_blah]

Daynuh, did you also work while in the program? If so, full time or part time?

I worked part time at a grocery store. I didn't want to start a nursing job while in school full time because I wasn't sure if it would be too much. I live at home with my mom (im only 22) with no kids so getting a full time nursing job right after the boards wasn't that big of a deal. Looking back I probably could have gotten a nursing job sooner. A lot of my classmates worked part time and full time as nurses during school and they were fine