And would you choose differently if you had to do it again? It can be any, and all, of the programs from CNA to DNP/PHD. Would you choose it again, why/why not?
There are many programs people choose for different reasons and threads on several of the same ones. Meanwhile, there are tons of programs that remain in the background and unanswered threads of people seeking answers.
I've been wondering why people don't like certain programs or why they chose others. I've witnessed people I know drive hours away for nursing programs when they live around the corner from equivalent programs simply because they didn't like one of the professors. I would have sucked it up and kept it moving to save time and gas but that's just me.
I chose mine because it was the only school that offered evening and weekend clinicals and I need to keep my full time job for bills and insurance. It's more expensive than the community colleges, but for the trade off in still getting to make money, it was worth it to me. I would have probably preferred an ASBN program since I have a previous degree, but there was no way to make that possible.
The interesting thing is I was talking to an APRN one day who said the people with the associates starting alongside those with BSNs come out of the gate stronger due to the usually more hands on training they get in clinicals. Then after 6 months, the BSNs move ahead in skill because they have done the work and have the background. Obviously anecdotal but interesting just the same. I'm going to get my BSN after I pass the nclex but I'm just looking at online schools.
I chose the program I went to because it was within driving distance from where I live. It was a community college and I received grants to attend; That was a great deal for me. After I graduated, I applied at my job (where I had worked as a CNA) to work as an R.N. I was able to obtain my BSN while working full time so everything worked out for me. I wouldn’t have done it any other way.
Good reputation in state for ASN from a CC. Had 10 jobs begging for me and my classmates to come (back in the good old days). And the BSN students at nearby colleges were training to be management. As PP stated, the were rudely shocked to be hired on the floor next to us. Sadly, most had been very condescending to us during clinicals, and had mentioned that we'd better be nice, they'd be our boss soon. Imagine 3 years later (I had my BSN by then) when I was their boss. Luckily, I don't hold a grudge. I have survived and thrived in multiple settings, in multiple job titles. That ASN at the local CC prepared me well, at a much lower cost overall. My MSN at WGU was a good experience as well. I would recommend them to anyone
So you took prereqs with the nursing classes? My gawd, I could never! Some of my classmates did that and complained all the time. I complained just doing the nursing work. I would have had a full meltdown adding extra classes. ?
No, what I am saying is that we didn't have specific pre-req's that had to be taken before entering the nursing portion of the 4-year BSN. We choose to take any courses we wanted to take as long as they met a few general guidelines.
My memory is a little rusty, but it was something like: During the first 2 years of college ... we had to take courses consistent with the following:
1. Two semesters of science classes in the Freshman year -- but any science would do, as long as the courses included a lab component. E.g. Geology would count to fill that requirement. (I chose Chemistry and never took biology.)
2. In the Sophomore year, there was a nursing course called "Human Ecology" that incorporated material from Anatomy, Physiology, Pathophysiology, Pharmacology, Nurtrition, and Microbiology. Those were all combined into 2 semester-long courses.
3. Three courses in the social sciences -- and any course would do as long as one of them was something in psychology. (I took 2 anthropology courses and an intro to personality course. I also took 5 political science course over the 4-year time span -- 2 of them though a summer program in England.)
4. One humanities course (anything in humanities -- language, philosophy, arts, etc.) (I took a course in symbolic logic and one in world religions.)
5. One course in statistics ... but it could be from any department on campus. (The nursing department offered a course, but I took the one offered by the math department. A lot of other people chose to take the one taught by the psych. department.)
As long as we met those "distributional requirements," it didn't matter which specific courses we took. The only required courses during the Freshman and Sophomore year were the two, 3-credit Human Ecology courses. Then, during the Junior and Senior years, we took mostly nursing course -- but still had room in our schedules for 1 elective course per semester, which could be in anything of our choosing. That allowed a lot of people to double-major.
I actually worry about the number of hard science courses that some schools are requiring their nursing students to take. Such requirements don't leave room for social science and humanities courses -- and nursing requires us to work with people and understand humanity from all angles -- not just from the hard science perspective. We need nurses to receive a well-rounded education that includes social sciences and humanities expertise, too.
At the time I applied for nursing school I was working at the VA. There are two local programs, one is an ASN program through a community college and the other was a BSN program at a university the next town over. The community college program was accredited by one of the groups the VA didn't accept, so to keep working at the VA an option I chose the BSN program.
There was a lot of rumors that the ASN got more clinical hours than the BSN program and produced better bedside nurses, which I think is pretty debatable. Because both schools are OCNE (Oregon consortium of nursing education) programs, we did the same clinical hours for acute care rotations with a separate quarter for chronic illnesses and end of life care. We also received a second IP quarter working the floor full time so we had six months of IP vs the 3 the community college program did.
We did have a couple of quarters of "leadership" type classes which weren't really focusing on management as much as providing an understanding of social determinants of health and considering interdisciplinary resources -- more like case management than actual management training.
I attended an accelerated post-baccalaurate BSN program. I 100% recommend it. The curriculum was great, placement sites ranged from acceptable to really good.
One of the things that I really liked was that I felt like we were treated like grown-ups. Because we were: all of us had, at a minimum, graduated from four years of college previously. The professors (and clinical instructors) arrived with a level of respect for us. For example, it was assumed that we would be there on time, in uniform, not texting during clinicals etc., so they didn't really make a big deal about going over the "rules." I see students at some ADN programs or community colleges talking about getting written up, and I think, "I'm not sure 'written up' was even a concept at my school." If there was an issue with a student, they just talked to them about it like a professional colleague, with the expectation that the student would get it together (and I think everyone did; I never heard about any major issues that couldn't be resolved). It was a fairly competitive program (not Ivy League or anything) and I think they did a good job selecting students.
I actually worry about the number of hard science courses that some schools are requiring their nursing students to take. Such requirements don't leave room for social science and humanities courses -- and nursing requires us to work with people and understand humanity from all angles -- not just from the hard science perspective. We need nurses to receive a well-rounded education that includes social sciences and humanities expertise, too.
In my ADN program we had to take social sciences, humanities, and hard sciences. It was mandatory for the degree and part of pre-reqs for nursing, no way around any of them. It's also why I took just about all of the pre-reqs first and many of the college reqs before starting the nursing program. And the classes couldn't be used for both so it was more classes that needed to be taken. I think they changed that now but it wasn't that way back then.
I just graduated from a program that i thought would easy. Girl i done lost my mind 8x throughout this process.
Would i recommend this school? Nope.
Taking an ADN program at a community college I thought would be no big deal too. ? Fortunately I love my school and it turned out to be one of the preferred schools for employers - but I just kind of picked it because they had the nicest building out of my choices. lol
I was accepted to an ASN program at a community college and two ABSN programs at private colleges. The ASN was a much closer drive than either of the BSN programs, but since I already have a Bachelors in another field and I would graduate sooner going to an ABSN program, I decided against the ASN.
Of the two ABSN programs, one started 4 months sooner and would cost me about $14,000 less in total. The more expensive school also required students in the program to be on campus or at clinical Monday - Friday. At the less expensive school, I am only on campus once or twice per week and then clinical rotations. So, I figured I would choose the one that would get me working sooner, cost less, and let me stay home more often, even though I would be driving a bit further for some clinical rotations. So far I am happy with my choice. Smaller cohort, no white scrubs (it's the little things haha), and I don't have to drive to campus every day. I will say that my school does require a lot of discipline and intrinsic motivation to get all of the work and studying done since we are not in class every day, but that works well for me because of my learning style. I struggle sitting in lectures.
ADN. The whole thing cost me less than $10,000. BSN was payed for by my employer. I didn't want to have a ton of debt when I graduated. I feel as well prepared as the other BSN grads I work with who have thousands of $ in debt.
Nursing is about getting yourself up to speed anyway. None of the schools can teach you everything you'll need to know for the job. You have to do a lot of research and self study, especially since evidence-based practice is constantly changing.
I was not aware of the accelerated BSN programs at the time, and they were limited in my area. I entered a traditional 4 year program, but since I already had a bachelor's, I only had 3 years. Plus, the school was where I got my first degree. If I had to do it again, I would have done the accelerated program.
rnhopeful82, ASN, RN
165 Posts
I chose mine because it was the only school that offered evening and weekend clinicals and I need to keep my full time job for bills and insurance. It's more expensive than the community colleges, but for the trade off in still getting to make money, it was worth it to me. I would have probably preferred an ASBN program since I have a previous degree, but there was no way to make that possible.
The interesting thing is I was talking to an APRN one day who said the people with the associates starting alongside those with BSNs come out of the gate stronger due to the usually more hands on training they get in clinicals. Then after 6 months, the BSNs move ahead in skill because they have done the work and have the background. Obviously anecdotal but interesting just the same. I'm going to get my BSN after I pass the nclex but I'm just looking at online schools.