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Bachelors to RN or BSN (not too expensive?)
#11
The University of Wisconsin has a competency based RN to BSN program that can be completed very inexpensively...

https://flex.wisconsin.edu/degrees-progr...g-program/

Fort Hays State University is a very affordable school with an online RN to BSN program...

https://www.fhsu.edu/nursing/RN-BSN-On-LINE/
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#12
Lots of good advice here. Let me throw in my 2 cents as a nurse, with the caveat that these are just my general opinions as someone in the field and there will be a lot of variation in the job market based on geography.

For a general comparison of various nursing program options, consult the Venn diagram below. 

[Image: COoEcrvWUAAGi5g.png?format=500w]



As with most things, you get to pick two out of the three above options.

Here are my general thoughts and responses to the advice presented in this thread:

1) I agree with the assertion that accelerated BSN courses are a more expensive route, as they target students who are older and are transitioning into a second career (and thus can generally pay more). These programs are typically completed in 12-18 months, so they are fast-paced, but are expensive.

2) By comparison, the nursing-only portion of an ASN takes 3-4 semesters depending on the particular program, assuming your science pre-req's are completed and aren't too old. Many programs require science pre-req's to be completed within the previous 5 years. You're looking at an extra 6 months to a year for this track versus an ABSN, but with a huge cost savings. You can follow this up with a WGU BSN (or similar) in 12-18 months, but will work and earn as an RN while doing this.

3) LPN-to-RN programs vary widely, but in general I don't think that they shave much time off of the ADN for the amount of work involved in getting the initial LPN. Typically, you save about 1 semester in the RN track, but your LPN takes at least a year. This option, however, gets you into the field of nursing a little faster. The downside is that you're likely going to be making less money while you're an LPN, and will still have to follow this up with an RN-to-BSN (assuming you're not going through an LPN-to-BSN option as with Indiana State University).

So, those are your three basic options. ABSN, ASN->BSN, or LPN->RN->BSN.

My recommendation, assuming pre-req's are done and up to date, would be to get an inexpensive ASN followed up by an inexpensive RN-to-BSN. This gets you into nursing at a reasonable speed and at a reasonable pay level (vs LPN) while allowing you to finish up the BSN.

I started my nursing career as an LPN, and I do not recommend that route (if it can be avoided) for a number of reasons:

1) An LPN diploma program is typically one year straight, 40 hours per week in class/clinical, with only 2-3 weeks total throughout the year for breaks. The time commitment in terms of overall hours is comparable to that of a 2-year ADN program where you're in class/clinical for about 20 hours per week.
2) LPNs in general have fewer employment options. While they are in no way being "phased out" (as you will hear over and over again), their scope of practice is significantly limited compared to the RN and thus their practice setting is limited.
3) By the time you start clinicals in an LPN-to-RN program, you will undoubtedly have developed bad clinical habits/shortcuts that will be difficult to break as you move into RN clinicals. Your RN instructors will have zero patience for your explanation of "this is how I do it at my job".

One thing to note about ASN vs BSN -- while the BSN is the goal for the standard of nursing education, there are plenty of opportunities for ASN-prepared nurses in all practice settings. Competition will vary heavily depending on your geography. If all other factors are equal between two nursing candidates, the BSN-prepared nurse will have an advantage. This is typically not the case and the BSN is not typically the decision point for hire/no hire for an entry level nursing position. If your geographic area has a shortage of nursing jobs, then the BSN will be more important. If your area has a shortage of licensed nurses, then the BSN will be mostly inconsequential versus an ADN. Once you move up in the field, moving toward leadership or education roles, the BSN will definitely be a more important addition to your resume.

I highly recommend cruising on over to allnurses, where you will find more varied opinions, most of which are likely more educated than mine.  Big Grin

dmjacobsen http://donaldjacobsen.com
Author, nurse, and all-around awesome guy
MSN Executive Leadership - The University of Memphis - 2016
MBA Healthcare Management - Western Governors University - 2015
[-] The following 3 users Like dmjacobsen's post:
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#13
(07-10-2018, 10:35 AM)dmjacobsen Wrote: Lots of good advice here. Let me throw in my 2 cents as a nurse, with the caveat that these are just my general opinions as someone in the field and there will be a lot of variation in the job market based on geography.

For a general comparison of various nursing program options, consult the Venn diagram below. 

[Image: COoEcrvWUAAGi5g.png?format=500w]



As with most things, you get to pick two out of the three above options.

Here are my general thoughts and responses to the advice presented in this thread:

1) I agree with the assertion that accelerated BSN courses are a more expensive route, as they target students who are older and are transitioning into a second career (and thus can generally pay more). These programs are typically completed in 12-18 months, so they are fast-paced, but are expensive.

2) By comparison, the nursing-only portion of an ASN takes 3-4 semesters depending on the particular program, assuming your science pre-req's are completed and aren't too old. Many programs require science pre-req's to be completed within the previous 5 years. You're looking at an extra 6 months to a year for this track versus an ABSN, but with a huge cost savings. You can follow this up with a WGU BSN (or similar) in 12-18 months, but will work and earn as an RN while doing this.

3) LPN-to-RN programs vary widely, but in general I don't think that they shave much time off of the ADN for the amount of work involved in getting the initial LPN. Typically, you save about 1 semester in the RN track, but your LPN takes at least a year. This option, however, gets you into the field of nursing a little faster. The downside is that you're likely going to be making less money while you're an LPN, and will still have to follow this up with an RN-to-BSN (assuming you're not going through an LPN-to-BSN option as with Indiana State University).

So, those are your three basic options. ABSN, ASN->BSN, or LPN->RN->BSN.

My recommendation, assuming pre-req's are done and up to date, would be to get an inexpensive ASN followed up by an inexpensive RN-to-BSN. This gets you into nursing at a reasonable speed and at a reasonable pay level (vs LPN) while allowing you to finish up the BSN.

I started my nursing career as an LPN, and I do not recommend that route (if it can be avoided) for a number of reasons:

1) An LPN diploma program is typically one year straight, 40 hours per week in class/clinical, with only 2-3 weeks total throughout the year for breaks. The time commitment in terms of overall hours is comparable to that of a 2-year ADN program where you're in class/clinical for about 20 hours per week.
2) LPNs in general have fewer employment options. While they are in no way being "phased out" (as you will hear over and over again), their scope of practice is significantly limited compared to the RN and thus their practice setting is limited.
3) By the time you start clinicals in an LPN-to-RN program, you will undoubtedly have developed bad clinical habits/shortcuts that will be difficult to break as you move into RN clinicals. Your RN instructors will have zero patience for your explanation of "this is how I do it at my job".

One thing to note about ASN vs BSN -- while the BSN is the goal for the standard of nursing education, there are plenty of opportunities for ASN-prepared nurses in all practice settings. Competition will vary heavily depending on your geography. If all other factors are equal between two nursing candidates, the BSN-prepared nurse will have an advantage. This is typically not the case and the BSN is not typically the decision point for hire/no hire for an entry level nursing position. If your geographic area has a shortage of nursing jobs, then the BSN will be more important. If your area has a shortage of licensed nurses, then the BSN will be mostly inconsequential versus an ADN. Once you move up in the field, moving toward leadership or education roles, the BSN will definitely be a more important addition to your resume.

I highly recommend cruising on over to allnurses, where you will find more varied opinions, most of which are likely more educated than mine.  Big Grin


Wow thank you! I have a very informative book to share with her now from all these great posts
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#14
(07-09-2018, 10:21 AM)clep3705 Wrote: There are thousands of people who post here, only a small percentage of whom are nurses. There are hundreds of thousands of nurses who post at allnurses.com, which is the appropriate place to ask nursing school and nursing career questions.

To initially become an RN, it typically takes 4 semesters as a nursing student at a community college granting an ADN degree or 4 semesters at a university granting the BSN degree. While that appears to make them about equivalent in elapsed time, the BSN has more prerequisites. However, is the end goal is a BSN, which should be the end goal, all of the BSN prerequisites will eventually be required. The number of semester hours in a BSN semester may be more than the number of semester hours in an ADN semester.

What really differentiates one nursing program from another are the clinical experiences. If you have a university nursing school and a community college nursing school in the same area, the university students are going to get the best clinical experiences. The biggest and best hospitals don't hire ADNs, so they aren't keen on using their staff resources training them. There are plenty of large hospitals without a single ADN student to be found anywhere. It's very important to find out about the clinical experiences before starting a nursing program. You want the best clinical experiences possible where you can see the most and do the most under the guidance of the best. Getting a BSN after becoming an ADN RN does not provide additional clinical experiences. You want the best clinical experiences from the beginning because one shot is all you get.

Every large hospital has ADNs on staff, even if they don't hire ADNs. ADNs hired decades ago generally aren't required to upgrade to a BSN, although sometimes that does occur.

Working full-time and becoming an RN are incompatible. There's always the one exception found frolicking with the unicorns, but realistically, nursing school is a full-time job taking 16-18 hours per semester and spending 24 hours per week at the hospital. Go to allnurses.com and get a reality check on working while in nursing school.

If the only two options are an expensive, private university for a BSN and a local community college for the ADN, get the ADN and later a BSN. Minimize your debt but look at the bigger picture. If you can chose between a local ADN program and a somewhat more expensive state university for the BSN, get the BSN.

Use this forum for help in completing some of the prerequisites for nursing school. Use allnurses.com for nursing school questions. Get the wisdom of the informed crowd, not the scattered opinions of the small few who may not have even attended nursing school.

I just left allnurses.com after spending hours there trying to get an answer to this question and the only thing you will find there is a bunch of snooty BSN and higher nurses complaining that you are trying to take the easy way out. Instead of the threads containing any actual information, they contain mostly negative opinions of people telling you that you are lazy.The mindset over there is completely different than the mindset over here. And the same programs come up all the time without any actual answers to the questions regarding degree requirements. I wish this forum could expound better on nursing portion. I'm still looking.

You advice to get the BSN before the ADN is not what I would recommend. What if you can't finish the BSN, than you have nothing. We are adults, and life happens. Straight BSN programs are for people who live with their parents and do not have work, spouses or children.

Almost every hospital now wants ADNs to become BSNs or they wont hire you or they will force you out. So just know that you will eventually need that BSN.

(07-10-2018, 10:35 AM)dmjacobsen Wrote: Lots of good advice here. Let me throw in my 2 cents as a nurse, with the caveat that these are just my general opinions as someone in the field and there will be a lot of variation in the job market based on geography.

For a general comparison of various nursing program options, consult the Venn diagram below. 

[Image: COoEcrvWUAAGi5g.png?format=500w]



As with most things, you get to pick two out of the three above options.

Here are my general thoughts and responses to the advice presented in this thread:

1) I agree with the assertion that accelerated BSN courses are a more expensive route, as they target students who are older and are transitioning into a second career (and thus can generally pay more). These programs are typically completed in 12-18 months, so they are fast-paced, but are expensive.

2) By comparison, the nursing-only portion of an ASN takes 3-4 semesters depending on the particular program, assuming your science pre-req's are completed and aren't too old. Many programs require science pre-req's to be completed within the previous 5 years. You're looking at an extra 6 months to a year for this track versus an ABSN, but with a huge cost savings. You can follow this up with a WGU BSN (or similar) in 12-18 months, but will work and earn as an RN while doing this.

3) LPN-to-RN programs vary widely, but in general I don't think that they shave much time off of the ADN for the amount of work involved in getting the initial LPN. Typically, you save about 1 semester in the RN track, but your LPN takes at least a year. This option, however, gets you into the field of nursing a little faster. The downside is that you're likely going to be making less money while you're an LPN, and will still have to follow this up with an RN-to-BSN (assuming you're not going through an LPN-to-BSN option as with Indiana State University).

So, those are your three basic options. ABSN, ASN->BSN, or LPN->RN->BSN.

My recommendation, assuming pre-req's are done and up to date, would be to get an inexpensive ASN followed up by an inexpensive RN-to-BSN. This gets you into nursing at a reasonable speed and at a reasonable pay level (vs LPN) while allowing you to finish up the BSN.

I started my nursing career as an LPN, and I do not recommend that route (if it can be avoided) for a number of reasons:

1) An LPN diploma program is typically one year straight, 40 hours per week in class/clinical, with only 2-3 weeks total throughout the year for breaks. The time commitment in terms of overall hours is comparable to that of a 2-year ADN program where you're in class/clinical for about 20 hours per week.
2) LPNs in general have fewer employment options. While they are in no way being "phased out" (as you will hear over and over again), their scope of practice is significantly limited compared to the RN and thus their practice setting is limited.
3) By the time you start clinicals in an LPN-to-RN program, you will undoubtedly have developed bad clinical habits/shortcuts that will be difficult to break as you move into RN clinicals. Your RN instructors will have zero patience for your explanation of "this is how I do it at my job".

One thing to note about ASN vs BSN -- while the BSN is the goal for the standard of nursing education, there are plenty of opportunities for ASN-prepared nurses in all practice settings. Competition will vary heavily depending on your geography. If all other factors are equal between two nursing candidates, the BSN-prepared nurse will have an advantage. This is typically not the case and the BSN is not typically the decision point for hire/no hire for an entry level nursing position. If your geographic area has a shortage of nursing jobs, then the BSN will be more important. If your area has a shortage of licensed nurses, then the BSN will be mostly inconsequential versus an ADN. Once you move up in the field, moving toward leadership or education roles, the BSN will definitely be a more important addition to your resume.

I highly recommend cruising on over to allnurses, where you will find more varied opinions, most of which are likely more educated than mine.  Big Grin
Your opinion actually was quite helpful and informative instead of filled with opinionated vitriol that you will find over at allnurses.com. No judgement, just facts.
WGU MBA-Healthcare Management 9/2021
Started 6/2/2021. Finished 8/30/21

WGU MSN-Nursing Informatics 1/2021
Started 8/14/20. Finished 12/28/2020

WGU RN-BSN 8/2020
Started 6/1/20  Finished 7/24/2020
Transferred in Sophia Stats, ICC American Government, SDC Interpersonal Communications, AAS Nursing

Credits Taken
SDC - Interpersonal Communications, Presentation Skills in the Workplace, Intro to Operating Systems, Intro to Programming, Systems Analysis & Design, Database Management - (100% modules, Incomplete Projects)
ICC - American Government
SL - Personal Finance 
TECEP - Medical Terminology
The Institutes - Ethics and the CPCU Code of Professional Conduct 
TEEX - Cyber Ethics, Cyber Law/White Collar Crime
Sophia - Developing Effective Teams, The Essentials of Managing Conflict, Intro to IT, Intro to Statistics, Visual Communications, Human Biology, Project Management
CSM Learn- The CSM Course
DSST - Drugs and Society 436, Here's To Your Health 450, Computing and IT 461
AAS Nursing
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#15
I'm not surprised that you didn't find Allnurses.com to be very helpful. The Student Doctor forum is the same way. They don't know much about distance education, and threads about online programs often devolve into bashing distance learning and community colleges.

AllNurses, though, seems less averse to online courses. The Student Doctor forum is filled with misinformation and misconceptions. When I researched Allnurses, it wasn't at all helpful to someone like me. Since I work full-time and have an inflexible work schedule, I would probably only be able to do the online paramedic to Excelsior RN route. Finding a cheap RN to BSN program is not hard. WGU and UT Arlington are just two of the cheaper programs. For those in Texas, Texas A&M Corpus Christi is another option.
Graduate of Not VUL or ENEB
MS, MSS and Graduate Cert
AAS, AS, BA, and BS
CLEP
Intro Psych 70, US His I 64, Intro Soc 63, Intro Edu Psych 70, A&I Lit 64, Bio 68, Prin Man 69, Prin Mar 68
DSST
Life Dev Psych 62, Fund Coun 68, Intro Comp 469, Intro Astr 56, Env & Hum 70, HTYH 456, MIS 451, Prin Sup 453, HRM 62, Bus Eth 458
ALEKS
Int Alg, Coll Alg
TEEX
4 credits
TECEP
Fed Inc Tax, Sci of Nutr, Micro, Strat Man, Med Term, Pub Relations
CSU
Sys Analysis & Design, Programming, Cyber
SL
Intro to Comm, Microbio, Acc I
Uexcel
A&P
Davar
Macro, Intro to Fin, Man Acc
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