BA in Psychology to Nursing (Clueless and Curious)

[failureisnotfatal]

Hi. So I am currently an undergraduate majoring in psychology. I will graduate with a BA in psychology in 2015. Now, I'm not exactly sure what I want to do after I graduate as far as graduate school. I am looking at a couple of different areas. Anyway, I have a lot of interest in health care and things of that nature, so I have been considering nursing as one of my possible options, but I have no idea how to go about it, so I am curious if you guys could provide me some insight into the process.

(1) How would a person with a BA in psychology go about becoming a nurse? Would I need to go and get an associate degree in nursing? Are there master's degree programs that you can go to if you have a BA in something else and become a nurse from there? How does it work?

(2) I have read a little bit about nurse anesthetists. I think this sort of work might be interesting for me because I do have a lot of interest in pharmacology. How does one go about becoming a nurse anesthetist?

(3) I guess my most basic question is, with a BA in psychology(or any subject other than nursing) would a person basically have to 'start over' to become a nurse(i.e. go back and get an associates degree or a bachelor's degree in nursing) or is there some sort of accelerated option or something?

I am just curious as to how all of this works.

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[AnnoyedByFreud]

www.allnurses.com

This is not a good website for learning about careers in nursing or educational paths. You could do an ADN in nursing, an accelerated BSN, or a masters entry clinical nurse leader program. All would lead you to an RN license and have their respective pros and cons. I suggest you peruse allnurses to learn more about CRNA, nursing programs, etc. I have a BS in psych and after going back to a CC for my nursing prereqs, I got my RN license in 12 months.

 

[sarjasy]

Hi. So I am currently an undergraduate majoring in psychology. I will graduate with a BA in psychology in 2015. Now, I'm not exactly sure what I want to do after I graduate as far as graduate school. I am looking at a couple of different areas. Anyway, I have a lot of interest in health care and things of that nature, so I have been considering nursing as one of my possible options, but I have no idea how to go about it, so I am curious if you guys could provide me some insight into the process.

(1) How would a person with a BA in psychology go about becoming a nurse? Would I need to go and get an associate degree in nursing? Are there master's degree programs that you can go to if you have a BA in something else and become a nurse from there? How does it work?

(2) I have read a little bit about nurse anesthetists. I think this sort of work might be interesting for me because I do have a lot of interest in pharmacology. How does one go about becoming a nurse anesthetist?

(3) I guess my most basic question is, with a BA in psychology(or any subject other than nursing) would a person basically have to 'start over' to become a nurse(i.e. go back and get an associates degree or a bachelor's degree in nursing) or is there some sort of accelerated option or something?

I am just curious as to how all of this works.

ABF is right in that there are only a few nurses here. I'm not a fan of allnurses.com at all (very low average IQ there), but there are tons of posters -- your mileage may vary. To summarize your options:

-You would have to "start over" but only sort of. Go accelerated Bachelor of Science (recommended) or Associate of Science in nursing if you can. Programs range from 12-18 months and both will give you the ability to sit for the NCLEX to get your RN. Accelerated programs require a previous BS/BA typically, but you have that. With your previous BA/BS, you can get a BSN in 12-18 months full-time and you will be eligible to sit for the NCLEX exam to get your RN license.

-Once you get your RN license, you can apply to graduate programs (Master's or doctoral). All programs require a bachelors (which you have) + RN, however, many require a bachelors in nursing specifically.

-RN experience requirements vary among graduate programs, and in the field of nursing, there are a ton of options. If you want clinical nursing, there is nurse practitioner (with several options), nurse midwifery, clinical nurse specialist (with several options), and nurse anesthetist (CRNA). Experience requirements as an RN in each area varies from none to 2+ years in critical care/intensive care (e.g. CRNA) and varies from one specialty to another and one school to another.

-Pharmacology/pharmacotherapeutics is part of all graduate clinical nursing training, regardless of specialty.

-Some graduate nursing specialties are highly competitive, such as CRNA. Some CRNA school's admissions rates are less than 20% of applicants. Other specialties aren't as competitive, but still are quite competitive depending on the school. CRNA is the most competitive, probably followed by Family NP. Most other specialties are easier to get in to on average, but again, it depends on the school you are applying to.

-If you are interested in psych as a Nurse Practitioner, there is huge demand in many areas (AnnoyedByFreud can be more helpful on this) and you can write your own ticket.

FWIW, I am an MICU/SICU/CCU RN in an FNP program.

 

[AnnoyedByFreud]

Great post, sarjasy. I agree that allnurses is awful. However, there are definitely answers to all the OP's questions on that site. Just try and ignore all the stupid, OP!

 

[failureisnotfatal]

ABF is right in that there are only a few nurses here. I'm not a fan of allnurses.com at all (very low average IQ there), but there are tons of posters -- your mileage may vary. To summarize your options:

-You would have to "start over" but only sort of. Go accelerated Bachelor of Science (recommended) or Associate of Science in nursing if you can. Programs range from 12-18 months and both will give you the ability to sit for the NCLEX to get your RN. Accelerated programs require a previous BS/BA typically, but you have that. With your previous BA/BS, you can get a BSN in 12-18 months full-time and you will be eligible to sit for the NCLEX exam to get your RN license.

-Once you get your RN license, you can apply to graduate programs (Master's or doctoral). All programs require a bachelors (which you have) + RN, however, many require a bachelors in nursing specifically.

-RN experience requirements vary among graduate programs, and in the field of nursing, there are a ton of options. If you want clinical nursing, there is nurse practitioner (with several options), nurse midwifery, clinical nurse specialist (with several options), and nurse anesthetist (CRNA). Experience requirements as an RN in each area varies from none to 2+ years in critical care/intensive care (e.g. CRNA) and varies from one specialty to another and one school to another.

-Pharmacology/pharmacotherapeutics is part of all graduate clinical nursing training, regardless of specialty.

-Some graduate nursing specialties are highly competitive, such as CRNA. Some CRNA school's admissions rates are less than 20% of applicants. Other specialties aren't as competitive, but still are quite competitive depending on the school. CRNA is the most competitive, probably followed by Family NP. Most other specialties are easier to get in to on average, but again, it depends on the school you are applying to.

-If you are interested in psych as a Nurse Practitioner, there is huge demand in many areas (AnnoyedByFreud can be more helpful on this) and you can write your own ticket.

FWIW, I am an MICU/SICU/CCU RN in an FNP program.

Thank you so much for your reply. That cleared things up a lot for me about how the process works.