second degree nursing student

[thoughtsmeander]

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Hey

Im a junior in college, who recently began to consider nursing. I have already completed 51/2 semesters as a liberal arts major, and i am planning to graduate may 2005. I am considering getting my second degree (BS in nursing) at a public college near my home. This way, i won't have to worry about changing majors, or paying the extra tuition for the university i am enrolled in now.

If i take whatever prerequisite courses i can over the summer and the following two semesters, i will probably have 5 semesters to go for my nursing degree after i graduate. Is there any easier way to do this? My parents want me to finish my degree at the school i'm in now...but i wont be able to take nursing courses there unless i am enrolled in the school. Are there any accelerated programs for nursing?

I dont have the resources to go to school far away from where i live (Connecticut) and i will be paying for school myself. Is it wise for me to finish my B.A. in psychology and THEN enroll for a second degree in nursing? Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

thanks,
Ari.

 

[Quicksilver]

Hi,

To answer your question, yes there are accelerated BSN programs, but I think you already need to have a bachelor's degree. The program is very intensive and you can finish in a year. The downside is you can't work while in the program, no time. Since you are a junior you might want to just finish your current degree and apply to an accelrated program. Going the other route will probably take longer. It's all in what you can commit in time and how quick you want to get done.....Hope this helps

 

[Salamandrina]

No matter how many classes you take during your current undergraduate work I think you are still expected to do two semesters of work, so don't take more than the prerequisites for entering an accelerated BSN program requires.

In most cases, I think the things that are required are:

Human Anatomy and Physiology
Statistics


Good luck, I'm doing the same thing!

 

[thoughtsmeander]

thanks for your advice!

which program(s) are you applying to?
let me know how things are going for you!

 

[tastytreat]

My best advice: Finish your degree, you're so close it would be unwise to drop out now. As stated previously, accelerated BSN programs can be finished in about 18 months +/- and if you don't mind the extra work, take whatever pre-requisites you haven't done yet during summer semesters (or in addition to your current curriculum if you're feeling masochistic).

I was, more or less, in the same type of situation you find yourself in. I graduated from a lib arts college and was working for about a year and a half before I decided to go back to school. Originally my plan was to go into either anesthetics (CRNA) or Nurse practicioning. Either way, it meant that I needed another bachelors on top of the two I had already.

Now, I don't know how much this helps you because your degree is in Psych (I don't entirely know what the requisite classes are for the major) but in my situation, because I was a major in Biology and Environmental Science, I had a lot of science classes under my belt. When considering this situation, it occurred to me that I wasn't too far off from having all my pre-med reqs done.

In any case, I went back to school and started doing both. I entered the BS in Nursing program as well as finishing up what was left to be pre-med. In retrospect, probably not the funnest time in my life, if you enjoy any type of a social life...or sleep. Because I honestly didin't know what my chances were like to get into med school, I didn't want to stop taking the nursing classes until/if I got in and I chose to become a physician. Things worked out for me much better than I expected because I was accepted to med school this past December for the fall of 2004, so I was able to drop all the superfluous nursing courses I was taking.

I think unless you're absolutely sure you want to go into nursing, which is an excellent profession in of itself, at least consider doing what I did. A couple of extra semesters of science classes with your psych degree and you can apply to med school. Unless you go for the accelerated BSN program, the nursing degree is 3 years (4 if you count the pre-req year). That's roughly the length of time an MD or DO degree would take.

Take a look at all your options and see what's out there. After that make sure you pick what you'll be happy with. It's a lifelong career you're dealing with so don't settle on anything on account of time or money.

 

[fab4fan]

If you really want to be a nurse, then when you start looking for nursing programs, make darned sure you find one with a strong clinical component.

I would think long and hard about the nursing profession; I feel I can say that since I have been one for almost 20y. I'm not saying don't be a nurse, just do your homework. It is a tough profession, and most of the rewards are intrinsic.

 

[nathansackett@e]

i was in your shoes. i finished a liberal arts degree, although i wanted to be in the healthcare field, but found this out late in my education. so i finished and applied to a masters entry field. there are alot of them. they are 3-4 year programs. the first year you become an RN, work your ass off, take the boards. then you take 2-3 years and do the NP or CNS route. many schools now offer this route as many nurses are coming into the profession later. UCSF, Yale, Johns Hopkins, SF State, and many other schools do this now. it is expensive, but often worth it as NPs in california are well compensated. I am just finishing my first year in this kind of program at UCSF.

Let me know if i can answer any other questions.

Nathan

 

[USIMGgrad]

Hi,

I think it is wise to finish your bachelors and then apply for the accelerated BSN nursing program. I don't know about other programs but UMDNJ gives out scholarships to its students if you can maintain a B average and work at UMDNJ for 2 ot 3 years after you graduate.

Hope this helps.

Hey

Im a junior in college, who recently began to consider nursing. I have already completed 51/2 semesters as a liberal arts major, and i am planning to graduate may 2005. I am considering getting my second degree (BS in nursing) at a public college near my home. This way, i won't have to worry about changing majors, or paying the extra tuition for the university i am enrolled in now.

If i take whatever prerequisite courses i can over the summer and the following two semesters, i will probably have 5 semesters to go for my nursing degree after i graduate. Is there any easier way to do this? My parents want me to finish my degree at the school i'm in now...but i wont be able to take nursing courses there unless i am enrolled in the school. Are there any accelerated programs for nursing?

I dont have the resources to go to school far away from where i live (Connecticut) and i will be paying for school myself. Is it wise for me to finish my B.A. in psychology and THEN enroll for a second degree in nursing? Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

thanks,
Ari.

 

[bennyhanna]

there are accelerated programs for current bachelors degree holders... However, you still must meet the specific nursing program's requirements (so you should be looking). As you are already quite far into your current degree, it would be wise to finish, BUT, if you have the time and energy, you could start on the pre-reqs for the RN program there.

Some of your credits will transfer, English I, sociology, college algebra... and other 'basic' all around courses. However, most nursing programs at the BSN level also require Anatomy, physiology, introductory or general chemistry (some), pathophysiology, pharmacology, psychology, biology, pathogenic microbiology, as some basic pre-reqs (note, these differ per nursing school... i.e. some Universities only require that BSN nurses have problem solving math 1000, below college algebra level math ability, and some do not require chemistries and/or other classes).

good luck!

BB