Calling all nurses...2 year school or 4 year????

[D L and K's Mom]

Help. My DD is a senior. She has been debating going to school for Pharmacy or Nursing. After completing and Explorers program in both she has really decided Nursing is what she wants to do. She likes working with the people and she liked that fact she would study Psy and would not be taking ALL science and math classes. She is an honors student and has taken AP classes. She applied to 7 different schools and has already heard back from 4. The first is a private college that has a great Pharmacy program and has a good Science dept. Their nursing program is new. It is a beautiful school and it was her first choice. It is also $$$. Second school is a State School with a very well known nursing program. Very nice campus, nice school. Third is a Community College with a very good nursing program. Even though it is a Comm college she can live there. Last school was her back up. It is a beautiful private school. Good nursing program but it is 10 minutes from our house. She wants to live away. She is still waiting for 3 others. We have been getting so many different types of advice as to what she should do. Many are telling her to go to the Comm College and get a 2 year degree, get a job in a hosp and they will pay for the rest of school. This was the advice that the Nursing recruiter at the Hosp told her. They are afflitated with a big University and she told her to got to Comm College get her 2 year degree and then get a job with them and they will pay for her to go to school at big U. I am pushing for the State U which has a great reputation for nursing. DH says go with her first choice because it is a really good school? HELP anyone???? What did all you nurses do?

 

[npmommie]

I say go for the 4 year degree, she is young, she can do it now and get it over with, its not like she HAS to work in 2 years right?
tell her be a kid while she can, the work life will be there for LONG time. LOL
also in case she wants to go to Graduate school for nursing or something else she will have her BSN.
i say the 4 year degree, either at her first choice or the state school with the good rep.

 

[jaminmd]

Community college first will be better for her financially. In our profession, it really doesn't matter what school you graduated from as long as it is NLN or CCNE accredited. However, new nurses are usually overwhelmed because nursing school is nothing like "real" nursing. She may find it difficult trying to complete her BSN while working full time in order to get that tuition reimbursement. She really will want that BSN, too, in case she wants to move beyond staff nursing in the future.

Some hospitals have great tuition reimbursement, others don't. When I worked at U of M, tuition was free. I'm not sure how it works now. My current hospital has terrible tuition reimbursement.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[mermaidlady]

Have her get the 4 yr degree. My DD is in a state school getting her nursing degree and I wouldn't have it any other way. I got my ADN and never went back. Now after 20 yrs I am finally back to get my BSN. So many more doors open to a BSN. I feel that being young and having no commitments go for the BSN. Let the hospital pay for the MSN

 

[Jeninindy]

For Nursing, I would definitely at her age go for the BSN vs her Associates. These days it will benefit her in the long run.

There are many new grads in many areas that are having great difficulty finding positions due to hiring freezes. On a nursing boards I frequent, lots of graduates from last May are still looking. The sad state of economics has hurt the health care field as well. Tuition reimbursement at many hospitals are not the greatest and are not guaranteed benefits for the future. I know our very large hospital system pays a whopping $1500 per YEAR to help us complete our degrees.

Pharmacy is a great option as well, the higher possibility of better hours and in the long run, a higher paying career without the overtime nurses normally work. (me me me).

Does the explorer program including shadowing a nurse and pharmacist to see what their jobs really involved in the real world? If not I highly recommend the experience before she makes a final career decision.....

As for the way I entered nursing - it was a single mom with a 2 year old, so I took the Associates route. Love my job (most days)...

 

[scottishduffy]

Go for the BSN up front. That way she will have greater opportunities available to her in the profession as far as advancement.

If she ever wants to be a Master's level nurse it is much easier to get the 4 yr degree early on. Why get a 2 yr degree and then have to combine work & school at the same time (stressful) if you don't have to and can just get the BSN from the start? If finances are tight then the AA degree is a great option, but if she is able to do 4 yrs now just get it done with.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

For starters, does she plan on getting a Master's? Then you would do 4yr hands down.

Can you afford a 4yr program?

If however money is tight or you have a economic cloud, I would go with what the recruiter said. However then she has to get a job there and then get accepted to get the perks. So a bit of a gamble there.
It is not a sure thing even though they are painting it that way.

The thing about the first college is that if she changes her mind she can switch to Pharmacy.

Good Luck to your DD! Mine is going to a state college an hour away in the Fall.

 

[Cool-Beans]

If you have the time and money, you may as well get the BSN.

It isn't what I did. I did the Community College thing, but I had my reasons for that. And I went back and did an RN to BSN thing.

There is nothing wrong with doing the 2-year first, but if I were young and had the time/momey, I'd do it all at once. You have more time to learn all the crap you need to know, it is more of a collegiate environment and you aren't taking pre-reqs with people who are abysmally stupid. And you come out with the BSN, which opens more doors.

I hear about areas that hire only BSNs, but that isn't how it is around here. And if there is any difference in pay, it's less than $1000/yr (gross.) There are things you can't do with a Diploma or AD that you can do with the BSN, though.

Best of luck to her!!

 

[Frankiesmom]

In agreement with the all of the above; but- if she goes for her AS, anywhere she goes to work will pay for her to get her BSN.

 

[TeresaNJ]

My vote it to get the four year degree now while she is young and doesn't have many responsibilities. The longer you put it off the harder it is to go back and get the BSN. If she wants to have any chance at someday being a manager, a rep for medical device or pharm company, etc, she will need that four year degree.

 

[My2Cinderellas]

I'm not a nurse, but my vote is for the 4 year state school - or any of the 4 year BSN programs. Not because of the value of the degree or future schooling potential, although those are important considerations.

I voted 4 year school because the experiences outside of nursing school will be just as important! I am not a fan of living at or near home and going to community college unless that is the only way to continue your education. I feel that moving away from home and living on your own is so crucial at that age. If she needs a part time job in school, I had friends in nursing school that worked as CNA's in a nursing home or a nursing assistant in the teaching hospital. It was direct hands on patient care and experience beyond what the practicums provided.

 

[daisax]

I agree -- so long as it's economically viable, get the BSN now. Then she will be ready to seize any opportunities that come her way, rather than miss out on something that she would have been perfect for because she still needed a couple of credits. Nursing's hard physical work and while millions of nurses do the night school thing, it's easier to just plow through all at once if finances permit.

There are all sorts of exciting subspecialties of nursing, and if she has her BSN, then once she's in the workforce she may be able to get reimbursement towards certification in a specialty.

 

[yeartolate]

I would start off with the BSN if it is realistically feasible.

If for some reason the 2 year is the only realistic option, don't fret. There is plenty of time to catch up. But clearly to start with the 4 year is the way to go.

How is the job market out there for nurses? My position has never ever been limiited because of Associates Degree. My salary bump is due to my CCRN, BSN salary bumps are not offered at my facility.

But, in some facilities BSN is required and in some geographical areas, if you don't have a BSN, you will likely work in a SNF.

I would encourage your daughter to look at the reasonable employment options if she goes for the 2 year program.

But if finances are a major concern...getting her license so she can work and contribute to her own education is done all the time.

 

[Darcy03231]

DD is currently a junior and looking into nursing. One thing we've considered is for her to do her first two years at a local community college and then transfer to the State University to finish the remaining two years. The community college has an excellent LPN program and the tuition, fees, books, etc. run about $6k a year. The University is about $20k a year. This way she'll be able to get through her first two years without any loans and, hopefully, minimal loans for the 2nd two years.

 

[yeartolate]

DD is currently a junior and looking into nursing. One thing we've considered is for her to do her first two years at a local community college and then transfer to the State University to finish the remaining two years. The community college has an excellent LPN program and the tuition, fees, books, etc. run about $6k a year. The University is about $20k a year. This way she'll be able to get through her first two years without any loans and, hopefully, minimal loans for the 2nd two years.

I would really make sure that the transition between the two schools will be as easy as you make it sound.

I am afraid you might find that a two year LPN program will lack alot of the University non clinical classes she will need to graduate. You may find that it will take her clsoer to three years at the University to get the other requirements out of the way.

I work with many LVN's and the transition programs have been problematic and costly. But that may be a regional issue that you may not encounter.

 

[Sandy V.]

I would go to the State University for many of the reasons others have mentioned, but also for one people HAVEN'T said - what if she changes her mind about going into either Nursing or Pharmacy?!?!?

Happens all the time. Kids think that they want to enter a certain profession or program, then when they get to school, they discover that it's not their true passion. At least being at a State University, there are lots of other options and majors that she could could easily pursue instead.

Good luck to your DD. She sounds like a very bright young lady.

 

[momrek06]

My DSis is a Nurse. Out of h.s. ('70's) she did the hospital nursing diploma and received her RN. Her first job was at a prestigious hospital in Boston, MA. She loved it. BUT all those with the RN BSN were getting promoted and to the floors they wanted.

She told M&D she needs a BSN.

She went back to school. Upstate NY, SUNY/Syracuse had a program if you had a RN diploma you could enroll in this grueling 3 year program, 12 months, and at the end you received a BSN and MASTERS!!! She did that. Graduated with honors.

FF to today she is a Case Management Nurse at this presitigious Boston hospital making amazing money and loves it DAILY. She works 5 days a week and very rarely on the weekends....I think one every 8 weeks.

Bottomline...go for the 4 year degree for sure and if possible have her also get her MASTERS.

 

[Disney Doll]

back in my day (graduated in 1983) I did a diploa program (equivalent to an AD program today) and then went on to finish my BSN. Worked OK for me because my diploma program gave me a lot of hands on clinical experience, which is how I learn best.

That being said, these days, I'd get the BSN right out of the gate, then get a job at a hospital and let them pay for my Master's which she should also get pretty much immediately after getting her undergraduate degree. BSN is going to be entry level in Nursing. AD grads are going to have a hard time soon, and LPNs will be essnetially non-existent except in lower level care areas like nusring homes or MD offices. There will be no LPNs in acute care hospitals because the acuity level is so high now and an LPN's training just isn't adequate for it. There are just limitations of the LPN's license.

I lived home through nursing school, stayed home during my firsy years of work. Had very little responsibility...worked and went to school...no real bills to pay other than a car loan and a credit card. Life was pretty easy, which made it pretty easy for me to do both school and work. I'm actually kind of sorry that I didn't continue for my Master's degree after I finished my BSN, when I was still young, at home, with little responsibility and fewer bills. It would have made my life now much easier.

 

[DawnCt1]

DD is currently a junior and looking into nursing. One thing we've considered is for her to do her first two years at a local community college and then transfer to the State University to finish the remaining two years. The community college has an excellent LPN program and the tuition, fees, books, etc. run about $6k a year. The University is about $20k a year. This way she'll be able to get through her first two years without any loans and, hopefully, minimal loans for the 2nd two years.

I don't know how things are in your state, but in Ct. LPN's are not worth the time nor effort. I have a very good friend who has been an LPN for years. She has worked Med/Surg, ICU, CCU, nursing homes, and lastly spent the 5 years or so working in a free standing dialysis unit. She was recently laid off. The trend is, RNs of any educational background AD or BSN or CNA's. They don't want to pay the LPN pay when they can train a CNA to be a technician. She can't get a job anywhere at this point, despite her excellent references and years of experience. LPNs will be a "thing of the past" in the not too distant future.

 

[Goofycampers]

Definitely get the BSN. Some jobs require it, I got mine in 1984 and have been so glad I did.