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

[Just Jan]

I agree with others. She is young go for the BSN now.

 

[Cindy F]

It depends on the circumstances.

Here's the track my daughter chose and why:

1) 1 year LPN first, so she can work 1 to 2 shifts a week or a couple home health visits during the week and make a good amount of spending money plus have "hands on experience".
2) 1 year LPN to RN (ADN) program while working occasional LPN shifts or home health visits.
3) Bridge Progam ADN to MSN

Another family member's track
1) 1 Year LPN program
2) 1 year LPN to RN fast track
3) Will begin bridge program in the fall ADN to MSN

My track
1) BSN
2) MSN
3) Working on doctorate

Guess who's track has $120K of student loans attached to it? If I had known everything that I know about nursing now-back then- I would have done the same thing as I recommend now and what others have done LPN-ADN-Bridge BSN/MSN

We had many 19-21 year old LPNs who did PRN Home Health visits-maybe 10 visits a week? Usually in 1 or 2 days whatever hours they/the patients chose to do the visits, while they were in the RN program. LPN visits were $ 22 a visit a year or two ago. An LPN 12 Hour shift in a hospital can make somewhere around $180-the same they would make working 25 hours a week at minimum wage-plus they gain experience.

Same holds true (except more so) with ADN program, the largest hospital in our city offers full benefits for RNs who work 16 hours a week. There are many that just work every other Fri, Sat, Sun, Mon then are off for 2 weeks. New grads start around $22 an hour so that's around $350 a week-they'd have to work 48 hours at a $7.25 minimum wage job to earn that-and they would earn no experience and likely have no insurance.

I will admit, most other hospitals require 24 hours before they start offering vacation/sick time, insurance etc.

Most places also have Baylor plans work 12 hours shifts every Friday and Saturday and get paid for a 40 hour week-some with benefits, some without.

I think it all depends on what is important to your daughter and feasible for your family. I wanted my daughter to live on campus do the whole 4 year college "experience", not work, join my sorority etc etc but.... that's not how she wants to do it so I bite my tongue (hard to do LOL) and support her.

Good luck to you and your daughter, she has an exciting life ahead of her!

 

[Cool-Beans]

I want to add that when I did the RN to BSN thing, the amount of money the hospital paid me back (I had to pay for it up front) depended on the grade I got. They paid more for As than Bs, etc.

I know it works differently from place to place, but that's how mine worked. I'm lucky enough to have school as one of my few talents (I kick scholastic ***), but if you're really pressed for money and a C student, you might want to mull that over before signing on somewhere.

 

[npmommie]

It depends on the circumstances.

Here's the track my daughter chose and why:

1) 1 year LPN first, so she can work 1 to 2 shifts a week or a couple home health visits during the week and make a good amount of spending money plus have "hands on experience".
2) 1 year LPN to RN (ADN) program while working occasional LPN shifts or home health visits.
3) Bridge Progam ADN to MSN

Another family member's track
1) 1 Year LPN program
2) 1 year LPN to RN fast track
3) Will begin bridge program in the fall ADN to MSN

My track
1) BSN
2) MSN
3) Working on doctorate

Guess who's track has $120K of student loans attached to it? If I had known everything that I know about nursing now-back then- I would have done the same thing as I recommend now and what others have done LPN-ADN-Bridge BSN/MSN

I also went BSN MSN and am thinking about working on doctorate since NP practice is headed in that direction............
no student loans here but.............my hubby's job paid my tuition for grad school.
there are ways around high student loans even if she goes for the BSN right away, there are scholarships, grants etc
i still say the 4 yrs at the state univ for the bsn is the way to go

 

[Cindy F]

......there are ways around high student loans even if she goes for the BSN right away, there are scholarships, grants etc
i still say the 4 yrs at the state univ for the bsn is the way to go

Yes, there are....but when you are young, bullheaded, and refuse to allow anyone to help you pay for your education because you want to "do it on your own" (like student loans are on your own -eye roll-) then you end up with big bills!

Most corporate offices pay off large amounts of student loans as part of administrative recruitment packages (thank God). What's left-when the kids are grown and gone, I'll accept cancellation for practice hours.

 

[ReneeA]

I will be done with a RN ADN program in Dec. It took 3 years total - 1 year for prereqs, 2 years full time of nursing classes. The reason I decided on that program was because it's got a really great reputation at the local hospitals (our students are chosen first - over BSN RN's for the premium positions - right out of school). That and the fact that it will have cost only $7,500 for the entire program including books, scrubs and equipment.

I have been fortunate enough to qualify for $10,000 a year in scholarships, so after I've paid tuition, I get almost $8,000 a year back cash. It's like a part time job for me.

Since I already have tons of old University credits from the first couple years I was out of high school, it shouldn't take me long to go from ADN to BSN. I hope to get a RN job in the hospital I work in now since they have a good tuition reimbursement program.

If I were really young, I would go for my BSN (if I could afford it). Since I'm not this ADN program has been really great for me. It also helps that the older, more esablished students seem to have an easier time with the clinical portion and human interaction part. I've noticed that the really young (just out of high school students) in my class are struggling with application than the older ones in our group.

 

[kinntj]

I agree 100% with this.

She's young and this is the time to do the 4 year program. I'm not a nurse, but one of my mom best friends was (she's retired now). She had her 4 year and worked in a hospital with the babies and was a lactation specialist. When she was in her 40's, she wanted to become part of administration, so she went back for her masters at a private university. She was so happy that the first 4 years was done with at a time when she had no other responsibilities.

She went to her Masters program when her sons were grown up, so she was able to focus on that. Being an administrator is not what every nurse wants to do, but it was her goal for that stage in her life and she was happy up until the time she retired.

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.

 

[Disney Doll]

Being an adminiistartor is not what every nurse wants to dow hen they are first a nurse, but believe me, as you get a little older and the patients get sicker and heavier and harder to lift and move, an administrative...or maybe non-clinical would be a better way to say it...job starts to look pretty good.

That's the point I am at now. I have been a medical nurse for 25 years. I'm almost 47. The patients are sicker, heavier weight-wise than they used to be (for anyone who doesn't believe that we as a society are getting more obese...believe me, we are!), patients also have expectations of hospitals and hospital care that are somewhat unrealistic and therefore they are more difficult to deal with, you are still working shifts...thge list goes on. I'm tired. I have been dabbling in electronic medical records (my hospital is computerizinf everything slowly but surely), I am helping write and edit the nursing newsletter, and getting involved in our Magnet application process...trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I'd recommend she go for the BSN, too.

 

[DawnCt1]

I will be done with a RN ADN program in Dec. It took 3 years total - 1 year for prereqs, 2 years full time of nursing classes. The reason I decided on that program was because it's got a really great reputation at the local hospitals (our students are chosen first - over BSN RN's for the premium positions - right out of school). That and the fact that it will have cost only $7,500 for the entire program including books, scrubs and equipment.

I have been fortunate enough to qualify for $10,000 a year in scholarships, so after I've paid tuition, I get almost $8,000 a year back cash. It's like a part time job for me.

Since I already have tons of old University credits from the first couple years I was out of high school, it shouldn't take me long to go from ADN to BSN. I hope to get a RN job in the hospital I work in now since they have a good tuition reimbursement program.

If I were really young, I would go for my BSN (if I could afford it). Since I'm not this ADN program has been really great for me. It also helps that the older, more esablished students seem to have an easier time with the clinical portion and human interaction part. I've noticed that the really young (just out of high school students) in my class are struggling with application than the older ones in our group.

Wow, I have to say, you hit the jackpot! One of the problems with the BSN program, particularly in private universities, is the debt burden after graduation. MY SIL is paying $30K per year and my niece isn't guaranteed to be in the nursing program, (most schools don't guarantee that) until she passes and scores whatever the minimum, competitive requirements are on the pre reques. A&P is often used as the "yardstick" and most nursing programs require a B as a minimum grade. When my niece graduates, she will have a substantial student loan debt, but she is a bit immature, and so I think that the 4 year program is a good choice for her because of that. If I were going to be practical, and I tend to be practical, I would chose your school and your path. It seems ideal.

 

[PrincessKitty1]

I did the ADN program at my community college because it had a much better reputation than the University program. That was in the 80s, though, and I would recommend a BSN now at a state school.I would not go to a private school for a nursing degree--way too much $$.

There has been a huge change in employment of RNs since I graduated in the mid-80s. Despite all the doom-and-gloom about all the good jobs going to nurses with BSNs , in the 80s and 90s I could get any nursing job I wanted--in research, case management, public health, etc. Now all these jobs are going to nurses with MASTERS degrees (not ADNs and not BSNs!).

At least in my part of the country, masters-prepared nurses (nurse practitioners) don't make much more than an experienced RN, and there is a glut of nurses with masters degrees, so all the non-hospital employment is going to ARNPs (masters-prepared nurse practioners).

By getting a BSN, your daughter would be prepared to start a masters program immediately if she felt she could have better employment opportunities with a masters. AND most hospitals will pay for her to get her masters.

Just one more thing--around here RNs (ADN or BSN) start at around 42,000 a year and pharmacists start at over $90,000 a year.

 

[Cindy F]

........

At least in my part of the country, masters-prepared nurses (nurse practitioners) don't make much more than an experienced RN, and there is a glut of nurses with masters degrees, so all the non-hospital employment is going to ARNPs (masters-prepared nurse practitioners).

By getting a BSN, your daughter would be prepared to start a masters program immediately if she felt she could have better employment opportunities with a masters. AND most hospitals will pay for her to get her masters.

Just one more thing--around here RNs (ADN or BSN) start at around 42,000 a year and pharmacists start at over $90,000 a year.

I just wanted to point out not all MSN prepared nurses are NPs, there are many other tracks including administration.
My MSN as well as 2 of my certifications are as Family Nurse Practitioner and Nursing Administration.

I will say that administration generally pays much better-well into the triple digits however, Nurse Practitioner pay can be lucrative as well, especially if you own a percentage of the practice and are not a salaried employee of the practice.

Here are a few national statistics regarding nursing and education:

In the nation...

The average age of a nurse today is 44 years old. When nurses retire, replacements are difficult to find.

National surveys have uncovered a trend of early retirement for RNs. The combination of aging and early retirement, it is believed, will create critical future shortages in the RN workforce.

Nurses under age 30 have decreased from 25 percent of the field in 1980 to only 9 percent in 2000.

Ethnic minorities make up only 9 percent of nurses, far below the population percentage.

Men make up only 5 percent of the nation's nursing workforce.

The majority of registered nurses-two-thirds-have only an associate degree education.

Only 8 percent of nurses have a master's degree, and less than 1 percent of nurses have a doctoral degree.

There is a net loss of nursing faculty each year-with more faculty retiring or resigning than entering a teaching career.


In general, the median nurse practitioner salary in the US is $81,524 a year. Of course it depends on your specialty as well your location and business model. Owning a percentage of the practice is much more lucrative.

The average salary for a Chief Nursing Officer is anywhere between $100K and $250K a year depending on the size of the hospital, level of responsibility, and location.

 

[ireland_nicole]

I would offer a third option, which is the one I chose at the time. I went to CC for my prereqs and then finished directly my BSN at Uni. I worked full time to pay my way (I was already an EMT/firefighter) and worked dispatch to get night shift. For my final two years I worked campus police dispatch to get 1/2 my tuition free. I graduated Suma Cum Laude with a 3.99 gpa and $0.00 debt. I have been out of practice for 10 years, and am currently finishing my reentry/refresher clinicals. As a third generation nurse, I would argue that there is no field with greater flexibility than nursing. And you can always find a job. Maybe not the one you want, but something. When I graduated, there was no nursing shortage. I had to work in a rural area an hour outside of San Jose, CA, and I had to work nights, but I got the best possible experience- within 3 months I was relief night supervisor (which required a BSN btw) and was floating between med/surg, pedi, ICU, L&D, OR and ER. No other job could have prepared me so well for any field.

 

[RNlovesWDW]

BSN.

I agree with many of the comments on this thread. While she is young and has less responsibilities, she should go for the BSN. It will open more doors for her later on and she will not regret it.

I graduated from a 2 yr program in 2001. I told myself that I would go straight back to school, but it took me years to pursue a BSN. I am proud to say that I will graduate from a RN to BSN program this May.

I am a prime example that your DD should go for the BSN. I ended up in an interim nurse manager position on my unit when our nurse manager went out on maternity leave. She decided not to come back to work, I stayed in that position for a year. I loved it! But the fact that I did not have my BSN really held me back. I was not even considered for the perm position. But everything happens for a reason, it really lit a fire under me to pursue my BSN.

I wish your daughter the best of luck! It is not an easy profession, but it is challenging and rewarding. There many professional options out there for nurses, you are not just limited to working in a hospital. I have not for one second ever regretted becoming a nurse.

 

[Patricia]

My daughter is a freshman in a 4 year BSN program right now. She has wanted nursing since she was 13, never waivered one minute. We still wanted her to go to college with an open mind. As previously stated, more than 70% of college freshman change their majors, I wanted her to be in a strong school of overall quality so that if she did, she had many options. Also most important to us was an education. Not an education for a job, an education for life. I believe that college courses in general ed./core curriculum teach many things that are not in the " major" they are part of becoming an educated adult. I wanted that for my children too. She is still committed to her life as a nurse btw. We'll see what happens when she gets into a hospital in the fall. Good luck!!

 

[castleview]

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.



Best of luck to her!!

I had to laugh at the bolded part. When DH was completing his masters, he needed a pre-req Anatomy class. He did it at the local community college. Great program, but I remember him coming home saying "Some of these women that want to be nurses are the stupidest people I've ever met". I reassured him that they tend to weed out those people early on.

OP, I would go for the four year degree at her age. There are so many options in nursing and you should be so excited that she wants that. At my OBGYN's office they have eliminated LPNs and are going with medical assistants. I was not happy at my last appointment as I knew more than this MA.

Maybe DisneyDoll or DawnCT1 can help, but I could have sworn a nurse at Yale told me that anyone with a Bachelor's degree could pursue a Master's program in Nursing.

 

[PrincessKitty1]

Maybe DisneyDoll or DawnCT1 can help, but I could have sworn a nurse at Yale told me that anyone with a Bachelor's degree could pursue a Master's program in Nursing.

Most schools these days won't let anybody into a nursing Master's program who don't have BSNs. A friend of mine in the 80s got into the ARNP program at our state university with an associates in nursing and a bachelors in Anthropology, but these days most universities will make you get a BSN before you get a masters. A lot of universities have very intensive bridge programs where you go for your BSN first and jump straight into the Masters program. (A friend of mine who did this at our local university--I live in a college town--told me half the nurses dropped out of the program after getting their BSN because the program was so tough!)

Also, even if you get a BSN through the intensive BSN/Masters program at my local state university, you STILL have to compete with everybody else trying to get into the Master's program--still need to have top grades and a competitive GRE score.

 

[Darcy03231]

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.

It's done frequently where I live. Both schools are in the same city and some of the professors are even the same. She may have to take a few courses during the summer, but even then it will be less expensive than all four years at the college.

 

[yeartolate]

It's done frequently where I live. Both schools are in the same city and some of the professors are even the same. She may have to take a few courses during the summer, but even then it will be less expensive than all four years at the college.

The LVN courses are counting for credit towards the BSN? It seems to me that there would be almost a years worht of non nursing prerequisite type classes that the person in the LPN program would be losing out on. I am happy this has not been your experience - but most of the LVN's I know are giving a different story. There are certainly alot of regional differences.

 

[D L and K's Mom]

I knew that we would get a lot of great info!!! Thank you so much!!! Yesterday she recieved an accep letter from one of the BIG Universities in the area......just another choice....lol