<p>Just to clear things up a bit here - an RN - Registered Nurse - can be the result of an Assoc OR a Bachelors degree - RN is not the degree - it is the liscence acquired after taking the exam - and passing it. The education may be different - but the designation is exactly the same - wether it be from a 2 year school - - ASN - Assoc in Nursing - or from a 4 year school - BSN - Bachelors in Nursing.</p>
<p>Now that said - an ASN is usually - not always - the indian - and the BSN will most likely be the chief - there are some jobs that require a BSN - some that prefer the BSN over the ASN. Management positions are usually the BSN RN.</p>
<p>Any thing above and beyond the realm of the BSN will require further education - for a MSN - Masters in Nursing - and many of these positions are in the management realms - or one can do the RNP - Registered Nurse Practitioner - both are grad school/masters levels.</p>
<p>Now that said - the OP is looking for options (I agree seems to be in the nor’east general area. There are many RN/BSN programs to be had - but it will be very unlikely that you will find one that will accept you directly into the RN program mid-year. You may be best to really research all the programs that you are interested - and I don’t mean just the ones that you think hold the ‘prestigue’ that you think is necessary. It is not - you will find that most nursing programs are very good - no matter what area/state they are in.</p>
<p>The OP may be best to do the research - apply to the schools of interest - finish up this year and try to get as many pre-req’s as possible - that will transfer - and get into a school/program that will give the final degree that you want - RN/BSN - or RN/MSN - there are several options for the OP to check out.</p>
<p>Another option for the OP is a schools like Simmons in Boston - they have a specific program that is a BS (in just about anything) to MSN - with RN thrown in there. Excellent program.</p>
<p>OP - please know that most nursing programs RN/BSN are extremely competitive - and you just may have to wait your turn - but best of luck - it is a wonderful and fulfilling profession - many many opportunities - good pay - good benefits - job security.</p>
<h2>“Frankly, if you are that sharp, are you sure you would prefer nursing over medicine?”</h2>
<p>lol…my sister’s husband gets this all the time…‘you’re so smart…why didn’t you go to medical school?’ And you know what he always says? Because I wanted to be a NURSE, not a doctor. Two different profession, both perfectly respectable.</p>
<p>And yes, mini’s right. In the career field of nursing, it’s all about the RN and the experience. AS vs. BS doesn’t matter much in the long run. The exam levels the field ultimately.</p>
<p>“lol…my sister’s husband gets this all the time…‘you’re so smart…why didn’t you go to medical school?’ And you know what he always says? Because I wanted to be a NURSE, not a doctor. Two different profession, both perfectly respectable.”
Thanks, Idmom06. I was tempted but I just couldn’t go there.</p>
<p>Couple of thoughts. First, prestige schmestige. Believe me, if you’re running down the hall to answer a code, the patient’s family is not going to stop you and say “hey, was that an Ivy League degree you got, or just top 25?” </p>
<p>How certain are you that you want to pursue a nursing career? If you’re absolutely certain, then choose the best school for nursing. But if you’re still not sure, you may want to temper your decision and not leap into a school just for the sake of a major you’re not necessarily committed to (as long as you’re otherwise happy in your current school).</p>
<p>Also, nursing school is very competitive right now. The extreme nursing shortage is having a cascade effect on the number of qualified teachers, so that the schools are not able to expand numbers to adequately meet the demand. </p>
<p>One last comment. No one goes into nursing for the money. It may pay okay, but it’s not ibanking. As far as I’m concerned, though, good nurses never gets paid what they’re worth. Most of us who have had family members in an acute setting know what I mean. If you’re truly committed to nursing, God bless you.</p>
<p>hayden,
THANK you. We just went through the medical angst of a lifetime with my dad, and the bless-his-heart angel of a nurse was in the process of getting his 2X2 degree from U of Central Florida. (I guess he wasn’t exactly a full fledge nurse yet.) Anyway, people who go into nursing are the saints on earth!</p>
<p>My take is different from most of these. I went through four majors in college, and I was excited about each of them at the time I decided on them. HYP and the like are not only alma maters, they’re code words that signal to people who scan your resume that you’re an unusual person. At the college where I work, job applicants from HYP get extra attention and buzz. Before you give it up to pursue a degree field your school doesn’t offer, I’d suggest you be really certain that this career field is going to sustain you for the next 30 or 40 years.</p>
<p>mini, depends on where you live. In my town, any sort of management or teaching postion requires a BSN, even being a diabetic educator in a clinic. The experience is necessary as well for management.</p>
<p>UC San Francisco has this program for Masters’ entry into nursing with a bachelors’ degree. <a href=“Home | UCSF School of Nursing”>Home | UCSF School of Nursing; Perhaps there are others. My brother just completed the RN portion, and is working while he finishes the MSN. As long as you could complete the prerequisites along with your BS or BA in another field, this might be a good option. Keep the Ivy education, and enter nursing with an advanced degree well on the way. </p>
<p>Hayden, the finer education might not help you be more effective during the code. But afterwards, as you are discussing and reiterating with the grieving family as well as physicians, an educated voice with wide ranging experience has an advantage.</p>
<p>p3t-I did the same thing, short changed myself educationally for the sake of avoiding another year of tuition. 30 years of regret, and limited options. ADN rather than BSN</p>
<p>“I was excited about each of them at the time I decided on them. HYP and the like are not only alma maters, they’re code words that signal to people who scan your resume that you’re an unusual person. At the college where I work, job applicants from HYP get extra attention and buzz.”</p>
<p>That’s because you work at a college. You’d be surprised how little buzz they get outside an educational setting (I’m putting aside the occupations of the wealthy - i-bankers, corporate lawyers, and the like.) In our last hire, we took an Evergreener over a Princetonian and a Reedie. There wasn’t really a buzz around any of these schools, though there might have been had they been from BYU or Washington State. There would have been the obligatory football moment, and then it would be down to what you can do for me. </p>
<p>“Management positions are usually the BSN RN.”</p>
<p>Not here, but I think it is because things are changing. It used to be that an RN could be earned with just two years of college. At least in our state, not any more. Virtually everyone has a third year of requisites, mostly in sciences and math, some in other “liberal arts” (writing, communication, psychology). In fact, if you look at the actual nursing portions of the curriculum at University of Washington for the BSN, they are virtually the same as those at the community colleges (which, as noted, are harder to get in.) MSNs are the management degrees. </p>
<p>Be that as it may, the OP, having already put in the year, and about to put in another, might as well do the BSN thing, since the two years pre-nursing is already covered. The only problem is that the current school doesn’t provide the pre-reqs for a BSN (or simply for an RN for that matter). She could decide to lay out another 45 grand for the pleasure of a degree that isn’t the one she wants, or can save the 45 grand and get the degree that gets her where she wants to go.</p>
<p>Idmom06 notes, "
lol…my sister’s husband gets this all the time…‘you’re so smart…why didn’t you go to medical school?’ And you know what he always says? Because I wanted to be a NURSE, not a doctor. Two different profession, both perfectly respectable"</p>
<p>Response: Yes, I am aware that they are different jobs. However, I made the suggestion because nurses will make less than half of what a physician would make. That said, if this person has investigated both fields and prefers nursing, I certainly wouldn’t stop them. I was just noting the options.</p>
<p>Start two people at 18. Send one to private college at full freight ($190); then to 3 years of medical school ($220k); then five years at at an average pay of $40k, with interest accruing on the loans; then set up a private practice. Pay off loans.</p>
<p>With the other one, send to community college nursing program for three years. Each year, pocket the difference in cost, and invest at 7% rate of return, compounded. After the second year, stars work as an LPN ($35k/year); first job after third year is $55k. Pocket the difference in costs each year, and invest at 7% compounded. Put a down payment on the house, and realize the mortgage interest deduction. Over five years, salary rises to $72k (could be more in a major city). Pocket the savings, invested at 7% a year, and the costs still being born by the first student also as savings, compounded. </p>
<p>In what year does the physician (a general practitioner) catch up with the nurse?</p>
<p>i am so grateful for all your input and it has provided me with a lot of things to think about and look into.
i would just like to respond to some of the concerns raised in this thread.
i was pre-med before this but that choice was made mainly because i was interested in healthcare, liked science enough and wanted to use a background in that area to directly work with people and help them. i’ve been working at a nursing home this summer and the experience has given me some insight into my skills which i think are better suited for nursing and patient care. also, i’m more interested in the nursing approach to health which looks at more of the body as a whole and disease prevention instead of isolating diseases and treating them as they arise. granted i’ve only looked into nursing for a few months but i do feel pretty sure. i will continue to think about it in depth though, especially as jmmom pointed out, i had a rough time emotionally last semester and want to make sure i’m transferring for the right reasons. i have been seeing a therapist for the depression so hopefully i’ve progressed enough to look at this objectively.
as far as the money, i never wanted to be an ibanker anyway.
i do plan to get a master’s in nursing eventually and if i get good grades after transferring i anticipate going to a top grad program (though maybe i’m looking too far ahead/being too optimistic here).
i would more readily stay at my current school and transfer later or do nursing as a second degree if tuition weren’t so crazyexpensive, and the fact that i don’t know if i could be motivated enough to get a degree i wouldn’t see myself using in the future.
thanks to all who have posted, and i look forward to any other responses.</p>
<p>I know a student (class Val.) who went to a well respected private u. and decided it was not for her before the first semester was over. She was really
miserable and determined to transfer. Her parents are school teachers so money was important. Rather than stay at the expensive private, she transferred to our local state u. for spring semester, took some core reqisites and applied to the flagship u. for the following fall. She was accepted and is now starting her second year there and doing great. Pestige was a big factor in high sch. but she is so glad now that she got over it and transferred to the best school for her. I transferred after my soph. year. to a different sch. It’s just a blip on the radar screeen in the whole big scheme of things. go for what you want and what makes the most sense.</p>
<p>I got my nursing degree from a state univ. Like someone else said, it is a good idea to ask around about the reputations/pass rates of various schools. Don’t get too hung up on the “name” of the school. I know in my state some of the best nursing programs are offered at the non-flagship “branch” universities. Patients will not ask where you went to school. They just want a caring competent nurse. </p>
<p>Kudos to you for following your interests and working in a nursing home for some experience. It’s hard work. Nothing teaches you as much as actually being there and doing the work. Good luck to you.</p>
This is just so insulting & ignorant…would you ask a “sharp” high shool math teacher why she didn’t become an actuary? </p>
<p>Handsmyown, this statement from you is very, very encouraging:
You get it. Nothing beats hands-on experience & exposure to the grubby side of nursing when considering it as a career. Before any potential nursing student is accepted into the program, I think she should have to clean up a burst colostomy bag and then spend the night calming & comforting an Alzheimer’s patient. The technical skills, science requirments, and pharmacology knowledge are the easy part. Nurses need a strong stomach & a compassionate nature. </p>
<p>You do seem invested in a prestige degree. That’s fine, but understand that in nursing, NOBODY cares where you went to school. Really. There are many, many fine nursing programs on the east coast that will cost a small fraction of the higher priced schools you have mentioned. Again, if money is not an issue, what the heck – seek out an elite school. If $$ is a concern, I would suggest checking a school’s passing rate for the nursing boards & developing a list with that as the top criterion.</p>
<p>Associates vs. bachelors – Just check the state in which you plan to live. As someone already pointed out, it is the RN license, not the degree, that is the requirement for employment. I’m sure you will want to pursue advanced opportunities that require further education. Some of that will be in the form of a degree (maybe other than nursing) and some will be in the form of certification programs. As a middle-aged woman who went back for a nursing degree after having kids, I would suggest just getting the bachelors while you are young & less encumbered. That way, you will be eligible for a greater variety of positions sooner. Plus, college is fun. You’ve had a rough spot, but I sincerely wish you can turn that around & just enjoy some of the carefree college experience that has eluded you. Graduate degrees will likely be a wise decision. Around here, advancement requires both experience and very specific credentials. You can obtain them while working full-time, but getting the BSN before jumping into the job market will give you a less stressful head start.</p>
<p>Good luck. I get the feeling that you are considering the field with a clearheaded approach & will make a good decision.</p>
<p>The BSN is not going to get management jobs straight out of school, but add the experience to it and you are eliglble for those jobs when you reach the point in age/career you want out of the trenches. The flexiblity of being competitive in any state has merit, no regrets when a move puts you in a state with higher degree expectations. </p>
<p>Physician versus nurse. I am a woman physician, could never be a nurse and definitely understand the parallel nature, not the one the boss of the other (all physicians know they can’t boss nurses, their written “orders” are subject to question if need be…). It requires different personalities and types of medical interest to give the same patients good care. I went to medical school in an era when women were finally beginning to break into the profession in more than token numbers but were still under 20% and facing loads of discrimination and inappropriate treatment et al. By now the atmosphere has changed and physician/nurse relationships as well- in the real world outside of teaching hospitals.</p>
<p>Remember the OP is a college student, and a top one to have been successful at a top college. For her it only makes sense to get a college education as well as a nursing degree. The question seems to be when/how, not if. The idea of postponing a transfer to next year instead of next semester has merit this close to the school year. It offers her the option of choosing a school with fall transfer only and gives her more time to let the career choice gel. At this time of year she can immerse herself fully in her present school without adding all the transfer headaches and distractions, second guessing… </p>
<p>Good luck. We need highly intelligent nurses, I’m glad to hear people of your caliber still consider the profession.</p>
<p>Addenda- I hope nobody takes the above line wrong; it does not imply the more ordinary are not capable of being excellent also.</p>
<p>The “bad” news is they don’t pay nurses from Ivy League schools any more than they pay the ones from a 2+2 community college program.</p>
<p>a quick anecdote: I have a friend at work whose sister earned a plain nurses degree from UPenn two yrs ago, and she is NOW making 6 figures doing nurse work (including overtime, I think). I think there is UPenn bump.</p>
<p>I believe in the chicago area I heard nurses starting in the 60s.</p>
<p>Either way, it seems to be good to be a nurse today.</p>
<p>"a quick anecdote: I have a friend at work whose sister earned a plain nurses degree from UPenn two yrs ago, and she is NOW making 6 figures doing nurse work (including overtime, I think). I think there is UPenn bump.</p>
<p>I believe in the chicago area I heard nurses starting in the 60s."</p>
<p>Greatly doubt the Penn bump. In New York, beginning salaries for RNs (no BSNs) are often in the 80s, WITHOUT overtime. </p>
<p>But it is a good time to be a nurse. Try my math problem above, and you’ll quickly see why.</p>
This is not true. While the current nursing shortage does make it a good time to be a nurse new grads here aren’t making $80G w/o overtime! Those kind of salaries involve multiple certifications and specialty units. Hospitals are now much more willing to give new grads opportunities in specialty units w/o spending extended periods on med-surg floors. But they are not being paid nearly that much.</p>
<p>There is no “bump” in salary for nurses from a particular college. Sure, if a Penn grad is the nursing director, she might have a heightened interest in a fellow alum, but the salaries are set on credentials/experience. Most hospitals won’t even give new grad salary bump for a BSN over an associates. In fact, it is widely accepted that grads of nursing schools come to the floor with much more hands-on experience than do college grads. St. Francis in NYC was long considered the gold standard in nursing preparation. As the trend toward degrees & away from diplomas has picked up speed, the nursing schools are forming alliances with colleges & offering associates degrees. </p>
<p>There are so many paths in nursing, and so many flexible degree programs, that an ambitious & bright nurse will not be forced into a career rut. It is much more difficult once you have kids to swing all the classroom & clinical requirements needed for career advancement. That’s why I’d suggest a BSN right off the bat. But I know several nurses who have taken the BSN & moved on to law, business (with MBAs,) and a wide variety of fields, some with no connection to nursing at all. I view the BSN much like a bachelors in anthropology or classics from that point of view. It will not limit the nurse from applying to professional schools or exploring other careers.</p>
<p>Rather than rely on old salary surveys, I called up the first 6 jobs I could find on line for RN (non-BSN) nursing jobs in New York City, where experience may have been recommended, but not required.</p>
<p>The salaries (base pay) before overtime and benefits were $65k, $68k, $70k, $74.8k $85k, and $90k. I expect the last would actually require the two years of experience they listed as “recommended.”</p>
<p>But then this in the NYC area. My step-niece, with just a B.A. in mathematics, began teaching at a public school on the North Shore of Long Island 5 years ago at $82k, and they paid for her masters degree. She is now well over $100k.</p>
<p>Mini, in the real world, where I live, “recommended but not required” means 8 months, or a year, or 18 months experience will suffice for the requirement. That’s in a pinch. Experience always wins out. New grads are not getting $80G. And certainly not for med-surg. </p>
<p>I don’t think it is helpful to give people false impressions. Talk to some nurse recruiters & VPs of nursing & nursing administrators before you throw those misleading numbers around.</p>