Question: I’m trying to find
any programs in which you can receive your BSN within
a year (including a summer semester) if you already have
a bachelor degree. Can anyone post schools that have this
type of program?
Answer:
Here in Canada, a BScN is a 4 year degree. They told me
they’d put me into year 2.5 for having done a BA (honors)
already.Try University of Phoenix (located in many states).
Their BSN program takes about 18 months tuition in $223Look
up the U of P homepage, under the BSN program there are
links to their catalogue and course descriptions.
Check Rush University School of
Nursing in Chicago. Most colleges/schools of nursing now
offer accelerated BSN programs for individuals with a
degree in another field. These programs usually take 18
months rather than a year. Nursing education is intensive.
I’m not sure one would do well in a program that took
less time. It takes time to learn new skills and absorb
new information (and still get your sleep every night
- not to mention a life outside of school). Nursing is
a BROAD discipline with a LOT to learn - even at the basic
levels. There is probably a program in your area so check
out the nearby universities. U of Phoenix (which was mentioned
in another post) offers the BSN to nurses who already
have an RN (either AD or diploma). I do not believe they
offer the equivalent of an accelerated program. Of course,
they are always adding new programs so it doesn’t hurt
to check.
The program is quite expensive, but employed
RN’s can often get tuition assistance from their employers.
There’s a lot of scholarship monies out there. You can
usually find some financial aid to help you get through
school. Wayne State University in Detroit, MI has this
program. It is called the CD/2 Collaborative Degree/2nd
Degree) Program. It is a 13-month course designed for
people who already have a bachelor’s degree in something
else (in my case, my first degree was a B.A. in psych,
which qualified me to continue my long-standing career
as a waitress. When I took the course, it was something
of a pilot program. My class was the second class ever.
It was VERY intense. I had no life for a year, and was
going through a difficult divorce at the time. They recommend
that you do not work while you are in this program as
it is so intense, however, I had to support myself so
I worked all the way through it. Somehow I managed to
graduate at the top of my class, magna cum laude. Don’t
ask me how! I guess I’m just a good student. But I can
tell you I did not get much sleep that year, and had virtually
no social life, except when me and my classmates would
cut class to go to the pub (not very often, but we had
to blow off steam once in a while!). This type of program
is not for everyone.
It is so fast-paced that a lot of
people freaked from the pressure and dropped out. You
have to be a very fast learner and cope well with intense
levels of stress in order to make it through. As far as
course content, it was good, although most of what I’ve
learned in nursing was from real-life experience in the
field. I’m not sure how much you absorb with such an accelerated
program. One thing I can tell you for sure is that you
don’t get a whole lot of clinical experience. You whiz
through your clinicals at lightning speed. I did not learn
as much from my clinicals as I would have from, say, a
2 or 4 year program. My med-surg rotations were in a rehab
institute so I got very little med-surg experience besides
bowel and bladder training for spinal cord injured patients!
That really hampered me when I got my first nursing job,
because I didn’t know how to do anything. I learned, eventually.
:) Think hard about what it is you want from a nursing
program, and be realistic about your skills and learning
habits.
For me, I needed a quick program—there was no
way I was going to go through another 2 or 4 years of
college for a nursing degree. If I had to go through that
much school I would have gone to vet school, which was
my dream. The CD/2 program was ideal for me because I
knew it would be a year of hell and then I would be an
RN. But I knew I could hack it because I was a really
good student (a professional student, actually, having
been in college some 11 years or so.) If you are an exemplary
student and need to get your BSN quickly, then go for
it! But it is a very, very hard program, and if you have
the luxury of time, then I would say go for a two year
program. You will learn more, and probably be less stressed.
