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Should I get an Associate's or Bachelors degree?


LuvingLife
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I am really struggling with my decision on whether or not I should get a an Associate's degree in nursing (LVN) or get my bachelor's in nursing (BSN to RN). I don't want to come out of school with a lot of debt, so I was thinking if I did two years first, saved up more money and went back to school to recieve my bsn, then I wouldn't be in a lot of debt. Then I have a neighbor who became a nurse and went through 4 years of schooling with no debt and that I could do the same. But I don't know... so many of the schools I have looked at have excellent nursing programs, and I would love to just go through all 4 years and not worry about any debt. I am very concerned about debt, I would love to recieve a full ride to college or close to one, and then work the for the rest.

 

I want to recieve my BSN, but some say a LVN is good too, and because I want to have a family and homeschool my own kids, I was thinking an LVN might work well for me and then I could continue my schooling once my kids had grown, or when they didn't need my help in school as much anymore. Any suggestions on what I could do?:bigear:

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In my state an LVP (called LPN here) has less duties and priveledges than an RN. We have an associate RN (ASN or ADN) and a bachelors RN (BSN). They both have the same duties and priveledges although only a BSN can work at the county health department and in a school :confused: I would say to check out your states laws and ask someone that works at a hospital what an LVN can do in your state. In my case, I got my associate in 1997 and have worked since then in Labor and Delivery (all but 1 year of it) and the only reason I am working on my BSN now is that I plan on continuing on for my masters and need my BSN to do so. Otherwise, I would never need my BSN for my job. We do not hire LPN's on my floor and most of my hospital doesn't hire LPN's either. They have to work at a doctor's office or in the nursing home.

So, I would start with where an LVN can work and decide where you want to work (or at least give it good thought). That might help you make up your mind.

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It really depends on the job market in your area and what kind of nursing you see yourself doing. The hospitals in my area won't hire LPNs to work in acute care, but as a former travel nurse I worked in many hospitals that staffed a lot of LPNs. I've worked in hospitals where there were very few BSN grads, and in other hospitals where ADN RNs were not allowed to be charge nurse on their unit or to be supervisors.

 

If you have an idea what kind of job market exists in your area you might have an answer to your question. Otherwise, in most cases an ADN RN makes either the same pay as a BSN or only slightly less and you can work on finishing your BSN at your leisure, just my two cents. I went straight through a BSN program and I did have debt, if I wanted to do nursing school over again I would do a two year RN program. Don't even consider an LPN program, most of those don't have credits that will transfer for an RN program.

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Ok now I see what I might be up against, and no I don't believe I will go for an LVN, but like Rainefox said you would have done a 2 year RN program, and then complete my degree when I need to. I want to work in the labor and delivery department, and when my mom would go to Women and Infants, they had all types of nurses working there, from 1 year certified nurses to CNA's, so as of right now I know what I can do.

 

Thank you!

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Our cc offers the 2yr RN program, but not the LPN certificates at this time. I suggest you compare the classes for the 2yr RN & 4 yr BSN. If you can dual-enroll the basic AA classes (they're mostly what you'd want for hs anyway) the Nursing part is 2 yrs.

 

As Melissa said, there are some jobs you just can't get w/the 2 yr degree. If we get a form of Nationalized Health Care, it's only going to get more restrictive, IMO.

 

Dd#2 is going for a BSN. She has 58 de credits. Unfortunately, she didn't decide on nursing earlier because she needs 9 pre-req classes for the nursing program (mainly she didn't take the right sciences for nursing). Still she can apply for the program in January so it's possible she could have her BSN in 3 yrs.

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In my area the hospitals hire very few LPN's because there are 3 BSN programs and 1 ADN program nearby. Most LPN's around here work in Nursing homes. In my state an LPN works under the supervision of an RN and therefore is very limited in the duties she can perform. The other thing to consider is the pay which around here is substantially lower. As far as debt, you may be eligible for need based grants which don't require paying back but even if you do have to take a debt working as an RN you will make sufficient pay to easily repay the loans. In my area a beginning RN earns about $25/hr and of course it goes up with experience. If you want low debt or none now do an ADN program and then you can do an RN to BSN program. Many places have on-line courses to do that. I know several in my state. Also in my area ADN make less than RN's, not much but still some. I think it's really important to check out your area and get some idea of what you can do, what your pay is going to be etc. One of the best places to start is your State's Board Of Nursing. Most can send you brochure's etc and are eager to answer questions. Also check with your local hospitals and look at your states unemployment office website to see who is hiring and what their pay is. I also know of several hospitals that will pay for your nursing degree as long as you agree to work there for x number of years. You might look if you can find something like that. If you want to do a BSN most make you do general education courses and you apply your sophmore year and the program starts in your Junior year. If that's the case for your colleges of choice then you could go to the local CC get an AA and transfer to your college of choice, just be sure to ask if your credits will transfer as some want you to take their Chemistry or Anatomy and Physiology courses so they wouldn't accept those but most schools will accept you as a transfer student with no hoops to jump through as long as you apply for their nursing program at or before you apply for admission.

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My ex-husband's niece is just finishing up the classes she needs to get her RN. She went to school part time at their local community college and took a few classes she needed at another state school.

 

I looked into it here (for her) - same state but I'm near Chicago and she's in the middle of no where a few hundred miles away - and the community college here offers a full program for nursing... Both LPN and RN (along with RN specialties). She got full financial aid for either school but chose that one since it's near where her family lives.

 

HTH,

Sue

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My ex-husband's niece is just finishing up the classes she needs to get her RN. She went to school part time at their local community college and took a few classes she needed at another state school.

 

I looked into it here (for her) - same state but I'm near Chicago and she's in the middle of no where a few hundred miles away - and the community college here offers a full program for nursing... Both LPN and RN (along with RN specialties). She got full financial aid for either school but chose that one since it's near where her family lives.

 

HTH,

Sue

 

Thank you very much and this definitely helps me with my decision more, I just need to wait and see where we might end of moving. (If we move soon!)

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