Any Nurses/Nursing Students

I am debating returning to school to become a nurse. I have all my pre-reqs (was in nursing school for two years before I switched to Sociology). I feel stuck in my job (I'm in Social Work) and have always regretted not finishing my nursing degree. I also think I'll have more opportunities as an RN with a BA. Any thoughts on which programs I should look into? Would the two-year program at Nassau Community College be sufficient since I already have my BA? Any thoughts/advice would be appreciated!!

Re: Any Nurses/Nursing Students

I am a nurse and having a bachelors in another discipline is a very good thing when you get your RN..even though its not a bachelors in nursing I have seen it be good for opportunity for advancement for alot of people, additionally you often have a great head start for an advanced nursing degree since you already hold a bachelors..I went to SUNY Farmingdale and loved their program...HTH..and good luck!!!

Re: Any Nurses/Nursing Students

My sister is currently working on her BS in Pyschology. She graduates in May and she plans on also transferring to an advanced Nursing Program. She toyed with the idea for a while and I think she made her final decision.
Im going to share this with her. Thank you for starting this thread.

Re: Any Nurses/Nursing Students

My SIL is in her 2nd year of nursing at Nassau CC. Its very hard to get into, she had amazing grades with her bachelors and masters but had an old "C" grade from a Eng Comp class from years ago that got her shut out on her first try. She repeated that class, got a A and was accepted to the program the next time she applied. I have another SIL and a few nurse friends and they went to Queensboro and SUNY Farmingdale as well. Stonybrook also has a good program.

Re: Any Nurses/Nursing Students

I have a B.A in Psych, and am starting Nursing school tomorrow. I'm doing an A.S/RN program. For me, this was the better option- if i went for a BSN, it would take a year longer (at least 3 years instead of 2), and i would pretty much have to go to a private school (i.e. $$$$$$$$) beause the public ones around here (nassau area) dont offer the BSN.

I already started looking into Grad school programs though, and- for instance- Columbia University has one of the masters programs that i'm interested in. I will be qualified for what i'm interested in eventhough i dont have a 'BSN', but a Bachelors degree and an RN which are independant of each other. Basically, theres just ONE other class that i would have to take (which they include in their curriculum) that bridges the BA and RN (AS).

It could be different for all programs though. If you have intentions of going further than and associates of science in nursing, then look into the possible career goals you have, and see whats required to get into those programs.

good luck.

Re: Any Nurses/Nursing Students

Keep in mind also with nassau- this year, their Nursing program didnt accept anyone with less than a 3.9 or 3.8 GPA. Not saying this to scare you- as you may have that anyway- but definitely look into a bunch of programs. Most of them have the same entrance requirements, but some differ slightly, and some offer more flexibility in scheduling.

i *thought* that you had to have a BSN to really have a shot at management positions, but i'm not positive. Its definitely worth looking into, but i wouldnt bank on a BA in another area giving many more opportunities than someone with just an RN, as a majority of people (at least from what i've seen and spoken to) have a Bachelors already as well, so its not necessarily something that separate you from the rest, But is definitely an asset if youre looking ito grad school.

Re: Any Nurses/Nursing Students

Stony Brook has a one year full-time accelerated nursing program for students who have bachelor's degrees.

As neenie said, requirements for all of the *public* programs are quite high (you will find Nassau, Suffolk, Farmingdale, and Stony Brook all hover around 3.8, 3.9 for the median GPA to be accepted). The private programs (think Touro, Molloy) are not as competitive, but are much more $$$$. I have friends who teach at Molloy who have said their entrance GPA is considerably lower.

Re: Any Nurses/Nursing Students

Thanks for all the responses! I will definitely look into my options.