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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
NPCER . . . wanting career advice
So, I figured the smart ladies of PCE would be a good place for some anonymous career advice. I'm wanting to switch careers to nursing. It has been a desire and passion growing slowly over the last few years. I already hold a B.S. in music education, but my passion for that just isn't there any more and hasn't been for quite some time, if I'm honest. There are a number of accelerated second degree B.S.N. programs in my state (or what will be my State when we move back to the U.S. from Italy in two weeks) - but they are all between 1 1/2 and 2 hour drives away. That's a pretty hefty commute when you've got two young kids and are taking rigorous nursing courses. There's a community college in the area that has an accredited A.D.N. program and that is just a 20 minute commute. But that program requires I retake either the SAT or the ACT. They do not offer a waiver for that requirement even if you've already earned one college degree (with highest Latin honors, I might add)! So, would you suck it up and take the SAT or ACT again? It's just one afternoon, right? Or say, "to heck with your ridiculous lack of a waiver" and set your sights back on the B.S.N. programs despite the crazy commute. Any real-life advice from actual nurses is most appreciated. Are there benefits to the B.S.N. over the A.D.N. that I'm not factoring in here?
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Re: NPCER . . . wanting career advice
I would at least try to take the ACT or SAT. Check to see if the school near you offers a residual test. The scores are only used by that institution but you can schedule the test at your convenience and usually test alone or in a very small group. I would practice using your graphic calc before you go just to refresh.
There may be additional financial incentives to have a BSN over an ADN but there are also distance bridge programs that you could complete while you are working so the ADN is a good choice. I wouldnt want to deal with that commute and that doesnt even include where they may send you for clinical rotations!
Not a nurse chiming in...How good is the program at the community college? I think there is more to consider than just whether it is accredited or not. Do you know the job placement rates for their nursing program?
Is the location for where you will move upon returning to the states finalized already, or is there an opportunity for your family to live closer to the other schools temporarily?
Yes, our location is finalized. So there's no changing commute times. The program is pretty competitive. It is the only ADN program in this particular area. The next closest one is an hour away with no traffic - which is a better commute than the 2 hour BSN programs at least. As far as quality, I'm not as sure on that. They advertise an 88% passing rate on the RN licensure examination. The BSN programs I've looked at advertise in the 92-95% passing rates. So as far as quality education, I think the BSN wins (especially since it would save me time down the road - I could go straight into a graduate level program from a BSN where as I'd need to do an ADN - BSN bridge program first if I started with the ADN). But yeah, the commute. The thought of that makes me twitchy; the BSN would be a no brainer if it weren't for that
Also, I haven't touched analogies or graphing calculators in over a decade. So the SAT scares me a lot more than it did when I was a junior in HS.