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Wife wants to get into nursing

child of wonder

child of wonder

Diamond Member
Anyone have any experience or know anyone with experience getting into this field?

Right now, I'm the only one working. My wife put me through school years ago so I could earn an Associate's degree which has allowed me to have a successful career. Now that we're able, I want to put her through school. She's interested in nursing. A local Technical college has a 2 year program to get an AAS degree in Nursing.

Will she have much luck becoming a nurse with a 2 year degree? Or is a 4 year degree practically a requirement if you want to do more than work in a nursing home? What kind of career options might be available for her with a 2 year degree?
 
SomethingAwful has a megathread on this with lots of really good info. Well worth the $10 registration fee. From what I've heard, an associates degree should be fine.
 
The more years in education the more $ and flexibility. A masters degree gets you above $100k. She should shoot for a BS, at least.
 
She should be able to get a job as an RN with an AS. I see plenty of RN listings (at least where I live). Progressing in her career will almost certainly require a bachelors degree at some point, and she could even consider a master's program in the future to earn more money as a NP.

My wife was looking at nursing programs and, around here, there were waiting lists for the accredited community college programs. Might want to check on that.
 
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My neighbor just went through this. She needed something like 1-1/2 years of community college to get the pre-requisites out of the way for the nursing program, then she had to HOPE she was picked in the lottery for the program...took her 2 extra semesters to get picked, so she took a few extra classes while she waited. She graduated from the nursing program in May and is working part-time as an "extra." Makes around $50/hour.

Can't argue with the benefit of a BS in nursing, but an AS should get her foot in the door. She could take the BS classes evenings and weekends if they're available.
 
Oh yeah, alot of nursing schools are hard to get into because of a limited number of openings per semester. How many programs are in your area?
 
IMHO should would seriously limit her options and would be completely looked down upon with only a 2 year degree. BSN or bust. Nursing is suffereing a horrible case of education inflation.
 
preslove said:
Oh yeah, alot of nursing schools are hard to get into because of a limited number of openings per semester. How many programs are in your area?
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The college she's looking at has openings in the program and is accredited by the same institution as the college I attended.
 
vi edit said:
IMHO should would seriously limit her options and would be completely looked down upon with only a 2 year degree. BSN or bust. Nursing is suffereing a horrible case of education inflation.
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Most likely scenario is that she'll get her AAS then begin taking evening classes to pursue her Bachelor's while she works full time.
 
Gooberlx2 said:
She should be able to get a job as an RN with an AS. I see plenty of RN listings (at least where I live). Progressing in her career will almost certainly require a bachelors degree at some point, and she could even consider a master's program in the future to earn more money as a NP.

My wife was looking at nursing programs and, around here, there were waiting lists for the accredited community college programs. Might want to check on that.
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I believe a 2yr degree = LPN and you need a bachelors for your RN
 
BoomerD said:
The next big question...Are there nursing jobs in your area?
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Yes, there appears to be. I don't think career advancement is her primary goal. She mostly wants a job that leaves her fulfilled and that she enjoys. Kind of hard to find that with only a high school diploma.
 
moshquerade said:
I believe a 2yr degree = LPN and you need a bachelors for your RN
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You can sit for the NCLEX-RN if you have a BSN or ADN (Associate's Degree in Nursing), although the BSN may (or may not) better-prepare you for the exam. However, I'd imagine that a BSN would likely open a few additional career options/doors, as well as preparing you for graduate education further down the road if you became interested.
 
BSN = More Schooling
ADN = More Clinical

The ones I work with and know are a mix of ADN, BSN, and MSN. It really depends what she wants to do.

Very technical and highly skilled nursing fields are usually self taught or very specific schooling aimed at only those jobs.

Management almost always requires BSN minimum and teaching requires MSN.

For starting out an ADN isn't really any faster then a BSN once you include the prereq's and possible waiting list, but I feel you are a better RN as you have more "hands on time."
 
Whisper said:
You can sit for the NCLEX-RN if you have a BSN or ADN (Associate's Degree in Nursing), although the BSN may (or may not) better-prepare you for the exam. However, I'd imagine that a BSN would likely open a few additional career options/doors, as well as preparing you for graduate education further down the road if you became interested.
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The local community college here almost always has a 100% pass rate first time taking the NCLEX-RN exam. That's better than most of the 4-year BS programs in the area. They're generally very selective about who they admit into the program & have a waiting list for a limited number of spots.

An associates degree is just fine to be an RN. Locally, the difference in pay between an RN with an associate's degree and an RN with a bachelor's degree is pretty negligible. In fact, it would take a couple of decades of nursing before the difference in pay made up for the difference in 2 extra years of tuition. Plus, since you're out of the work force for two extra years, it's a no-brainer: get the associate's first, pass the NCLEX, and get a job.

As far as advancement, she can work on the bachelor's with online courses. There's not really that much additional clinical time involved (she'd probably have to use some of her vacation time to cover the different requirements. If I recall correctly, my wife had to shadow a county nurse who traveled from house to house one day, and shadow a nursing supervisor for a day. She's probably had to do a couple of other things that I've forgotten about.)
 
There are a lot of ASN to BSN programs that will result in a BSN by merely taking the courses that are outstanding, for those that already earned the ASN (assuming its from a decent accredited school where nearly all the courses will transfer).
 
JulesMaximus said:
I'd like to get into a few nurses myself. 😛
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:hmm:
 
moshquerade said:
I believe a 2yr degree = LPN and you need a bachelors for your RN
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Wrong.

There are three "levels" of RN degrees.....AS, BS, and hospital-sponsored 3 year RN degrees (which are almost completely gone from the landscape).


The big differences, as some have pointed out, are most, if not all, AS degreed RN's have a LOT more clinical than those that graduate from BS degree programs. And that is due to the different focus of the two types of programs.

BS programs are typically geared more towards administration while AS programs are more floor/hands-on oriented.

But in the end, graduates of all programs take the same exact NCLEX testing for licensing....absolutely no difference. And there's no difference in pay for those that just graduated, no matter the undergrad degree.

Where the differences show up is later along in the career. If you're wanting to move upward in the administration ladder, that is move away from caregiving and just want to push paper, the BSN is mandatory.

If you want to actually nurse, an ASN is all you'd need....but you'd be encouraged after a while to pursue your BSN.

I graduated with an AS, got a few years experience in critical care/ER and then got my BSN in a one-year "completer" degree program from the Medical College of GA.

Did getting the BS net me more money? No.

Did it open up opportunities for moving to admin jobs? Yes, but admin wasn't what I wanted to move to.

My suggestion.....have her get the AS. She'll get a LOT more clinical experience which will serve her well when she starts out. After a year or two, if she's so inclined, have her go back to school to complete the BS...most nursing schools that offer BSN degrees offer a one year course to advance from an ASN to BSN.
 
Great career choice. I'd say just have her get her AS and then a job ... let her employer pay for her BSN/MSN depending on where she wants to go with her work.
 
my wife is in her 1st out of 4 years for RN school at a community college.
she was tempted to go for LVN but i talked her out of it because the RN is much better and solid program, plus she will have BA/BS degree.
i don't recommend any of the shortcut programs or certificate schools.
RN's have high status and many requirements build on solid foundation which can help a career.
i am not saying that the other programs/ cert schools are dead end roads but i'd be careful and do a lot of research before you settle for it
 
BoT said:
my wife is in her 1st out of 4 years for RN school at a community college.
she was tempted to go for LVN but i talked her out of it because the RN is much better and solid program, plus she will have BA/BS degree.
i don't recommend any of the shortcut programs or certificate schools.
RN's have high status and many requirements build on solid foundation which can help a career.
i am not saying that the other programs/ cert schools are dead end roads but i'd be careful and do a lot of research before you settle for it
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LVN....that's the one I couldn't remember.

But, to insinuate that an ASN is a "shortcut" degree is rather disingenuous, if not downright wrong.

In my experience, which spans over two decades of nursing, new grads from AS schools are clinically much more competent than BSN grads. Just different focus.

Now, in a few years, it levels out because the BSN's get the experience and are more educationally prepared for admin.

But, clinically, BSN degree programs are almost always behind ASN programs. And the nursing knowledge aspect.....caregiving, science background requirements, etc. (microbiology, chemistry, A&P, etc.) are exactly the same between the two programs....as is the licensing requirements.
 
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