Nontraditional pathways to Nursing

Nursing-Accreditation-Explanation-NYS-Board-of-Regents.pdf (excelsior.edu)

Basically, EC claims that the State accreditation is "special" because the US Department of Education recognizes it. I remember hearing the ASN used to be accredited by the NLN or CCNE? In any case, it really has some limitations for admission and license to practice utility that needs to be considered. Once again Rich, thank you for mentioning this Nontraditional but rather interesting Pathway to Nursing. I never would have realized this school has become so complicated.

 

"Was." Long ago. No longer, but thanks.

 

how fast are we talking about from an APRN to a post-masters NP program?

i've been considering becoming an RN and eventually an np in mental health, i figured doing an ABSN followed by an online NP program would be the cheapest (comparing to those 3.5 years direct NP programs for non majors)

 

If you hold an RN and a MSN you can apply to a post masters NP program or DNP in a number of specialties. The psychiatric nurse practitioner speciality is a tough one depending what State you want to practice in. Some States allow you to practice with the passing of the board certification and other States require up to 4000 hours of supervised post graduate practice under a psychiatrist.

I used the term “fast track” loosely. The “normal” progression of a nurse starts with a 4 year BSN, then work for two years then apply to a MSN or DNP with a NP specialty which is another 3 years of schooling. Then after passing the boards and becoming an APN or APRN or CPN depending on what State you are in, there are post graduate fellowships available lasting one to two years in your speciality.

I saw the Elmhurst University entry to practice and was simply amazed at a program that takes 20 months to complete resulting in a MSN with an entry RN license. Most of us started as a CNA to LPN to BSN/RN then if we had enough energy we debated becoming a NP, administrator or educator and picked a program that led to a MSN or now a DNP if you desired nurse practitioner or a MSN in leadership or a PHD in Nursing for educators. This distance learning entry to practice RN with a MSN for those with a BS and pre-reqs bypasses the historical pathway. Once one holds a MSN with an RN some schools will accept you to a post masters certificate psychiatric NP program or second masters or DNP.

How fast is your question and as Einstein says, “time is relative.”

 

Since there are numerous abbreviations in nursing credentials, I’ve included a link that may be beneficial.
https://nurse.org/resources/nursing-acronyms-abbreviations/

 

Arizona State University has a “hybrid” which combines on campus with online. https://nursingandhealth.asu.edu/programs/ms/nursing-entry-nursing-practice-ms

It appears these type of programs attract students that are older, already hold a BS and want to make a switch in career path. These programs recognize your bachelors degree so you don’t have to retake general education requirements. I can only guess the nursing profession is critically short and educational institutions are coming up with creative alternatives to attract more students.

 

Sorry, I meant the associate's program, which is the only entry-level program at Excelsior. As soon as they gave up their programmatic accreditation for the associate's degree, fewer states were willing to accept it, and some of the states that are still willing to accept it added stipulations. For example, Texas previously had no stipulations, but not now they require 500 clinical hours.

I'm not sure how widely the NYS Board of Regents is accepted as a substitute for CCNE and ACEN accreditation. I specifically stated nursing accreditation because I wasn't referring to institutional accreditation or state approval.

Side note: NLN (National League of Nursing) created NLNAC to accredit nursing programs. NLNAC changed its name to ACEN. For some reason, NLN also created CNEA, which just recently received recognition from USDE, so many state boards probably don't have it listed yet as a recognized accreditor.

 

Excelsior had posted a notification that they voluntarily gave up their ACEN accreditation for their associate's program. But, what really happened is that ACEN voted not to continue accrediting the program after Excelsior taught out current students. Excelsior decided to voluntarily withdraw in May 2021.

Excelsior obtained NYS Board of Regents accreditation to replace the ACEN accreditation. USDE approves five state agencies to accredit nursing programs. NYS is unique because the four other states have their nursing boards accredit nursing programs. NYS Board of Regents is primarily an institutional accreditor, but they also programmatically accredit vocational programs. This type of state board accreditation is not as widely accepted as ACEN or CCNE.

 

Losing national nursing accreditation is a big deal especially if one wants to continue on with graduate studies and the advanced practice track. It is certainly a non traditional pathway to nursing that I would not recommend but may work for others. I am glad however that the history of EC nursing accreditation was laid out on this thread. It is my hope this thread leads to discovery of non traditional educational pathways in nursing. If you notice some good online nursing degree forums that are exploding with this topic, kindly recommend.

 

Good article from Goodwin University https://www.goodwin.edu/enews/can-you-complete-nursing-program-online/

 

Online BSN for non nurses

https://www.herzing.edu/nursing/bsn-degree/online

Pre licensure RN online available 15 States.

With an estimate of 450k shortage of nurses by 2025, we should see more of these online pre licensure programs emerge.

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/workforce/us-faces-deficit-of-450-000-nurses-by-2025.html