OK - I have searched and need some help. What is the DEAL in nursing education? LPN, RN, Nurse Practitioner ? I am SOOOOO confused! I have a BA in Psychology, accredited in all the right ways. If I wanted to be a nurse practitioner ( and were in a state that allowed it), what would I do - education wise- to get there? CCBapt
nurses Ok here is a basic outline for you LPN- trained in 1 year frequently with out prerequisite courses. Provide basic care to patients including medication administration. Can not write a rx or diagnose RN- educated in diploma, AS, BS, or masters degree. Can preform a nursing diagnosis but not medical diagnosis. Can have independant functions and dependant functions. Which means they can do some things with out a MD but require a order to preform many functions. Advanced practice nurse- can be a nurse midwife, nurse practitioner. Nurse anesthetist or clinical nurse specialist. These nurses preform many functions usually preformed by physicians sich as diagnosis, writting a rx, and procedures. Depending on state law there may be a colaberating physician, supervising physician, or independant practice. Scope of practice also varies by state. If you want to diagnose and write a rx you would need to be an advanced practice nurse. You will probable be better off with nurse practitioner since psychiatric clinical nurse specialists can not write an rx in some states. You will need specific science courses prior to nursing school such as chemistry, anatomy, biology ect.... There are 3 year entry programs that you finish your rn in year 1, then year2 and 3 you complete an advanced practice education. If you become a rn then there are multiple nurse practitioner education programs which are available by distance learning (I have finished 2 of them) To be a rn by distance learning there are limited options. The two best known are excelcier anddeakoness college. Hope this info helps Jeremy
Hi, Jeremy has already given you a lot of great information. With a Bachelor's degree from an RA school, you could enter an accelerated BSN or MSN program and finish up in about a year. This type of program is not available online (AFAIK). Keep in mind that an accelerated program is VERY intensive. It's doubtful that you would be able to work even part-time, let alone full-time while your in school. Here is a list of schools in the U.S. offering an accelerated BSN and/or MSN. http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Education/pdf/APLIST.PDF BTW, Excelsior (http://www.excelsior.edu) requires that you have an LPN or another professional allied health cert (see their website for details) to enter their RN program. Deaconess College (http://www.deaconess.edu/), will allow you to complete an ASN online without prior nursing experience. However, you will need to find a location in your area to complete the clinical portion of your education, and I believe you will need to visit the Deaconess campus several times for clinical exams. It can be done though! Check out these pages on the Deaconess site for more info regarding the online ASN program: Admissions: http://www.deaconess.edu/Default.aspx?tabid=87 Online ASN Program Info: http://www.deaconess.edu/Default.aspx?tabid=146 Good luck! - Tom
Just wanted to pop in and discuss a few things about nursing from my perspective. I had a RA degree from a B&M school, but didn't use it. A few years later decided to go back to school for nursing. Had to take about 1.5 years (part time, of course) of pre-reqs that were not part of my first BA. Those certainly could have been done in a year or less full-time, only at that point I had more bills to pay for and chose to work full-time instead. Applied to and entered an accelerated nursing program to receive a BSN. Took 1.5 years to get through compared to the regular program which took 2.5 years. I continued to work part-time through school and it didn't kill me. One of my classmates worked full-time simply because she had to with a mortgage and car payment to pay off. She graduated just fine. You just have to have the attitude that you're going to make it without going crazy. After graduating, I found many online programs that would have worked out as well (didn't think to look before doing the B&M program). There are many 3 year programs that take students with previous BA/BS degrees (RA, naturally) that allow you to work towards your MSN degree. It's not one that will allow you to work as a nurse practitioner or certified nurse specialist, but it will get you closer to that. One more year of education will give you a post-graduate certificate in NP or CNS eligible for taking the nursing boards for those fields. In the meantime, you can work as a RN (after passing the RN boards) or as a manager with your masters degree. Anyway, that was just a small bit of information. If you would like more, please ask. Lots of good people here who can help you out with your questions.
