Some high school students are trying to decide between nursing and some of the physician assistant programs that allow entry from high school and graduation in 5 years. There is some worthwhile discussion on the topic below. (Most physician assistant programs involve competitive applications for the masters program, after getting a bachelors.)
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1852453-physician-assistant-programs.html
Thanks so much for posting the link.
It would be nice if more nursing programs offer the combination BS/MS program ( takes 5yrs or 6 yrs ??? )
My personal observation is that some 17 / 18/ 19 years old don’t know for sure what they wanted to study. They may have volunteered or shadowed in a medical setting but it is hard for them to commit to a very specific 5yr or 6 yr program of study.
If I can travel back in time a few years to when my D was in high school, I am not sure if I can convince her to apply for these 5-6yrs combination Physician Assistance programs or BS/MS Nursing Programs. She was still undecided at that time. ( She is a nursing student now. )
As a parent, it seems to me that these combo programs are " faster " & less stressful.
Compared to getting a BS ( or BSN ) then work for a few years in order to get that 2000+ patient direct contact hours needed for PA application
or a couple of years to gain experiences for NP Nurse Practitioner application.
I have read somewhere in here that the nursing professions think the grads from these BS/MS NP have less experiences. True or not? Maybe any of the nurses can chime in?
I think you don’t see more joint BSN/MSN programs because most nurses can get a good job with a bachelors. The joint degrees are often in fields where you need a masters to get a good job in the field or to be certified. Also, many nurses hope to have an employer who will provide subsidies for their grad classes. In addition, the better nursing grad programs probably want a nurse to have work experience before they are admitted. That certainly is true with nurse practitioner programs, some of which now require a doctorate,
my dd mostly applied to nursing but I had her apply to one PA 5 yr program since she was originally interested in being a surgeon. If she didn’t get into the PA then they also had nursing. Spoke to admissions, regarding the differences of PA and then a NP. I can’t recall what the school told me about PA, but talked to my bil who is a PA and he said what they told me was wrong. So, I would do a lot of research.
Even now, trying to finalize decisions as far as a nursing program, we are getting different information from different schools. So maybe things really vary from state to state.
My dd is going for NP. Wants to work 2 yrs after BSN to see where her specialty is. SHe feels there are a lot more opportunities. Also some states will allow NP to have their own practice.