I recently attended Stony Brook for the Bachelors of Nursing Information Session and while I knew a lot of the information beforehand, I still think it was a good idea that I went. The session included information for both the traditional and the accelerated BSN programs and the session ended a half hour early than stated on the website (which I wasn't too pleased with given that I took the day off work and had to drive a good way to get there), but nonetheless it was a good session. Here are my pros and cons of the accelerated BSN program at Stony Brook:
Pros:
Very good program- At the session a prospective applicant asked why should he attend Stony Brook and the moderator replied "because its Stony Brook!" It may have been a bit corny but the fact is Stony Brook does have a reputable nursing program and the vast majority of the reviews about the program are positive.
Cheap- The estimated cost of the accelerated program is about $18,000 which is good compared to other programs. I have no interest in owing $80,000 to become a nurse especially since I have children who themselves may attend college one day.
12 months only- The accelerated program seems like torture but the torture would only last 1 year and its over!
School is in the hospital- The School of Nursing is literally in Stony Brook University Medical Center. If that isn't a great opportunity for learning then I don't know what is!
Cons:
Too far- It took me about 1 hour going and 1 hour to return. This does not take into consideration potential heavy traffic so basically my daily round trip would be 2 hours minimum. The moderator also stated that clinicals can take place as far west as LIJ (which is great) or as far east as Riverhead (which is about 1 1/2 hour drive so that is bad) so I would have to leave my house as early as 5:15 a/5:30 a for clinicals. I also burned at least a 1/4 tank gas just for that one trip so I would have to fill up at least twice a week if I were driving to Stony Brook daily.
Unpredictable clinical hours- The moderator stated that clinicals for the accelerated program could be either day (7a-7p) or night (7p-7a), twice a week on any day of the week. Night clinicals is a no go for me and I would ideally like to do my clinicals in the week so I can be with my family on weekends. Also I may possibly need childcare arrangements on the weekends if I had clinicals on Saturdays.
Parking- Driving to Stony Brook means parking in the hospital parking garage and paying parking fees. The last thing I am interested in doing is incurring additional expenses when I would no longer be working.
All and all I would love to attend Stony Brook but that daily commute would be a real &*@#$ pure and simple. Nursing school is already hard enough without adding additional stress to my life. If I applied to Stony Brook and actually got accepted, I would only go if my other schools of interest do not accept me into their programs.
Hi, I am very interested in your blog. I am in the same situation. I was interested in the accelerated BSN and also in the MSW. I decided to pursue the MSW. I just started this fall, 2015, for my Masters in Social work, but I am having second thoughts. I am still wondering if I should do the accelerated BSN. Please keep writing about your experiences. Ana K
ReplyDeleteHi Ana K,
ReplyDeleteI think one of the reasons that it is so hard to decide between BSN and MSW is that there is a lot of overlap between the two careers despite the obvious differences. Even though I have decided at this point to pursue a BSN, I still consider the MSW from time to time and if for whatever reason the BSN doesn't work out, the MSW would still be a good choice for me. Another option would be to do both if time and money isn't an issue (but it usually is for most people). I can not tell you what to pursue because only you know your circumstances; I will tell you however that if you decide that MSW is not for you, do not waste time and energy pursuing the degree. Good luck