Friction Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 Sorry, I'm sure this has been asked a thousand times already but... I've been tossing around whether I should pursue a BSN or look into a different health related bachelor's degree, most likely public health. I think I have a good foundation set in motion towards becoming a PA, however, I was just hoping to get some opinions and thoughts. I'm a Navy Hospital Corpsman, an ED tech, have over 100 volunteer hours, have most of my science related (lower division) classes taken or in progress and I'm basically at the point where I need to decide what bachelors degree I should attempt. The BSN thing was basically a temporary/fall back should it take me awhile to get into PA school. No doubt it would help me in the Navy but it's more of a means to an end. I found that Northern Arizona University offers an online bachelor's in Public Health. The following are the upper division courses which I feel would provide me a good academic foundation on my road to becoming a PA. Additionally, I would be able to work full time (gain more HCE) which I'm not so sure about with nursing. HS 200-Healthy lifestyles HS 205-Foundations of public health HS 250-Prevention concepts for risky health behaviors HS 300-Human diseases HS 303-Exercise science for health promotion HS 305-Theories of health behaviors HS 306-Methods for community health promotion HS 313-Environmental health HS 317-Maternal, child, and sexual health HS 390W-Current health issues (junior writing requirement) HS 402-Organization of coordinated school health programs HS 403-Planning, implementing, and evaluating health programs HS 404-Principles of epidemiology HS 408C-Fieldwork experience (capstone requirement) Thanks, Joel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planteater Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 Do you want to be a nurse or are you just looking at it as a means to an end? If you do not want to be a nurse, then I would focus on where you want to end up. A B.S. in public health sounds like a great program to pursue IMO. Of course, after PA school I hope to continue my education in the public health area, so I might be a little biased. Can you knock the online degree out more quickly than an in person one? I know sometimes they let you do classes at your own pace. That would be nice because I've found most regular classes drag on way too long. By the time you would finish the BSN, won't you be applying for PA school? So how long would you really use that degree & license? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Friction Posted November 18, 2011 Author Share Posted November 18, 2011 I said in my original post that a BSN is sort of, kind of a means to an end. I would love to do nursing, but its not my ultimate goal of becoming a PA. I think that it would be easier and faster to pursue a public health degree without a doubt. Nursing is a guaranteed two+ years of education plus whatever the wait will be to get into a program. I was thinking public health might also be a good degree down the line if I wanted to get into management. It may be a bit more useful than a BSN, although I'm not sure how true this is unless I also had a MPH. While it would probably be easier and faster, as PAMAC said, a BSN would undoubtedly offer more in the way of health care jobs right out of school should PA school take awhile to get into. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HopefulPA Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 It really doen't matter what Bachelor degree you have to apply to PA school. But consider the following, which degree will satisfy most of the pre-reqs required for the PA programs you want to apply too? And just as above the ease of finding a job in that degree after you grad. While you have a good shot of getting into a PA program (if grades are good) with your HCE it isn't automatic and if you don't get in the first try ya still gotta pay rent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planteater Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 Yeah I saw that in your post- I was asking a rhetorical question there, but I guess it was lost in the online translation. So, you can become a PA quicker (assuming you make good grades, do well on GRE if required, and keeps wracking up plenty of quality HCE) and then get an online MPH or MHA or something if you decide to pursue management. Or you can take longer to become a BSN, possibly work for a while as a RN, go to PA school and have to try to keep current enough to keep your RN license while in school and once you're a PA. If you attend nursing school, you have school plus clinicals, then you have to sit for the NCLEX to be licensed; so yes, technically they are both a means to an end, but the BSN is a longer and more expensive means to an end that still has requirements you have to keep once you reach your end. But, if you really like nursing and it is something you want to learn then go for it. Also, does the school that you would get your BPH offer an MPH where you will get credit for some of your undergraduate work? That might be worth checking out too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Friction Posted November 18, 2011 Author Share Posted November 18, 2011 I understand what you guys are saying. Even starting my job this week in the ED, I noticed that a majority of the training staff outside the ED were RN's whom had moved into teaching/management/etc and the majority mentioned not having been bedside for some time. And to be honest, I'm not sure how much faster it would really be for the public health option. Maybe I got a little ahead of myself :) The Maricopa community colleges now offer an BSN/RN pathway that is a concurrent enrollment program; you take your nursing classes through the community college and then BSN coursework at either ASU or NAU. After two years (with an AA) you can take your NCLEX and then only have one light duty semester to finish with your BSN from either of the aforementioned colleges. My only real concern was the ability to work and complete a nursing program at the same time. Being a drilling reservist throws another time limitation in there as well, but I'm sure if you guys can manage... jk. You guys are right too, a nursing degree will offer so many health care opportunities once completed. I mentioned this on an all nurses thread as well, but I think understanding all aspects of the healthcare model can be nothing but good. Moving from ED tech to nurse to PA would definitely, in my opinion, give me an advantage as far as knowing the capabilities and restrictions of each level of healthcare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Friction Posted November 18, 2011 Author Share Posted November 18, 2011 I'm not saying I need to experience all levels of healthcare to be a good provider, however, I don't think it can hurt to have worked in each. Don't worry I'm knee deep in research... If I spent this much time studying ;) The BSN definitely offers the better route as far as the Navy route, which is something I will heavily weigh as I love that environment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Friction Posted November 19, 2011 Author Share Posted November 19, 2011 Ha, no worries. I wan't saying you were questioning my research, I was just saying that I often spend too much time researching instead of studying :) But yeah, the Navy officer thing wouldn't be a bad deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Friction Posted December 12, 2011 Author Share Posted December 12, 2011 What are you thoughts on this program offered through ASU? It would ensure that I had every required course, and then some, for admissions to PA school. If I did decide to pursue a BSN I would still need to take a majority of these classes for PA school, right? Just looking at other options and hoping to get some more opinions. http://healthpromotion.asu.edu/files/programs/healthsciences/preprofessional-pos.pdf Thanks, Joel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Friction Posted December 12, 2011 Author Share Posted December 12, 2011 if you cut out the ochem and physics, that frees you up for taking courses like immunology, advanced anat and phys, pathophysiology, etc. have you looked into health science as a major? is this thier version of health science? you can get a health science degree and not have to lock yourself into a lot of those courses that might have little practicality to you. It is a health science track, but its essentially their pre-med which is why there are so many upper division courses. As far as PA programs, I had USC and MEDEX as my top choices. The more I look into other options the more I wonder if I should just stick with a BSN program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corpsman2PA Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 with that BSN, you pretty much will have the highest tier HCE for PA school, and can pretty much expect to get in at least somewhere. Hmm...interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FfIghter23 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 The paramedic vs nurse rivalry is still going strong I see.... ^^^ :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OpSite Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 I think it's interesting that until I was in PA school, I had no idea there was an "issue" between RN's and Paramedics......and I've been an RN for over 20 years. I'm wondering if the issue is a bit one-sided.....but no clue why it would even exist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OpSite Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 PAMAC.....that's funny. I've never heard an RN say anything negative about a paramedic. You are correct in your assessment that they are very respected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corpsman2PA Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 The paramedic vs nurse rivalry is still going strong I see.... ^^^ :) Who said anything about a paramedic?? I was a corpsman, the same job as those guys that were pioneers of the PA profession. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corpsman2PA Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 I wasn't trying to spark a "one over the other" debate or rivalry. Didn't even know it existed either.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highsierrasmith Posted December 8, 2012 Share Posted December 8, 2012 Wow. I was writing up related questions and concerns about me currently deciding to do the RN track at NAU or other major. After writing it all out and proof reading it before posting, I realized I answered my own questions and have made a decision. So thanks for the answer everybody! Or at least for the inspiration to find the answer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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