Running head: RN TO BSN COMPLETION PLAN

RN to BSN Completion Plan Cassaundra Braden Ferris State University

RN TO BSN COMPLETION PLAN

RN to BSN Completion Plan When I was a child I wanted to be a lawyer. This made no sense because I was the shyest kid you could ever meet. In grade school I wanted to study at Oxford University in England because I had family there and always wanted to visit. Going into college I wanted to be a psychologist. When I really started thinking realistically I realized my passion lied in helping and caring for people. After a conversation held with my cousin, who is an RN, I decided to take the appropriate steps towards my RN at a local community college. During my obstetrics clinical rotation I was able to see a live birth. The experience was so overwhelming that I knew right then and there that if I didnt spend the rest of my life doing this, I would never be as truly happy as I could be. I decided I wanted to become a midwife. After researching schools offering a midwifery program I found that University of Michigan was the only Michigan college offering such options. It will require a masters of science. In order to achieve this goal I must first obtain my BSN. Ferris State University holds a lot of opportunities for me. I do not live in the area so the totally online program works well. With my credits transferring from Muskegon Community College I am able to qualify for all general education requirements aside from Advanced Composition and epidemiology statistics (Ferris, 2012). I am fortunate that I chose the credits while obtaining my RN that I did. With the transfer of my MCC credits and these two classes I will remain only with nursing major core curriculum to complete for my BSN degree.

Background: My previous college incorporated Blackboard for all of my online classes as well as grading for in class courses. I am familiar with its use and for the most part understanding of all

RN TO BSN COMPLETION PLAN

the parts of the site. This will help me in being prepared for the entirely online BSN program. I have taken two online only courses at MCC and that will be helpful in organizing myself in an online program. This semester I am taking Advanced Composition along with Nursing 320. So far I have found my weakness to involve time management between assignments and working full time. Now that we are solidly into the semester I realize I work best if I work independently at home before going into work if it is small assignments such as discussion board posts or getting a start on papers. If I have a day off I am usually able to focus on a larger assignment if I have a good start on it. If I leave a large assignment to a day off I will have a hard time focusing. I like to keep my days off, truly off. I have found it helpful to meet with my friends who are also in the class to keep me on track and help with questions I may have. This usually works best the morning and afternoon before work since I work second shift. I think if I use this knowledge of what works best for me I will be successful in this program. My current plan is to complete the program on a part-time basis over seven semesters, which will allow me to finish with fall of 2014. I will be working a full time job along with a part time job, both as an RN, throughout the course of this program. This may prove to be challenging, but not impossible if I adhere to the strengths above. I do not have children or a husband so this is the time to do it!

Spring 2013: In spring 2013, I plan to take Nursing 324, Transition into Professional Nursing, which is 3 credits. I also plan to complete CCHS 315, epidemiology-statistics, so I can have this math class out of the way. I think CCHS 315 will be difficult for me because it has been quite some

RN TO BSN COMPLETION PLAN

time since I took a math course. I took two in college and scored over 100% on both due to the fact that they were not challenging classes. This class will be different but I will have the help of my fellow classmates and the support of the FSU staff.

Summwe 2013: For summer 2013, my schedule will consist of Nursing 310-Population Based Health Promotion which contains of 3 credits. I do not have as many required general education classes as my friends that I am completing this program with so this will be a short semester for me. However, we plan on doing a trip for our capstone that will most likely occur during this semester. Not having a heavy course load will allow me to focus on this trip and really get involved without having to work about a ton of school work. Currently we are looking into a missions trip to Guatemala, an obstetrics related trip to Tanzania, or a trip to Turkey to work in a hospital there.

Fall 2013: For fall 2013, I will be taking Nursing 350-Research in Nursing, which is 3 credits, along with my nursing elective, also 3 credits. Currently I am thinking I will choose Nursing 300, Pathophysiology Nursing Practice. I did not find an elective that really caught my eye. I currently work in long term care, so Nursing 314 and 315 apply to my everyday life now however, I do not plan on staying in long term care for very long. I believe Pathophysiology will give me a broad spectrum of fields of nursing, which may be difficult, but very beneficial.

RN TO BSN COMPLETION PLAN

Spring 2014: In the spring of 2014 I will be taking Nursing 340-Community Nursing, 3 credits, along with taking a 300 level class to meet my graduation requirements. I have considered taking Nursing 316 for the opportunity to travel and learn about nursing in another county. Transcultural Nursing is not available to take in 2013, so this would be a good semester to incorporate this course and it would be incredible to travel to New Zeeland (Elective, 2012).

Summer 2014: The summer of 2014 I plan to only take Nursing 440, Leadership in Nursing, 3 credits. It will be a nice break from the heavy course load. It will be nice to have a summer to spend with friends and family and only worry about one class. This will also give me the time to mentally prepare for the last semester of the program.

Fall 2014: Fall 2014 will be my final semester. I will be taking Nursing 450-Nursing Capstone along with Nursing 495, Senior Capstone Leadership Practicum. Both classes are 3 credits. I am sure this semester will be strenuous but with the excitement of finishing the program, I should find it encouraging to push through it.

RN TO BSN COMPLETION PLAN

References Ferris State University. (2012). Schedule Options. Retrieved from http://www.ferris.edu/htmls/colleges/alliedhe/Nursing/RN-to-BSN/Schedule1.pdf Ferris State University. (n.d.). Elective Option: Study abroad in Finland or New Zealand, Nurs 316 Transcultural Nursing .Retrieved from http://www.ferris.edu/HTMLS/colleges/alliedhe/Nursing/RN-to-BSN/Nursing-ElectiveOption.htm