Calling the Nurse Advice Line...

July 31, 2015 11:29 AM

I'm considering becoming an RN/BSN, with no intention of being a nurse in a clinical setting. Is this a good idea... or a terrible one?

The company I work for is in health insurance. I work with a LOT of nurses, but I’m not a nurse myself. I’m at the independent contributor/manager level in the member education area.

I’m looking for ways to move up, but many of the positions I might want that are higher on the ladder require an RN or BSN. Most people in these positions are not practicing nurses in contact with patients or members; they just require a higher degree of medical knowledge than non-nurses tend to have. Many of the nurses currently in these positions have not practiced very long, or have not practiced in 20+ years.

How crazy would it be to get a nursing degree in order to progress at my company, with no intention of being a practicing nurse at any point in my career? I like the company I work for; I have great relationships at my own and higher levels, and I like my coworkers. I don’t want to leave – but I don’t want to stagnate at the NotaNurse Manager level, either.

The plan I’m considering is to pick up pre-reqs and get my ADN at a local community college, then do an online RN-to-BSN program if I need more credentials/education. My boss is likely to be flexible with time out for clinical training, and my company reimburses most tuition costs. I’ve always had a strong interest in the medical field, so this is not something I’d be doing ONLY for a better job.

This would be a second bachelor's degree for me (female, early 40's). On the pro side, this would open doors for me at my company, and at any other company in this business. Cons include my age and a physical challenge that's slowly improving - I'm a little concerned about the amount of standing up I'll need to do during clinical training. But I'm gaining endurance all the time now, and I think I could be okay with it by the time I reach that point. I would have at least a year of prerequisites to take before I could start the ADN. At the end of this program I'd go back to a typical sit-down-in-cubicle job so physical issues would not be a problem.

Is this just nuts? Am I not considering anything I should consider? I'm not married to this idea yet, just kind of brainstorming it. I'd bring this up with one of my nurse colleagues, but I'm worried they'll think I'm crazy, or feel insulted in some way about me "gaming the system." (...would this be gaming the system?!)

Thoughts on these and other pros/cons would be welcome.

posted by kythuen to Work & Money (13 answers total)

What happens if you are laid off from your company? Are there other places you could do the same thing you want to do now?
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:32 AM on July 31, 2015

I would talk to someone there (your boss, at the very least) to make sure a nursing degree would actually be enough to get you those jobs you want. Many times the RN is a prerequisite not for its own sake, but because the hiring managers really want the people in those roles to have nursing experience.
posted by something something at 11:38 AM on July 31, 2015 [5 favorites]

One issue you may run into is being an RN without clinical practice outside of the curriculum. The degree itself, even with the clinical rotations involved, may not be enough for the leg-up you want, even though most of your co-workers haven't practiced for a while. (Of course, you know your company standards better than I do.)

Also, a BSN can be grueling, especially without clinical practice on your side - many nurses start with an ADN, then take RN-BSN bridge courses that make the coursework lighter.

I also work in healthcare (in a non-medical position) and have thought about doing this myself, but found the timesink not worth it for my goals.

Would another (easier) medical degree be of any use? A Medical Assisting certificate or Practical Nursing/Certified Nursing Assistant degree may be an easier reach - though you may run into the no-clinical experience problem here, too.

Health Information Technology (HIT) degrees are often online certificate programs these days, too.
posted by Zosia Blue at 11:39 AM on July 31, 2015 [1 favorite]

I'm a nurse, and worked for a while for a major insurance company as a Care Manager. The thing about those kinds of nursing jobs is they're usually not open to someone without clinical experience. Talk to your management and maybe pick the brains of the nurses you currently work with, but generally it's hard to give nursing advice or develop a nursing care plan with someone if you've never worked in any kind of hands-on care setting. Usually x years of general med/surg experience is a prerequisite.
posted by little mouth at 12:05 PM on July 31, 2015 [3 favorites]

You will hate nursing school with the white hot passion of a thousand fiery suns if you're in it just to get a better desk job. I absolutely love bedside nursing practice, and I still feel sick to my stomach when I think about being in nursing school ten years ago. It was misery, pure and simple.

Also, having a BSN is not at all the same thing as Being A Nurse. At least 75% of what I know, maybe more, I learned at the bedside after I graduated. Nursing school is all about learning the bare minimum necessary to avoid unsafe practice; it exists to make sure you know enough not to kill people. As others have said above, without the clinical practice piece, you'll be lacking the majority of the knowledge that employers will expect you to have.
posted by jesourie at 12:22 PM on July 31, 2015 [9 favorites]

Response by poster: Thanks everyone - this is falling on the "probably crazy" side, which is not unexpected. I'll re-think my options!
posted by kythuen at 1:36 PM on July 31, 2015

Nursing school sucks. Most desk nursing jobs that I'm aware of require some amount of clinical practice beforehand. Not a ton, maybe a year or two, but it sounds like you have some significant concerns about your physical stamina, and clinical nursing is physically draining. It is also emotionally, psychologically and intellectually draining. I would talk with your higher-ups and ask how much, if any, clinical experience you would need before you'd be able to apply for a RN job with your company. I'd then sit down and do an honest appraisal of how much physical exertion your body can handle. Probably also a good time to figure out how you feel about disease, mortality, and bodily fluids. Good luck!
posted by brevator at 1:45 PM on July 31, 2015

PS- for the record, I love nursing. Starting a masters program next week. But it's not for everyone.
posted by brevator at 1:46 PM on July 31, 2015

Do not make the mistake of thinking that a nurse at a desk is not practicing nursing or that she is not applying years and years of clinical experience to the job at hand.

My job is a desk job. I reach back into my clinical experience every day. New hires in this role who do not have significant bedside experience, preferably in an ICU, are dropping like flies right now.

Additionally, if the job did not need a licensed, practiced, experienced nurse to do it the company would not be paying her what they are, trust me on that.
posted by SLC Mom at 3:18 PM on July 31, 2015

Response by poster: I just wanted to clarify that I'm not in any way trying to suggest that the clinical experiences of the nurses I work with aren't valuable. I count on many of them every day to share that knowledge, and I'm definitely rethinking this idea based on all the helpful input above. I'm not talking about nurse care managers though, or nurses staffing advice lines (the title of my post was meant to be funny, but I think it's misleading) or analyzing appeals/grievances or SREs, etc.

I'm talking specifically about roles analyzing and reporting on population data (for instance, for members with diabetes or asthma) and generating HEDIS rates; in my company at least, these roles have no contact with the public or providers at all, but require at least an RN to progress to management. Would a position like that require a background of bedside nursing?
posted by kythuen at 5:42 PM on July 31, 2015

Would a position like that require a background of bedside nursing?

I think you need to talk to the people at your work. At the very least a thorough Googling. I don't mean to dissuade you. Find out all the info you can about this before you make your decision. Good luck!
posted by brevator at 6:20 PM on July 31, 2015

Have you considered getting a master's in health care management instead? Maybe something like this at Penn State?
posted by mareli at 7:14 PM on July 31, 2015 [2 favorites]

I'm going to take the opposite position from the naysayers above. I think it is never a bad idea for a healthcare deskjockey to understand nursing perspective from the inside. I'm a nurse and love it, but have been horribly frustrated at often deeply uninformed interference foisted upon nursing, and thus the hospital, by B school managers. They routinely have behind-closed-doors secret handshake meetings where they discuss management theory and are beyond remote from the routine day to day worries of nurses and patients. Everything trickes down, and everything that bubbles up from the trenches is squashed flat. Whatever you decide to do, please remember that patients, not profits, should be the primary focus of healthcare.


And this actual education and clinical training would make it possible for you to work in nursing, should you decide you really are suited and enjoy it. There are many, many job opportunities that do not require bedside experience, but most would benefit from at least some med-surg experience.
posted by citygirl at 7:51 PM on July 31, 2015 [1 favorite]