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Bachelor of Nursing or Enrolled Nursing

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Author Bachelor of Nursing or Enrolled Nursing

sandyko

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  • Joined: Jan 2014
  • Location: Melbourne
  • Posts: 25

Mon Mar 03, 2014 5:03 pm

Hello everyone, I have a bit of a dilemma. I am a mature age student so not that young and I live in Melbourne. I have been accepted into the bachelor of nursing distance education uni sa. I am now rethinking whether I should do diploma of nursing instead at gold coast tafe by distance ed for the following reasons: Enrolled nursing is a shorter course (can be completed in 18 months) so I could get into employment faster than doing the degree. It would give me more insight into nursing and if I dont like it then I havent wasted 3 years studying. If I do like it then I could study uni for 2 years for registered as the first year subjects are credited including one placement. I also thought it might be easier to get work as an enrolled nurse as they pay you less. Also studying uni is a lot harder and who knows if I would finish the degree, also just because it is a 3 year degree, doesnt mean I would finish it in 3 years, it could take me 5 and thats a long time to wait to get employment.The main negative is that I would be paying for tafe and then uni if I chose to do uni later but I would do both through VET help and hecs but the positive is I would be working sooner and having an income. I am so undecided what to do. Your opinions would be greatly appreciated.

snapey

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snapey
  • Joined: Jan 2013
  • Location:
  • Posts: 60

Mar 08, 2014, 07:43 pm

Hello,

A bit more about your living situation would be good so we can help you. Do you have kids? Are you paying a mortgage? Could you survive off Austudy if you went to uni full time?

What makes you think your RN course will end up taking five years? If that is the case will your EN course end up taking you 3 years?

sandyko

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  • Joined: Jan 2014
  • Location: Melbourne
  • Posts: 25

Mar 10, 2014, 10:40 pm

Hi, thanks for responding. I am married and have one teenage daughter and live in Melbourne. I also have a mortgage. I am looking to do nursing because I am interested in it but also because I want to obviously get employed aswell at the end of it. If I do the diploma I would look at completing it in 2 years and if I did the bachelor I would look at completing it in about 4 years. I dont want to waste my time studying if there are no jobs in nursing and Im not sure if its easier to get work from the diploma or degree. Everyone talks about how hard it is to get a graduate program and that concerns me. I am just wanting to know what is the better pathway for me. People say if you do the diploma you will only be employed in aged care. I dont mind that but I would like to also think there are different areas you could get in after the diploma.

Msdb

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  • Joined: Nov 2014
  • Location: Perth WA
  • Posts: 1

Nov 18, 2014, 09:17 pm

Hi sandyko, Interested in finding out what decision you made? If so, how did you arrive there? I find myself in a similar situation to yourself, with similar (more like exact thoughts) about doing bachelors of nursing or enrolled nursing course.

enoto

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  • Joined: Dec 2014
  • Location:
  • Posts: 4

Dec 04, 2014, 04:49 pm

I'm also interested in what you decided. I am a stay at home mum wanting a career change and can't decide between EEN or RN, full time or distance education.

Sarah123

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  • Joined: Feb 2014
  • Location:
  • Posts: 6

Dec 25, 2014, 05:48 pm

Hey guys, a few of you have asked the same question, EEN or RN? I was in this situation at the beginning of this year and decided to go for EEN first. I think I've made the right choice and am very happy that I went with EEN first. It is a shorter course and some people decide nursing is not for them, so they don't waste 3 years instead only about 1.5 years. Goodluck!!

roocooper

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  • Joined: Jan 2015
  • Location:
  • Posts: 4

Jan 26, 2015, 08:01 am Last edited Jan 26, 2015, 08:01 am update #3

Yeah, I tend to think Sarah's contribution is spot on. 

If the degree was offered flexibly, online with a little face to face for practical components, then it may be doable whilst working. I'm a mature aged student, and I too have just received an offer from a NSW University to do the Bachelor, but they insist they don't want students working whilst undertaking the Degree because the degree is a FULL TIME course ONLY. To put it very simply, and I'm sure a lot would agree, the University doesn't feed you, pay your bills, or put fuel in the car for the three years it takes to graduate from the degree. 

A good friend of mine helped me lean towards the diploma. She told me, it's expensive to do the EN Diploma first, but it's more expensive to not work for three years! It might be okay to do the degree if you had lots of money and lived at home!

The universities need to start recognising (as Charles Darwin Uni, Charles Sturt Uni, and Central Queensland Uni have) that people need to work and get experience working whilst they are undertaking degrees. The old days of full time degrees that require you to be there for a lecture, when you could watch that lecture online or read the material in a book, are over. 

At the end of the day, there is no right or wrong decision because both pathways will land you at a degree (should you choose to proceed). If you don't choose to stay in nursing, then if you have the Diploma, you have a qualification. If you get half way through a degree and hate the career, you've wasted a lot of time and money and you have no qualification. 
Best of luck :)

modified: Monday 26 January 2015 8:04:37 am - roocooper

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