Finding Indiana BSN Programs

With the shortage in nursing, you would think that the process of starting and funding nursing school would be simple but the process is more difficult than expected. In Indiana there are two ways to obtain a BSN and they are either the traditional 4 year track or through an accelerated program for people who already hold a BS or BA degree in a different field of study. For those of us who already hold a degree and want to do a career change this can be difficult because of, college accreditation, Nursing board accreditation, Employment, and financial aid.

I have found out in Indiana that there are quite a few schools that do not have the proper school accreditation. There are two major types of school accreditation and they are national and regional. The one that most Major Colleges and university use is regional accreditation. A lot of private tech type schools usually have national accreditation. You would think that national accreditation would be more of a house hold accreditation but in reality if the school does not have regional accreditation, then if you plan on furthering your education, your degree and or credits might not transfer to another school. This can be disheartening for people like me who eventually want to get an advanced degree. Now after you conquer this college accreditation hurtle, you need to make sure that the school has the proper nursing accreditation.

There are two major nursing accreditation boards that are widely accepted by most employers and they are NLNAC and CCNE. Here is the trick even if you are allowed to take your state exam to past the NCLEX if your school doesn’t have the approved nursing accreditation, this could stop you from also advancing your education or even being employed in Indiana. NLNAC is the big one that most employers use here but without it it’s hard to get a job in a hospital. One work around has been after going to a school that does not have the proper nursing accreditation, You would need to work for a nursing home for a couple years and then apply to a hospital job. For some reason the experience in most cases outweighs the accreditation.

Now that we have figured out the right school to go to because we have researched the proper accreditation on a college and nursing level and we have seen what employers want, we have to worry about funding our education.

For those who already have a Bachelor’s degree, we are not eligible for federal grants, only private and federal student loans and in some cases if they offer it institutional loans that maybe offered by the school. For me this was difficult because I used up my max federal loans for my undergraduate degree. I have been accepted to St Elizabeth school of nursing for an accelerated BSN program and they do offer some institutional loans but the program cost roughly 25000 a year and it’s a two year program.

When considering a BSN program in Indiana, thorough research is important so you do not waste any money and time on schools that will not get you the education you need to advance.

 

Indiana State Board of Nursing
Professional Licensing Agency
402 W. Washington Street, Room W072
Indianapolis, IN 46204
Phone: (317) 234-2043
Fax: (317) 233-4236

Indiana State Nurses Association

• Indiana State Department of Health