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Career Opportunities After Completing an Accelerated BSN

Accelerated BSN programs condense a traditional four-year degree into 12, 16, or 24 months. They offer a quicker path to nursing without sacrificing quality. However, due to their intense schedule, they require strong dedication.

One of the best ways to know if this degree path is for you is by knowing the career opportunities after completing an accelerated BSN. Consider if these roles match your goals and interests.

This post explores what you can do after completing an accelerated BSN program. This will cover jobs with an accelerated BSN, salary expectations, and further education opportunities.

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What is an Accelerated BSN?

Have you ever considered a career in nursing? Do you already have a bachelor’s degree in a different field?

If you answered “yes” to both questions, an Accelerated BSN program could be the perfect path. It allows you to leverage your existing degree and quickly transition into a rewarding nursing career.

Accelerated BSN programs are designed to help students earn their nursing degrees faster than traditional college programs. They can typically be earned in 12-18 months. These programs can be offered on-campus or online.

Instead of following the usual semester schedule, accelerated programs divide classes into shorter terms, like quarters or sections, and run continuously without long breaks. Students in online programs can complete their required clinical rotations at local medical facilities.

Here are the key aspects of accelerated BSN degree programs:

  • Intensive Coursework: You’ll dive into nursing-specific classes like pharmacology, patient care, and health assessments. The program is fast-paced, so be ready to learn a lot in a short amount of time.
  • Prerequisite Courses: Most ABSN programs require you to take some basic science courses like anatomy, physiology, microbiology, and chemistry before applying. These give you the foundation you need to jump into nursing coursework.
  • Clinical Rotations: The program emphasizes hands-on experience. Students complete clinical hours at hospitals or clinics, working in specialties such as pediatrics, emergency care, or psych nursing.

Common Job Roles for Accelerated BSN Graduates

Registered Nurse (RN)

One of the most common accelerated BSN career options is becoming an RN. Registered nurses are most famous for their hands-on patient care, but their skills go way beyond that.

Work settings

RNs work in all kinds of roles you might not expect, from patient care to consultant and administration to coordination. Most nurses work in hospitals. Other than the hospital, RNs are also found in the following settings:

  • Offices of Physicians
  • Nursing Care Facilities
  • Home Healthcare Services      
  • Outpatient Care Centers
  • Elementary and Secondary Schools

Key Responsibilities

The majority of RNs focus on direct patient care, often in specialized areas. In general, a nurse’s job involves:

  • patient care
  • administering medications
  • health assessment

Critical Care Nurse

Critical care nurses are RNs who care for patients with life-threatening conditions. They’re experts in monitoring, medicating, and resuscitating patients, staying calm under pressure, and working well in teams.

These nurses also communicate closely with doctors and advocate for their patients, keeping families updated and providing support during some of the toughest moments in their lives.

Work Settings

Critical care RNs work in units that provide the highest level of care, including:

  • Intensive Care Units (ICUs)
  • Emergency Rooms (ERs)
  • Cardiac Care Units (CCUs)
  • Trauma Units
  • Post-Anesthesia Care Units (PACUs)

Pediatric Nurse

One of the top nursing careers after an accelerated BSN includes pediatric nursing.

Pediatric nurses care for infants, children, and teens, helping with everything from check-ups to managing chronic conditions. Key responsibilities include:

  • assessing and monitoring patients
  • giving medications
  • assisting with treatment plans
  • guiding families on health and wellness

These nurses combine clinical expertise with a knack for offering compassionate, kid-friendly care.

Work Settings

NPs work in a variety of settings, including:

  • Primary Care Offices
  • Hospitals and Specialized Clinics
  • Urgent Care Centers
  • Outpatient Care Facilities
  • Private Practice

Public Health Nurse

Many nurses choose to become a public health nurse after a BSN. These nurses are key in promoting community health and preventing disease. They focus on education, advocacy, and assessing health trends to improve wellness and reduce health risks. Their work can vary but typically includes the following:

  • Identifying health risks in communities
  • Running disease prevention campaigns
  • Advocating for better healthcare access in underserved areas
  • Providing direct care to at-risk populations
  • Analyzing health data to guide interventions

Work Settings

Public health nurses work in a range of settings, such as:

  • Outpatient and community clinics
  • Government agencies
  • Schools
  • Nonprofit organizations

Salary Expectations for Accelerated BSN Graduates

The average registered nurse salary with accelerated BSN is $77,600 per year. Specific salary, however, may depend on several factors like location, experience, and industry.

Here’s an overview of the median annual wages for registered nurses in top industries:

  • Government: $99,840
  • Hospitals (state, local, and private): $88,430
  • Ambulatory healthcare services: $81,230
  • Nursing and residential care facilities: $79,280
  • Educational services (state, local, and private): $71,550

To increase their earning potential, RNs can pursue a specialization. Specializing in nursing can lead to more responsibility, a higher salary, and boost your confidence. In fact, 97% of specialized nurses feel more confident in their skills, and 86% of Nurse Managers prefer to hire them.

Here are some of the top specialized nursing roles:

Nursing SpecialtyMedian Salary
Critical Care Nurse$82,000
Pediatric Nurse$75,000
Public Health Nurse$64,000

These numbers can increase or decrease with factors like geographic location, experience level, and certifications at play. The states with the highest-paying jobs for specialized accelerated BSN graduate jobs are:

  • California: $124,000
  • Hawaii: $106,530
  • Oregon: $98,630
  • District of Columbia: $98,540
  • Alaska: $97,230

Opportunities for Career Advancement

Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN)

The APRN role has grown to meet the healthcare needs of various populations and specialties across the US and its territories.

APRNs are RNs with advanced degrees (master’s or doctorate) and extra training beyond the standard nursing education. APRN roles include:

  • Nurse Practitioner
  • Clinical Nurse Specialist
  • Nurse Anesthetist
  • Nurse Midwife

APRN roles come with significantly higher salaries, averaging $132,914 per year.

Nurse Leadership and Administration

Nursing leadership and management roles are positions that require advanced knowledge and expertise. Positions in this path include:

  • Nurse Manager
  • Director of Nursing
  • Nurse Administrator
  • Chief Nursing Officer
  • Clinical Nurse Leader

These positions focus on healthcare administration, leadership, and policy.

Nursing Education

Nursing education is the educational aspect of nursing practice. Duties mainly focus on teaching future nurses. This career path requires an MSN or Doctorate in Nursing Education.

Further Education Opportunities After an Accelerated BSN

Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)

The Master of Science in Nursing is one of the top advanced nursing degrees after BSN. An MSN program helps nurses build on what they learned during their undergrad or career, focusing on specialization and advanced clinical skills. It’s designed to take their practice to the next level.

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

After earning an MSN, you can pursue an even more advanced degree, like a Ph.D. or Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), in your chosen specialty. These terminal degrees focus on leadership, administration, and advanced clinical practice.

Certifications and Continuing Education

You should also consider pursuing certifications to access more high-paying nursing careers with a BSN. Nursing certifications highlight your specialized skills, boost career growth, increase earnings, and open more job opportunities. Here are some of the top nursing certifications you can consider:

  • Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN)
  • Critical Care Registered Nurse (CCRN)
  • Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP-BC)
  • Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP-BC)
  • Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS)

Nursing requires lifelong learning. To stay updated with current trends, you should join professional organizations, attend webinars, and enroll in continuing education courses.

Challenges and Considerations

Work-Life Balance

An accelerated BSN program takes a lot of time and energy. Between coursework, clinical hours, and studying on your own, there’s often little time for anything else, like family or downtime. To make it all work, some students find it helpful to cut back on work hours or look for more flexible job options while they’re in the program.

Costs of Further Education

The accelerated BSN job outlook is strong, but competition can be tough, especially for popular specialties. ABSN grads may need to pursue a graduate degree to stay competitive, which adds another cost. Explore the scholarships, grants, and employer tuition assistance programs that can help you offset costs, as many hospitals offer support for advanced nursing degrees.

Conclusion

An Accelerated BSN offers a quicker path to the nursing field, which offers great job prospects, solid pay, and plenty of room for career growth. However, with the competitive job markets, you may need more than just an ABSN. You should also consider further education, certifications, or a specialty.