[Cookie_Monster]

Originally Posted by iluvmynavyman

bsn's should be paid more for a higher degree just like any other profession and the job description should be a little different

AND THEY ARE!! the hospital in my city is paying bsn nurses additional 1000 a year , 500 for part time bsn nurses. maybe its not a huge difference but they call it RECOGNITION, for all of you out there who NEED this recognition for going to school a year or two more so bad.

[jennbn]

OK I was going to ignore this topic because it is very tired but I had to interject. I graduate next week with an ADN, HOWEVER, I am perfectly capable of obtaining a BSN but the opportunity to do so was not there. I am 30 years old, I do not have parents paying my tuition, and fiscally it was not responsible for me to pursure a BSN initially. That being said, I enter a RN-BSN-MSN accelerated program in January (now that scholarships are kicking in) I hope when I graduate I don't consider myself suddenly better than an ADN. We all wipe the same butts and deal with the same stuff. If you want more money pursue your masters, leave floor nursing or take a job in administration. Until then quit frowning on ADNs....we are your help in the hall. There is not always a BSN standing there when you need one...

[emtb2rn]

Originally Posted by Cookie_Monster

AND THEY ARE!! the hospital in my city is paying bsn nurses additional 1000 a year , 500 for part time bsn nurses. maybe its not a huge difference but they call it RECOGNITION, for all of you out there who NEED this recognition for going to school a year or two more so bad.

What about folks who don't have BSN's, but have bachelor's and let's even say master's degrees in other fields. And also have years of management experience as well. These folks are bringing a lot to the party, so why not compensate them the same as you would a BSN grad?

[jjjoy]

Originally Posted by emtb2rn

What about folks who don't have BSN's, but have bachelor's and let's even say master's degrees in other fields. And also have years of management experience as well. These folks are bringing a lot to the party, so why not compensate them the same as you would a BSN grad?

I do think a bachelor's degree in any field should qualify a nurse for a higher differential. And if they have other relevant experience or additional related education then that would also merit a little higher pay. Thus, experience teaching world history or having a PhD in astrophysics wouldn't count for anything extra but experience working in infection control or having a master's in health care administration would qualify one for a higher pay differential.

In this ideal scenario, nursing experience itself also merits pay progressive pay increases. And getting certified in speciality areas and additional skills would also increase one's income. Thus, there would be multiple ways for a nurse to increase their earning power without having to leave the bedside.

All this without any fundamental change to the job description. Teaching is an example of a field where an employee can increase their pay with more education but the job role is the same regardless. In another field, a friend of mine just got a small pay increase for becoming certified in Microsoft Word. There was no change in job responsibilities.

[goettin98]

I'm in the same boat as jennbn who posted above. At the time I was considering nursing school, it just was not financially possible for me to go to a BSN school. The only one around me for 50 miles was a small, private liberal arts college that runs close to $30,000/year. I was working full time at a nursing home that was 20 miles in the other direction (on top of the 50 miles) of the nearest state school (and still continued to all during nursing school), so the commute wasn't worth it. I went to the ADN school and got it over with. I got hired on the spot in the only place I applied for. Plus, in my state, we learned in nursing school that there is absolutely no pay difference between ADN and BSN. I'm really only planning to work for a couple more years until my husband and I have a child, so I doubt I'll do the RN-BSN program.

[Jerico]

ORIGINALLY posted by WhimsieRN 03/26/2006 0428pm: (18 MONTHS ago)

(He/She is referring to the ADN vs BSN predicament the profession of nursing finds itself in...)

"I'm still looking at other older posts, but I am not really getting anything except a whole lot of division and acrimony on the subject. It is really disheartning to know that this goes on in the work place all the time.
The whole ego... I've got the bigger education than you, I am a better nurse than you b/c you don't have an adequate education thing... it is just disgusting. And I really resent having to take a position on something I find so repulsive."

I could not AGREE with this poster's observation more!

At times it appears to be a "nanny-nanny-boo-boo my Daddy's bigger than your Daddy" thing between two little kids on the playground, doesn't it?

THAT is the way it appears to outsiders and patients, too.
THAT is why there is a division between MDs and DOs.

THAT is WHY the nursing profession as a WHOLE (that is ANY of US who invest our LICENSES, time, money, effort, blood, sweat and tears to healing, aiding, caring for patients) need to SUPPORT the activity of UNIFYING nurses through ONE unified definition of what a "PROFESSIONAL NURSE" is!

(Hell, the PUBLIC can't tell who is a nurse and who isn't anymore! Sometimes I feel like a stealth health care provider!)

I contend that instead of being a PART of the PROBLEM help be the SOLUTION.

ALL of us need to DEMAND the boards of nursing in EVERY state REQUIRE a MINIMUM EDUCATION of having a bachelor's in order to be REGISTERED nurses. WHY???

A) BECAUSE we cannot rest our laurels on ONLY behavior being the definition of a "professional". BEHAVIORS are SUBJECTIVE!

B) BECAUSE education is MEASUREABLE. It DEFINES the rule of "LAW". If X happens then you get Y.

C) BECAUSE two LEVELS of education and same PAY is not equitable and it therefore will CAUSE splitting of the population. It is HUMAN nature to want to be treated FAIRLY and JUSTLY. When fairness and justness exist there is relative PEACE among workers. This is WHY communism or socialism will ALWAYS be unstable political states with unhappy and fearful workers. This is why women keep fighting with men for equal PAY for equal education. Humans are attracted to DEFINED parameters, justness, and fairness.





Scenario:

Teacher: "Janie, you must complete 90% of this homework assignment to get an A". Janie works her butt off because she KNOWS if she does her BEST she will get the A and then she will get to go to the movies on Saturday.

Teacher: "Mary, you must complete 80% of this homework assignment to get an A". Mary works (but doesn't work her butt off) because she knows she only has to get an 80 and she will get to go to the movies on Saturday.

MARY to Janie at lunch: "I got an A, Janie, I get to go to the movies on Saturday, too. Wanna go with me?".

Wonder why Janie doesn't want to go but goes anyway but secretly RESENTS Mary?

She's a girl and girls are expected to be nice and suck it up.

Nursing has to STOP sucking it up.

The teacher is the boards of nursing.

[Jerico]

.....and the movie is taking the NCLEX.

[scooterRN52]

Originally Posted by Sheri257

I realize this is an old topic, and maybe this thread will be deleted. But I have a slightly different question on the issue. Is a BSN really a BSN anymore? I'm talking about all of these accelerated BSN programs.

I don't know about other programs, but the BSN program in my area only requires an extra semester than the surrounding ADN programs. You don't need another degree or anything else besides basic pre-reqs. Because this program is so short, it basically emphasizes more theory and less clinicals than the surrounding ADN programs.

Normally I would agree that a BSN is better, assuming that it's a four year program involving more theory, clinical training, etc. But if accelerated BSN programs are becoming so abbreviated, you have to wonder about what does a BSN really mean anymore?

I raise this issue not so much to debate ADN versus BSN, but to examine these accelerated BSN programs and what that really means. If the time frame is basically the same, is an accelerated BSN really that different from an ADN these days? Except, perhaps, emphasis on different areas and a different title?

I'm not saying that accelerated BSNs are a bad thing. I just wondering if we're debating titles more than anything else.

We are debating titles, my Liscence says professional nurse and I think anyone who has RN after their name is a registered nurse they don't pay more if you have a BSN. T his thread is going nowhere.

[jjjoy]

Originally Posted by Jerico

Teacher: "Mary, you must complete 80% of this homework assignment to get an A". Mary works (but doesn't work her butt off) because she knows she only has to get an 80 and she will get to go to the movies on Saturday.

I'd change your analogy a bit...

The students need to pass a test to go to the movies. Mary worked her butt off and passed the test with a "C." Janie worked her butt off longer (let's say there was an extra credit assignment to get the A) and got an "A."

They both get to go to the movies. They run into one of their teachers who says to Janie "It's so wonderful you got an 'A' You're a great student with a great future." Mary resents Janie because the teacher is making over Janie and Mary feels that her accomplishment is being ignored. Later they run into another teacher who says "You two must have passed that hard test! That's a hard test, isn't it? But all that matters is that you pass it!" Now Janie feels resentful because her extra effort to get the A is ignored. She put in more time than Mary and yet in the eyes of this teacher, there is no difference.

[Aimee03]

I wish people weren't absurd about ADN degrees. I have a ADN, want and will soon do my RN-BSN-MSN. The thing that qualifies me to get the EXACT, SAME pay as BSN rns is the fact that I passed the SAME NCLEX as the BSN people. I am a RN just like they are a RN. That's it. I did save A LOT of money and time by going to a community college. In fact my Community college has higher board passing scores than most of the universities. I guess we are doing something right!