[Hopefull2009]

Originally Posted by MLOS

Not quite following you on this ...

I agree w/the previous poster. What we nurses refer to as a BSN is a bachelor of science degree in nursing, whether it is earned at a college of nursing within a university, or a college which has a department of nursing.

Am I missing something that is the source of your frustration?

Generically speaking, an undergraduate degree is either a BS or a BA, no matter what field of study. Many fields use another notation within their own industries, i.e., we nurses refer to a BSN, those with business degrees refer to their BSBA (bachelor of science in business administration), etc. ... but this designation is meaningful only to others in the same field. Some specific majors may require a few more credits, some a few less, but all are generically 4-year undergraduate degrees.

Thanks for saying that better than I did

[LaborNurse1]

Originally Posted by SmilingBluEyes

I wish we could just respect everyone's educational accomplishments period.

I agree. I wasn't implying otherwise.

And here is the program I graduated from giving me the BS degree with a major in nursing. If you go to UMass Lowell's website you will see that a BSN is not offered. The link below is the curriculum for the RN to BS program which I was in. The courses listed were in addition to anything we transferred in, or we could CLEP exam out of some of them.

http://www.uml.edu/catalog/undergrad...0study%202.pdf

[PMFB-RN]

Originally Posted by LaborNurse1

Anyhow...my understanding of the difference is that the BS with a major in nursing is a 4 year degree awarded by the university/college, not a college within the university system, and therefore requires a few more credits for graduation. The BSN is awarded to students who attended a College of Nursing school within a university. In other words, its a separate division within the school that has different graduation requirements, albeit not much different than other divisions within the university but different none the less.

Am I alone on this one?

*** Just to throw this in the mix....... I work with several nurses who have RN, BAN on their badges for Bachelor of Arts in Nursing. Some schools grant the BAN instead of BSN.

[scrubsnhugsRN]

You are right not all degrees are the same, and certainly some require more prerequisites, higher classes than another. I have an Associates in Applied Science in Nursing. My university set us up so it would be an easy transition into BSN.
However, there is another university that is offering ADN here and the coursework is not the same. Meaning they have less (lower level) math, science, and humanties..and yet everyone calls me the same degree ADN. It took me 3 and half years to get my degree not 2 without having summer breaks!! Grrr. I guess it doesnt matter, since I dont have my BS yet.

[SmilingBluEyes]

BAN
BSN
BS

Goes to show, we all need to remember, nursing is an ART and SCIENCE.

[LaborNurse1]

Originally Posted by SmilingBluEyes

BAN
BSN
BS

Goes to show, we all need to remember, nursing is an ART and SCIENCE.

Very good point!

[Jolie]

LaborNurse1,

I know exactly what you are saying, and agree that there is a tremendous amount of confusion about the distinction between the two degrees.

I graduated 20 years ago from a Bachelor's Degree program, and we actually had a 1 hour lecture in our Nursing Leadership course presented by the Chair of our department to make certain we knew that our degree was a "Bachelor of Science Degree with a major in Nursing", and NOT a BSN.

She wasn't trying to give us the impression that one degree was superior to the other, but to make sure that we didn't misrepresent ourselves, since placing BSN on our name badges would be incorrectly stating our credentials.

Must have been a huge pet peeve of hers!

[queenjean]

Really, who cares? Is this really something to get one's panties in a wad about? Do I get to list all my "initials" after my name, and should I expect everyone to know (or care) what the differences are?

When I clicked on this thread, I thought the BS was going to stand for Bull X; I was thinking someone was posting a thread about the crap one has to go through to earn a Bachelors of Science. But on the other hand, maybe I was right???

Seriously, I can't believe it makes you angry that people don't understand what the exact requirements of your program or your degree were. I'm going out on a limb here and just completely expose my ignorance by admitting that I assumed that ALL programs had a bit of variety in what they required for nursing school. Why else would I have taken cultural anthropology for one potential program, and chemistry and physics for another?

Your letters don't make you a good or a bad nurse; don't let it get you so uptight and angry. I'm sorry, this just sounds petty. So you are a BS; get over it.

[SmilingBluEyes]

The original poster was saying why this concerns her. Let's just respect that opinion and each other's accomplishments. For some, this may be "splitting hairs" but clearly, others, it's a concern. We can agree to disagree.

[LaborNurse1]

Originally Posted by queenjean

Really, who cares? Is this really something to get one's panties in a wad about? Do I get to list all my "initials" after my name, and should I expect everyone to know (or care) what the differences are?

When I clicked on this thread, I thought the BS was going to stand for Bull X; I was thinking someone was posting a thread about the crap one has to go through to earn a Bachelors of Science. But on the other hand, maybe I was right???

Seriously, I can't believe it makes you angry that people don't understand what the exact requirements of your program or your degree were. I'm going out on a limb here and just completely expose my ignorance by admitting that I assumed that ALL programs had a bit of variety in what they required for nursing school. Why else would I have taken cultural anthropology for one potential program, and chemistry and physics for another?

Your letters don't make you a good or a bad nurse; don't let it get you so uptight and angry. I'm sorry, this just sounds petty. So you are a BS; get over it.

Wow, I think this gets you more upset than me! I was just posting my frustration with the lack of awareness and assumptions, is all. I was never stating one degree was better than the other, just different. Yes it does aggravate me but clearly not as much as the post bothers you!