[rhelna]

I do get tired of the BSN person cutting my RN license down and she only makes $1.00 an hour more. And if hospitals make us go back for the BSN or threaten to cap our pay - it will really infuriate me. My experience of 13 years should account - who will go to bat for all the nurses already out there caring for these pts? We are already on a shortage crunch.....A book person - can sit at the desk - but the nurse with the pts. take their experiences forever in their heart.

[ERNURSE158]

This is a great thread....I think ADN programs are a wonderfull jumpstart into nursing. Some of the most amazing nurses I work with have ADN's, infact some of them are old Certificate nurses. Good nursing knows No DEGREE...I know some PhD's in Nursing I wouldn't let put me on a monitor, much less do anything else. However the important thing to remember is that for the sake of our profession we must encourage further education in the form of advanced degrees and certificatons. If we want the respect we deserve as independent licensed personell we must prove that we are highly educated independent practioners. so if an ADN is more financially feasable for you now..GREAT! go for it...Because once it says RN behind your name you then qualify for RN to BSN, or RN to MSN programs where you can further your educations. Nursing is not just 2 years, its a lifetime commitment to learning...so KEEP IT UP!

[Tweety]

Originally Posted by rhelna

I do get tired of the BSN person cutting my RN license down and she only makes $1.00 an hour more. And if hospitals make us go back for the BSN or threaten to cap our pay - it will really infuriate me. My experience of 13 years should account - who will go to bat for all the nurses already out there caring for these pts? We are already on a shortage crunch.....A book person - can sit at the desk - but the nurse with the pts. take their experiences forever in their heart.

So you decide to cut down the BSN by calling us "a book person". Some of us do actually touch patients you know.

Respect is a two-way street.

[noviciate]

With all due respect this sounds so bizarre. Surely this is the only profession that I've encountered that has this much debate over an issue that is relatively simple to an outsider.

It has been logically proven that education pays. Experience is wonderful, but employers give equal leverage to degreed persons. If the latter was not true we wouldn't see the swelling number of applicants to universities each year. Each are hoping for greater career opportunities and the benefits that coincide including increased pay.

What baffles me the most in all the threads I've read on this topic is the need for both sides to explain and in some instances defend their decisions. Some were aware that nursing is what they wanted to do and opted to attend school right away. Others found their way to nursing years later after other careers or life experiences that led them to this path.

Whatever the case, your choice of education is precisely that. Those that opt for an ADN regardless of the circumstances must accept the pros and cons associated with that decision. The same holds true for BSN candidates.

Some employers regard the degree with additional pay, others choose not to. Their failure to do so has helped to perpetuate the us vs. them train of thought that often creeps into threads of this nature.

The lack of consistency on the issue is a larger problem that will need to be addressed at some point. In the meantime, if we hope to see progress in the industry and are able to capitalize on the society's increasing need for our services, we should examine where our energies would be best directed. I doubt if bickering about personal life decisions would rank high on the list.

[mntgrl]

Wow, I am going for a diploma program which has a very good pass rate. I am so thrilled to have a way not only to be able to a great education, but all I have to do is commit to work for the hospital for two years and I don't have any student debt to pay off. Like I wouln't want to work there anyway, ha! Also, I have a son who is going to community college for his ADN. He choose this way because he can do clinicals during the day, I work full time so I don't have that choice. The diploma program that I was accepted to is highly regarded in this area. By completing all the diploma pre reqs. and adding in the BSN pre reqs (at the community college prices)will allow me to be able to concentrate on my Nursing classes. When I have completed my RN it will only take me about 12 months to complete the required classes for my BSN on my employers dime. I will be able to do all of this while continuing to work full time which I need to do as I am the head of household, need the money and benifits for the family. Where there is a will there is a way. I am determined. Also, I do not qualify for the regular student aid, I am not distitute but they say I make too much. However, I was told that if I were to quit working, lose my house, go bankrupt, I would qualify, but that doesn't seem like the right thing to do. Any way I am going to be a nurse and I am so happy about that!!!