BSN preferred but not willing to pay extra for it .............

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hello everyone,

i am a recent rn graduate with my a.d.n. i am also currently enrolled in my bsn program. my fiancé has his bsn and recently changed jobs. well i am a little disturbed by the new trend of hospital's preferring and requiring bsn's but not compensating nurse's extra for the additional credentials. i say this because my fiancé recently applied to my hospital and was offered the same salary that was previously offered to an a.d.n. with the same length of experience. in shock i called my hr and spoke to my recruiter who stated that although a bsn is preferred that once i graduate and obtain my bsn a salary increase will not be provided. if hospitals feel that bsn's are safer and can provide a better overall standard of care. why are they not willing to pay extra for it? i am new to the field, so i am definitely not an expert, but am i missing something here? :confused:

i am in nursing for the right reasons; i love caring for people and have been an lpn for 8 years. it's not all about the money or i would have left for another profession long ago. however, i feel that nurses deserve to be compensated if they choose to pursue and obtain additional education.

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If hospitals feel that BSN's are safer and can provide a better overall standard of care. Why are they not willing to pay extra for it?

Because they don't have to -- they have plenty of applicants, BSN-prepared and otherwise, for every opening these days, and can afford to be v. picky about who they'll hire. They don't need to offer any incentives to attract well-qualified candidates. If the economy were better and there were a true nursing shortage, things would be different.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
If hospitals feel that BSN's are safer and can provide a better overall standard of care. Why are they not willing to pay extra for it?
Hospitals do not have to provide additional compensation because nurses are a dime a dozen these days. Since many nurses are unemployed in the U.S., hospitals feel that the RN with the BSN degree should be lucky to receive any job offer.
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The BSN is the preferred entry level for professional nursing and no employer wants to pay someone to obtain the minimum level of professionalism; especially, since there are so many who are willing to get the credential with no pushing, shoving, or threatening necessary.

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Specializes in being a Credible Source.

To equate the matter with some two other fields with which I'm very familiar: Neither in engineering nor in accounting is one paid more for having a BS or an MS. The former degree is the minimum qualification for entry (though a few exceptional candidates do enter with less). One is compensated based either on the perceived value of one's skill and performance or by one one's role in the organization. Sure, the additional education helps one perform better but it's the performance that counts, not the degree.

Fundamentally, though, it's just as the previous posters have said. They don't because they can get them without the incentive.

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Well Thanks to all of you for infoming me and educating a new RN to the realities of the profession. It is a pity that this is the way it is . I will continue my BSN and obtain "the minimum expected" for an entry level into the profession. I just find it a little discouraging that I will put my self further in loans without an incentive to help me pay them back. :confused:

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

I wouldn't have spent the time and money to get my BSN if I hadn't wanted to go on for my MSN. My employer at the time I got my BSN didn't give me diddly but when I applied for a new position I was able to get a higher rate of pay.

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Well Thanks to all of you for infoming me and educating a new RN to the realities of the profession. It is a pity that this is the way it is . I will continue my BSN and obtain "the minimum expected" for an entry level into the profession. I just find it a little discouraging that I will put my self further in loans without an incentive to help me pay them back. :confused:

A job is your "incentive to help (you) pay them back." Why is that a pity? :confused:

I'm not criticizing you, personally, at all but I must say that I am sincerely puzzled by the thinking that I run into a lot here, that people in nursing are somehow entitled to some special consideration (i.e., extra money) for having gotten the education necessary to get the job they want. I started out in a different field (not nursing), and, believe me, no one in that field had any illusion that they were owed assistance in paying for their education by any future employer. Each individual chooses what field of study interests her/him, and which school to attend. Some schools are a lot more expensive than others -- does that mean that the graduates of those schools should get paid more than people who went to a less expensive school, to compensate for the extra cost of their education? People choose to take out student loans to attend school -- no future employer asked anyone to go into debt to finance her/his education, and I don't see how that's an employer's concern. As long as they're not violating state or Federal employment and labor laws, employers are free to establish whatever minimum standards/requirements for their employees that they wish. If employers want to only hire BSN-prepared RNs, that doesn't mean that they're somehow obligated to pay those people more because they have more than the bare minimum education -- if just means RNs without a BSN need not apply.

Even before the economy tanked, most healthcare employers paid nothing at all extra, or only a token amount, for an individual having a BSN rather than an ADN or diploma. To me (not that I'm any expert in economics), that says that healthcare employers don't see much value in a BSN over an ADN or diploma. They are mostly concerned with licensure. I suspect that much of the "BSN-only" hiring fad now is related more to needing a quick, objective way to thin down a huge pool of candidates for each nursing position than it is to some sudden conversion to the additional value of the BSN degree.

But then, I'm a cagey, jaded cynic -- I could be wrong (often am :)).

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I must say that I am sincerely puzzled by the thinking that I run into a lot here, that people in nursing are somehow entitled to some special consideration (i.e., extra money) for having gotten the education necessary to get the job they want.

I'm puzzled as to why it's so puzzling... not really, I just don't think that it's that *completely* out of left field for someone to figure that a higher degree in an area of relevance might result in a higher pay scale. Many large employers over the years *have* offered incentives, such a higher pay scales, for certain degrees & other further training that relates their line of work (as opposed to someone getting a degree in ancient Greek history and expecting that to translate to a raise at their nursing job). Someone might need a reality check but being confused and disappointed by the lack of any real professional recognition for an RN with a BSN seems understandable, especially if the school overhyped the advantages a BSN would give their graduates.

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I can respect all views of the subject. I have gained entry into the profession with an ADN and I am choosing to continue with my BSN. Despite the undesirable fate that meets me at the end more loans and very possible lateral transition in my career. I am aware that having a BSN allows one to pursue further advancement in the Nursing Career on to a Master's Level. (Excluding programs that offer the accelerated ASN to MSN without the BSN option) Obtaining the BSN will provide more employment opportunities as some employer’s lean toward hiring BSN’s over AND’S. I get it. In my personal opinion, If I am furthering myself in the nursing filed with a BSN if would be NICE to get a raise in pay. I would not expect for someone with an MSN to be compensated as a BSN working on the same unit.

The goal of furthering oneself is to usually better oneself financially and intellectually, mastering one’s chosen trade, or to use as a stepping stone to get to somewhere else. I love this career and started as a HHA to a CAN, to an LPN, and now a RN and currently working on obtaining my BSN. Each step of the way I was able to better myself. The tuition for the RN to BSN Program is anywhere from 6,500-30,000 give or take. (Depending on the classes needed or type of program.) It is my opinion that if this is going toward being a requirement or desired qualification. Compensate the individual for the extra education on their part. Due to my recent real life experience I am now aware that this is not the case. However, If it was up to me that's how I would like for it to be. However, regardless of the politics behind it I will obtain my BSN. I will still maintain the opinion that I feel that as you progress in a career, salary progression should accompany it. It’s just my opinion and no one is obligated to agree and people are welcome to disagree. Just will continue to do what I love ……..

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Specializes in being a Credible Source.
Well Thanks to all of you for infoming me and educating a new RN to the realities of the profession. It is a pity that this is the way it is . I will continue my BSN and obtain "the minimum expected" for an entry level into the profession. I just find it a little discouraging that I will put my self further in loans without an incentive to help me pay them back. :confused:
But there is an incentive... you become more employable because the BSN is preferred or required.
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