Is this sneaky?

One1, BSN, RN · May 20, 2012

I'd leave it in your resume under education but would take it out of the "title" part (BS, RN). It might look misleading because this Bachelor is not related to your RN title.

Dixielee, BSN, RN · May 20, 2012

"I'd leave it in your resume under education but would take it out of the "title" part (BS, RN). It might look misleading because this Bachelor is not related to your RN title. "

I agree. I also have a BS in biology, and it is listed in the education section, along with my BSN. I only have RN after my name. While it may be perfectly legal to list your BS as you did, coming across as anything less than completely honest may get you an interview, but if the recruiter thinks you were trying to mislead them, then you will probably not be hired.

cally527, RN · May 20, 2012

In my opinion, YES it is sneaky. I think that you should drop the BS (hehehe excuse the pun).

For all of the people in the world that are not RN's (or MD's DVM's DDS's, LVN/LPN's Esq.'s, PhD's etc, etc, etc) they do not have the letters of their degree after their name on a resume.

I have a Bachelor's in Business, my resume does not list my name as Cally 527, BA. My best friend has a Bachelor's in Fine Arts and she does not list her name as Best Friend, BFA

However, I do have friends and family that are professionally certified, license etc. and they do use those professional certifications etc.

My brother in law is a lawyer so he has Esq. after his name. I have friends that are CPA's, DVM's and LVT's (Licensed Veterinary Technicians)

OP, your post nominal initials should be RN. Then in your education section, PROUDLY list both your Bachelor's and you ADN.

OCNRN63, RN · May 21, 2012

i'm not sure how much you impressed her if she found your resume misleading
i'd change it.

why shouldn't she list her academic achievements? i don't find it misleading at all. maybe if the recruiter had done a better job of reading her resume she wouldn't have been confused.

Stephalump · May 21, 2012

Why shouldn't she list her academic achievements? I don't find it misleading at all. Maybe if the recruiter had done a better job of reading her resume she wouldn't have been confused.

Is her goal to force recruiters to be amazing readers, or is her goal to get a job? She stated that leaving rhetoric BS there led to her interview, which led to her further impressing the recruiter. How in the world can you impress someone who thinks you were dishonest?

No one said anything about not listing her achievements. That's what a resume is for. But, if what you're doing isn't working, consider changing it.

I suppose you can keep the BS to prove a point, but that won't pay the bills.

Asystole RN · May 21, 2012

When identifying credentials you should utilize those credentials that are applicable to the position that you are attempting to obtain. That being said, I have seen BS utilized in nursing credentials often and I even think that it is very relevant to nursing. A degree does not have to be nursing in order to assist in the practice of nursing. This is why MBAs are common to see in RNs who hold positions of leadership.

MN-Nurse, ASN, RN · May 21, 2012

Do you think this is sneaky?

No, it's lying.

I have a non-nursing bachelor's with a ADN and I would never think of doing that.

gonzo1, ASN, RN · May 21, 2012

The proper way to list is the most relevent, or highest degree first. So in your case it would be

Betty Boop, RN, BS

due to you applying for RN jobs RN first, then you can post your degrees such as BS. I do think a bachelors in Science is relevent to nursing and I would put it in.

allnurses Guide · May 21, 2012

Credentials are not given for any bachelors degree you get. Generally they are limited to education that requires certification or licensure or represent advanced education. In that vein, yes it is misleading. Put it proudly in the education section where it belongs. If it is going to have a positive impact it will do it from there.

OCNRN63, RN · May 21, 2012

Is her goal to force recruiters to be amazing readers, or is her goal to get a job? She stated that leaving rhetoric BS there led to her interview, which led to her further impressing the recruiter. How in the world can you impress someone who thinks you were dishonest?
No one said anything about not listing her achievements. That's what a resume is for. But, if what you're doing isn't working, consider changing it.
I suppose you can keep the BS to prove a point, but that won't pay the bills.

I've had supervisors who had bachelor's or master's degrees in something else. When we'd get memos with the supervisor's name and credentials, I knew they were degrees in areas other than nursing. It's just not a big deal to me.

Patti_RN · May 21, 2012

You should use the job specific initials after your name on your resume. In other words, if you have a Masters of Social Work and are applying for a nursing job you would NOT put MSW after your name, even though that degree trumps your RN or BSN. If you have an MSW and are applying for social work positions you wouldn't include RN after your name.

The job you are applying for may require a BSN; (for instance, hospitals that are magnet hospitals or trying to achieve that status) no matter how impressive you believe you can be in an interview they won't hire you if don't have that BSN. So, the manager may have felt deceived. She may have been looking for an applicant with a BSN and assumed you had one. The other problem with some of these initials is they can be confusing; if you list PA and are looking for a hospital job the reader of your resume might be familiar with these initials only in context of health care and assume you're a Physician's Assistant, but you're really a Project Administrator--and yes, the person who called that kind of PA in for an interview would be very annoyed, and feel very deceived.

Using initials after one's name is partially customary, somewhat situation specific, and is often regional. In most social situations using M.D. or JD or PhD after your name is pompous and pretentious--but relating to your career it's not only acceptable but expected--people would be very wary of being examined by someone who didn't have MD or DO or NP after their name (and by the same token, all these chiropractors who treat diseases arguably outside of their scope of practice do so by calling themselves "Doctor Smith" and allowing people to believe they are an MD). On resumes people applying for a job in their field often list BA or MFA after their name on resumes--for the convenience of the reader, but only if that degree is related to the job they are seeking. If you're a nurse with a law degree looking for a nursing job, you wouldn't use Jane Smith, RN, BSN, MFA, JD because the only applicable initials are the RN and BSN. Many nurses list a whole string of initials (ie: RN, BSN, MSN, CRNA, NP, DNP) after their name. There is a rule of subsumption that assumes if you have a DNP you probably have an MSN, and if you have an MSN you probably have a BSN, so those lower level qualifications are not necessary to include, hence you'd use RN, CRNA, NP, DNP (and depending whether you're applying for a NA job or an NP job you might put one first--otherwise the degree conferred first goes first in the alphabet soup (if you were an NP first, that would be first because of it was awarded first, chronologically).

The proper way to list credentials on your resume (or elsewhere, when appropriate) is from lowest to highest: Jennifer Martin, RN, CRNA, DNP--or in the case of the OP: Your Name, RN . Of course, in the catagory of 'education' you would certainly include your BS degree in biology.

HeartsOpenWide, RN · May 21, 2012

The proper way to list is the most relevent, or highest degree first. So in your case it would be
Betty Boop, RN, BS
due to you applying for RN jobs RN first, then you can post your degrees such as BS. I do think a bachelors in Science is relevent to nursing and I would put it in.

I agree. I actually have a BSN (not s BS) and I list my name Heartsopenwide RNC-BSN