Newly employed ADN nurses please read!

[AlexFutureMD]

I would like to ask all newly employed nruses with associates degree how easy it was for them to find a job when compared to those with a bsn? DO employers prefer bsn vs adn? Thanks!

[DarkBluePhoenix]

I am not a nurse yet, but at the hospital where I work, we just hired like 3 new grads. All ADN. My director doesn't care about the degree. He just needs people he can depend on to learn and do the work they are assigned.

BTW its a small community hospital in soutern cali

[nursekara513]

Im from Iowa. I applied for a nursing home job and got it right after I got it. worked there 2-3 months and applied for a position that I LOVE and got hired right away. Was fairly easy for me to find a job, although I wasnt extremely picky.

[Jasmijn]

Nearly all the job openings I came across said "BSN preferred" and some required it. I only found a few (out here in Southern California) that didn't explicitly state that. Some of my classmates enrolled in online BSN programs right after graduation so they can click the "BSN in progress / degree expected" field on the application and progress beyond that wall.

The classmates who did get hired right after graduation were already working at their hospitals in another capacity. One classmate said the only ADNs in his New Grad program were those who, again, were already working there.

Otherwise, those of us who have found jobs seem to have done so mostly at independent, and, often, smaller hospitals rather than the big chains (like CHW/Dignity).

Good luck! It's not impossible but out here, at least, it's definitely a disadvantage.

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

It depends on the area of the country and the hospital itself. I am from New England and all the academic medical centers in my city outright say that they will only consider BSN new graduates. I specifically remember the posting for one hospital that said something like "BSN new grads only. If you have an associates, please get experience elsewhere before applying here." These hospitals (all IVY-league affiliated teaching hospitals) have a glutton of applicants so they pretty much do what they want.

When I was in school, I worked at a community hospital as an aide and the majority of their nurses were ADN prepared. I just looked at the listings on their website and it says nothing about preferring BSN.

[RNfaster]

I don't think it makes a significant diffierence to have a BSN or an ADN related to the first couple of nursing jobs. I think experience is most important. For later jobs a BSN or other advanced degree will be more important as I see it. At some places, for general nursing positions, BSN and ADN are paid the same rate... At others it ranges from less than a dollar to a dollar more an hour...

[Patti_RN]

Employers may include their requirements in job advertisements, but the person hiring has discretion in holding to that requirment.

I've placed ads seeking nurses with BSNs and I'll get responses from those with Associate Degrees or diplomas from hospital schools. Sometimes those applications are so strong I'll call them for an interview. Sometimes those interviews go so well I hire them. Yes, this is the exception, but if you don't try you'll surely lose.

Something else to remember: the person making the hiring decision has their own personal history, experiences, and preconceived notions. Even though I may have advertised for someone with a BSN, I didn't go that route from the beginning, myself. I had an unrelated undergrad degree, went to a diploma school, and later enrolled in a BSN completion program. In my experience (or maybe because I just want to think my own training was superior) I believe the clinical skills of diploma nurses can be greater than those of other programs. So, with this prejudice, I just might pick an applicant who attended a diploma school. The manager down the hall has a different opinion and she won't even look at a resume if BSN isn't on it. We each have our own opinions. Like she says when we discuss this issue, "If Fords were clearly superior, Chevrolet and Toyota would be out of business."

[HeartRN13]

Yes it is so true. I've done tons of research 5 months out of graduation as an ADRN and still no job, I am also from New England and have been applying in New England and the tri-state area and still nothing! Everyone in these two regions want BSN.

[CarryThatWeight, BSN]

I would advise that you get yourself into an RN to BSN program ASAP. I had an ADN for three years, and I did luck out to get a hospital job. However, after a year I left to go to what I thought was a better job (stupid), and I could not get back into acute care--ANYWHERE. And I applied in several states, plus had a 4.0 in both my ADN and BSN program. The BSN is the way things are going now. There may still be some hospitals that don't require it, but with many of the large medical centers wanting to go Magnet--and Magnet requires a certain percentage of BSN nurses--things are getting harder and harder for ADN nurses. I just graduated with my BSN, thankfully. Good luck to you.

[PinkNBlue, BSN, RN]

I have an ASN and was employed 2 months after graduating with my dream job. I also was a tech (CNA) all throughout school and before so laying the groundwork? Super important.

[kabfighter]

I graduate on Saturday with an ASN, and last week I was offered a med-surg position at a small community hospital at which I interviewed back in March. The hospital nearest my nursing school states that the BSN is preferred, but the vast majority of nurses I work with there have ASN degrees. The larger university-affiliated hospital also states 'BSN preferred', but some of my classmates are being hired there. My class as a whole has been fairly fortunate with finding jobs; the nearest hospital had 26 new-graduate positions.