Registered nurses with an Associate degree...

Nursing Students ADN/BSN

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Can nurses be hired now a days with only an ASN or they would have to obtain a BSN so they can get more job opportunities?

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Easier in big cities where hospitals are competing with BSN however I'm in Chicago with ADN and work at teaching institution. Smaller areas without competing hospitals unlikely to go Magnet status so won't be an issue.

My hospital knows I'll never get a BSN because I simply don't write papers and that's what a BSN is over an ADN. They're fine with that, only 80% need to be BSN by 2020 so I'm in the 20% and they need males. Males hate papers, especially males with ADHD.

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Thank you :)

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

It depends on the particular employer. My hospital will not hire a new grad ADN unless he/she is already enrolled in a BSN program. ADN's with relevant experience are still being hired ... but not often, and only if their experience is really relevant and of high quality. Many of the better local hospitals have similar hiring practices.

But in other areas of the county, ADN's are not as limited. You really need to pose that question to the particular employers that interest you.

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Me & my entire graduating ADN class (at least those who actively searched for a job) have all found jobs within 6 months of graduating here in TN. So yeah, it's possible. Just depends on where you live I think.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

I was hired with an ASN degree soon after I earned it in 2010. However, I had four years of relevant nursing experience as an LVN prior to earning the ASN. Other new grads with ASNs in my area did not fare as well, especially if they lacked previous healthcare experience or inside connections.

BTW, I am in the Dallas/Fort Worth area of Texas, an area saturated with too many new grads and not enough jobs to go around.

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I was hired with an ASN degree soon after I earned it in 2010. However, I had four years of relevant nursing experience as an LVN prior to earning the ASN. Other new grads with ASNs in my area did not fare as well, especially if they lacked previous healthcare experience or inside connections.

BTW, I am in the Dallas/Fort Worth area of Texas, an area saturated with too many new grads and not enough jobs to go around.

Thats great! In my area new grads are hired...but only with experience. I was thinking maybe after i pass boards i can "sell" my 8yrs worth of LPN experience and hopefully that will work. It nice to see your lpn exp was takin into consideration.

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Me & my entire graduating ADN class (at least those who actively searched for a job) have all found jobs within 6 months of graduating here in TN. So yeah, it's possible. Just depends on where you live I think.
what part of tn? im in middle tn but i plan on applying for rn to bsn program as soon as i complete my asn
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It depends on what you want to do, and what part of the country you live in. I graduated with an ADN nearly three years ago, and have a previous Bachelor's in Arts degree. I was hired straight into PICU through a program for new grads. I didn't make it in PICU for many reasons and now work step-down. We are being strongly encouraged to continue our education to get a BSN and the hospital will reimburse a lot of that. I am still on the fence about that because of my age and stage in life.

The group of nurses hired immediately after me are required to get their BSN's by 2015 or face termination. I was told I would be "granfathered in" and not lose my job, but the reality is that since I don't have 20 years experience I probably will have a hard time getting a job at another hospital. They look for that these days. Doesn't matter that I have 2+ years as a strong nurse in step-down area with critically ill patients.

Home health and long term care do not have the same requirements. I know many ADN nurses who were able to snap up good home health jobs, and one I know has worked her way up to supervisor position. Another nurse works in the community, doing home visits for preemies and other high-risk babies to see if they need state early intervention services. She basically does an assessment of their developmental and medical needs and writes her reports and sends them in. Another nurse does community nursing in the Native American community working with diabetics. She does home visits to make sure they are educated and have their meds and to just keep an eye on their overall conditions.

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Specializes in ICU.

Really just depends on where you live. My area hires regardless of degree~ ADN and BSN are treated the same. As a matter of fact, both the Director of Nursing and the Assistant DON at my hospital have the ADN. My cousin is a DON at her facility in a city in the same state, and she has just the ADN. I have noticed most of the jobs posted around here require a certification in your area, instead of the BSN. Most certifications require a certain amount of hours in your field prior to testing, so maybe that is how they get nurses who have experience. Very few of our management nurses and/or supervisors have a BSN; most have the ADN.

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Specializes in Primary Care; Child Advocacy; Child Abuse; ED.

It probably does matter where you live but in my area asn don't have trouble finding jobs. I am actually in my last semester and we are offered jobs this semester :) I go to school in a college that is also a hospital, they hire a lot of us and also surrounding area hospitals hire us. That was one of the reasons I chose this program. I know it's graduates are hired in hospital in fields we like :) Good luck and don't worry you will find a job!

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Depends on where you are

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