ADN/ASN vs Diploma RN

mindofmidwifery, ADN · May 7, 2016

I've never heard of a diploma RN, just LPN

BeachsideRN, ASN · May 7, 2016

It depends on your area. Find out what your area is hiring. They all have the same end point - RN.

FutureNurseRedHeart · May 7, 2016

They exist here in Pennsylvania! UPMC Schools of Nursing: Shadyside, Mercy, and St. Margaret, Citizen's School of Nursing, West Penn School of Nursing, and Ohio Valley Hospital School of Nursing. All offer diploma RN! :laugh:

BeachsideRN, ASN · May 7, 2016

I've never heard of a diploma RN, just LPN

They are few and far between but produce some amazing nurses.

GinnyMi · May 14, 2016

I am an old Diploma nurse. Went to a 6 semester program in St. louis which has turned into a NP program. Most Diploma programs have been closed due to the push for BSNs. Diploma nurses take the same boards as ADNs and BSNs. Our program had a 99% pass rate. As a student, we spent 2-3 8 hour shifts a week in the hospital and the other 2-3 days had lectures. I get the push for the degree but imho, when we graduated, we were far more prepared to work than the nurse grads i have seen in the last 10-15 years. When we were in clinicals, we actually had ICU pts and did everything alone (once we were observed) except cardiac outputs/swan-ganz. The clinical students I have precepted just observed! We were trained in team leading and primary care nursing. Before we graduated, we took teams of patients. Many students dropped out of the program b/c we experienced what it was really going to be like during the program. I would love to see statistics on number of new grads who leave nursing now vs. then. My hubby is an ADN (Associate Degree in Nsg) from a community college and he was well-trained as well but had been an OR scrub tech for 15 yrs so it is hard to compare. ASN is an Associate of Science in nursing. Both ADN and ASN are 2 year RN programs. I am not anti-BSN, they are intelligent and catch up on skills quickly as long as they have good orientation experiences. As an example, i probably started 20+IVs in school, put in lots of foley catheters, titrated drips (with help) etc etc.

cmj806 · May 17, 2016

GinnyMi thanks for sharing! Wow, sounds like you had an amazing experience.

applesxoranges, BSN, RN · May 17, 2016

They are far and few between now. I think my state has like four or five programs compared to hundreds of ADN and BSN programs.

As far as being hired, they would face the challenges of any new grad. The lack of nursing experience, increasing number of nurses, plus the addition of not having the BSN.

elkpark · May 17, 2016

I attended a hospital-based diploma school many years ago. It was a three-year program, three full calendar years; we got two weeks off and Xmas and two weeks off in the summer, and we were in school full-time the rest of the year, so it was 33 months of full-time study. We had several times the amount of clinical time that ADN and BSN students get in addition to all the didactic coursework (transferable college credits for A&P, micro, psychology, sociology, a full yr of organic chemistry, nutrition, and freshman English, plus the nursing courses). In clinical, we did everything the RNs did, under the supervision of our instructors. We graduated fully prepared to enter practice (at a beginner level) without any need for extended orientation or "internships" (we also graduated with a much more realistic view of what we were getting into, haha!) We were highly prized throughout the southeast US (I can't tell you how many times over the years, at job interviews, people have looked at my CV and said, "Oh, you're an XYZ nurse" in a tone of awe -- it really meant something.

I now live in PA, which still has plenty of diploma programs, and I can tell you that the graduates of the local diploma schools are valued and sought after by local employers. They are certainly not "least likely to be hired" compared to other new grads.

emtb2rn, BSN, RN, EMT-B · May 17, 2016

Diploma grad as well in a program similar to what ginnymi describes. Included a 7 week hands-on icu rotation. By the end o the program we were expected to handle a full 6-7 pt assignment overseen by the primary rn & our ci. Only school allowed to do that in the 3 hospitals we used for clinicals.