adn or bsn

[dcw132003]

right now im in junior college thriving for my adn but my school offers an duel degree program with a connecting univeristy, which basucally says that once i receive my adn from the junior college i can attend the university at the same rate for my bsn. i was just wondering if i should just tack on the extra two years becuase i want to be an OR nurse or an ER nurse. i live in illinois right outside of chicago.

another thought occured ti be as well, i could work part-time with my adn while i go to school. would that be too hard? just let me know what you guys think.

sorry if there any spelling mistakes im on my tablet.

[knittygrittyRN, MSN, RN]

I would say go for it if its something you want. A lot of hospitals love the idea of nurses with BSN and it give you the upper hand while getting hired. The only downfall if you do decide to work and get a BSN is it will take twice as long than if you just did it full time.

[nursing81student]

If you have the time and money, then get the BSN. You never know where life will lead and having a BSN will always give you an edge over a nurse with an ADN. Many ADN nurses I have encountered who are working full time and completing classes for their BSN degree have said they they regret not doing it from the beginning.

[grpman]

The BSN vs. ADN debate comes up about as much as herpes at a frat house and is just as polarizing. But hey, I'll still bite.

More education is always better than less. However, less education is sometimes needed due to life situations that don't allow more education. Less education can get you money faster than more education, but less education sometimes has a harder time getting hired.

This may sound silly, but most of the posts will just add more depth to what I just wrote.

[soxgirl2008]

Look at how the market is where you live...I live just over the border in Wisconsin. The hospitals around here hire ADN and BSN and don't have a preference. I believe the majority of our ER nurses have their ADN. Pay rate is the same too. Some hospitals around here still reimburse you if you go back for your BSN too. However I've heard the job market is a little tighter in Illinois so ADN nurses might have a much harder time getting hired down there. I'm not sure. If money isn't a problem getting the BSN right away might be a good idea, but that isn't practical for everyone. I think it'll look good to hospitals to see that even though you have an ADN, you're already enrolled in a BSN-bridge program.

If you can, try to get a job at a hospital part time or volunteer part time. Around here hospitals would rather see an ADN new grad with previous healthcare experience than a BSN new grad with no healthcare experience.