ADN = Difficulty Getting Job?

[Perseus Mandate]

For those of you who got their ADN more recently, have you found it difficult to get a job as a new graduate? A lot of places I was looking at around here say, "BSN preferred."

Although I've got some time before I get to that point, I wanted to hear what people are dealing with now.

[BookwormRN]

I've got my ADN-no problem here getting a job. In fact, most nurses in this area start out with their ADN...many then go on to get their BSN.

However, I hear that in some larger cities, some hospitals only hire BSN prepared RNs...

[All_Smiles_RN]

General hospital positions? No problem whatsoever. Maybe if you were looking into a case management position, or working with employee education, or public health, you may see BSN preferred or required. Definitely not a problem in regular hospital positions.

[Perseus Mandate]

Good to know. Thanks again, everyone.

[leslie :-D]

in boston, the trend is definitely starting to seek bsn nurses.

leslie

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

Here it may be "BSN preferred" but the fact is it doesn't matter for entry level bedside positions.

Good luck.

[rn/writer, RN]

There's a big difference between "BSN preferred" and "BSN required." In my area, there are far more ADNs and there is little or no difference in pay for staff nurse positions. I don't know of any ADNs who have had difficulty finding a job because of being an ADN.

When I see "BSN preferred," I usually think, well, you can hope. The reality is that a qualified ADN candidate will be able to find employment.

[CarolinaGal]

What if you have a degree other than a BSN - I have a BA. Will that help this ADN student get a job?

[EmmaG, RN]

I sat for the exact same board exam as any other nursing school graduate, regardless of their preparation

[Altra, BSN, RN]

As has been said, "BSN preferred" is not "BSN required."

I've posted this before -- in my area, the largest university-affiliated hospital system advertises many nursing positions as "BSN preferred." However, this system also includes 2 diploma schools, and they hire, retain and promote many of these graduates.

[travelcrazyRN]

Never had a problem getting a job with an ADN and when you start work you won't be able to tell the difference between an ADN and BSN. Upper management is different, most require BSN, and for good reason. I haven't seen an ADN program with management classes.

[RNDude]

Southern California hospitals seem to hire new-grad RNs from ADN programs and BSN programs without apparent preference. At my hospital in particular, I have friends who graduated from a BSN program who were hired for a med surge unit, while another friend and I graduated from an ADN program and were hired for the ICU there. I definitely never got the impression that our ADN made us second class in the hiring process.

Now, our hospital benefits include tuition reimbursement so that we can complete our BSNs if we like on the hospital's dime. I would have paid more myself and waited at least a year longer to start working as a nurse if I had chosen the generic BSN route instead of starting with the ADN.

On another note, many ADN programs seem to have higher first-attempt pass rates on the NCLEX than many BSN programs, for some reason!