ADN Nurses Being Forced to go Back to School?

[tnbutterfly - Mary]

New Rules Send Upstate Nurses (in S.C.) Back to School

Hospitals across the country are now mandating that nurses with associate degrees obtain a Bachelor of Science degree.The change went into effect July 1 for nursing staff at Greenville Health System. The organization anticipates 300 nurses will be required to sign a Memorandum of Understanding stating that they will return to school for a BSN degree within four years.

The change in education requirements for nursing staff is based on a recommendation from the Institute of Medicine. The non-profit advisory group wants 80 percent of all nurses to have a four-year degree by 2020.

"We hope for the patient, it will provide enhanced care," according to Judith Thompson, CEO of the South Carolina Nurses Association.

One rationale behind this is that since the role of the nurse in the hospital is changing and becoming more complex, more education is needed to keep up.

What do you think about making nurses with years of experience under their belts to go back to school or risk their jobs?

[icuRNmaggie, BSN, RN]

Back to the original post:

The Institute of Medicine commentary by its president says that 50% of registered nurses had a BSN in 2011 and that the goal is for 80% of registered nurses to have a BSN by 2020.

The original The Future of Nursing: Focus on Education from 1/26/2011 actually recommended the development

of proprietary schools to achieve the stated goals.

Anyone who has an interest in this topic really should read it - and read between the lines.

Just a side note: The US population is 318 million. 146 million were registered to vote in 2012. There are 3 million registered nurses in the US. What a force we could be if we were unified.

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

Here is the thing; going back to the original intent of creating BSN nurses and that NLN paper reinforced was that the BSN was *not* supposed to be at the bedside. Her advanced training/education was to place her in management, administration, advanced practice, etc.... In fact the NLN white paper spelled out two levels of professional nurses. The BSN would plan, evaluate and so forth patient care along with the administrative end of things. A newly created level of "technical" nurse (diploma and ADN) along with UAPs and LPNs would be the ones at bedside implementing care an so forth. It was this division of nurses into "professional/R.N." and "technical" that caused many ears to draw back and at once squashed most hopes of the thing ever advancing.

Meanwhile back on the ranch hospitals began more and more to assume the "nurse is a nurse is a nurse" posture. So you had BSN nurses who often were back in the day chided for being "all theory" and neither use nor ornament at the beside working side by side with diploma and ADN grads. However over the decades as the role of a professional nurse has changed (least as far as hospitals are concerned) the qualities of what a BSN prepared nurse brings to the table are now valued.

Another small tidbit; historically in both board passing rates and on the floors many diploma grads equaled and or surpassed BSNs in performance in a wide variety of areas.

I am an university based ASN grad with a BSN...I get it. I just want to be done with it.

If they were really serious....the BON would not approve all these new ADN schools take their money to dome out of school without a job because they can't be hired. Nor is it fair to take nurses that have bedside experience, out of school for 30 years and tell them they are no linger any good unless they sped $10,000.00 on a online program that offers little to their practice.

My daughter is going to BSN entry...and I have made it clear to her that for job security she must get a post grad degree. That is the sign of the time and is appropriate as nursing goes forward.

To toss seasoned nurses to the curb. Not appropriate.

[DoGoodThenGo]

I am an university based ASN grad with a BSN...I get it. I just want to be done with it.

If they were really serious....the BON would not approve all these new ADN schools take their money to dome out of school without a job because they can't be hired. Nor is it fair to take nurses that have bedside experience, out of school for 30 years and tell them they are no linger any good unless they sped $10,000.00 on a online program that offers little to their practice.

My daughter is going to BSN entry...and I have made it clear to her that for job security she must get a post grad degree. That is the sign of the time and is appropriate as nursing goes forward.

To toss seasoned nurses to the curb. Not appropriate.

No, it isn't appropriate to chuck experienced hospital nurses to the curb, but as with many other things in nursing everything comes in cycles.

Anyone around during the 1980's through 1990's "managed care" craze when bright blubs got the idea of saving money by getting shot of experienced nurses knows the drill. At that time places were almost emptied out of veteran nurses almost basically for no other reason than they had been around too long. After ten, twenty or more years at a place such nurses were at the top of their pay scale (as well as game), but it was the former that put a fat target on their backs.

So out went the seasoned nurses in favour of new grads. Many saw the writing on the wall and tried to warn what would happen but were ignored. Then what was predicted began to come true; patient care went down the toilet as the layer of experienced nurses were no longer around to provide the type of care new grads do not yet have the skills. Worse there were few if any seasoned nurses for new grads to turn to for mentoring, advise and so forth.

The worst part of that whole scheme and still affects the profession today is that from such senior nurses would have come potential future nurse educators. Not surprisingly many who were thrown over left the profession all together and robbed nursing programs of those dedicated souls that would have gone on for their master's and become professors, clinical instructors, etc...

[icuRNmaggie, BSN, RN]

Have you really ever heard a physician or member of administration ever tell a nurse "you only have an associates"? I know in my facility, the physicians don't even know who has which degree and they base their opinions of their nurses by their competency, not their degree, and the two are most definitely not directly proportional.

The docs do talk about which nurses are CCRN CEN CNOR and they respect these credentials and prefer that their complex cases are assigned to the certified nurses. Basic nursing education is a non issue among the medical staff anywhere that I have worked.

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

No, it isn't appropriate to chuck experienced hospital nurses to the curb, but as with many other things in nursing everything comes in cycles.

Anyone around during the 1980's through 1990's "managed care" craze when bright blubs got the idea of saving money by getting shot of experienced nurses knows the drill. At that time places were almost emptied out of veteran nurses almost basically for no other reason than they had been around too long. After ten, twenty or more years at a place such nurses were at the top of their pay scale (as well as game), but it was the former that put a fat target on their backs.

So out went the seasoned nurses in favour of new grads. Many saw the writing on the wall and tried to warn what would happen but were ignored. Then what was predicted began to come true; patient care went down the toilet as the layer of experienced nurses were no longer around to provide the type of care new grads do not yet have the skills. Worse there were few if any seasoned nurses for new grads to turn to for mentoring, advise and so forth.

The worst part of that whole scheme and still affects the profession today is that from such senior nurses would have come potential future nurse educators. Not surprisingly many who were thrown over left the profession all together and robbed nursing programs of those dedicated souls that would have gone on for their master's and become professors, clinical instructors, etc...

Sadly we didn't learn.

[icuRNmaggie, BSN, RN]

Back to the original post:

The Institute of Medicine commentary by its president says that 50% of registered nurses had a BSN in 2011 and that the goal is for 80% of registered nurses to have a BSN by 2020.

The original The Future of Nursing: Focus on Education from 1/26/2011 actually recommended the development

of proprietary schools to achieve the stated goals.

Anyone who has an interest in this topic really should read it - and read between the lines.

There were 3 million registered nurses in the US in 2011 and 50% had a BSN according to the IOM.

Let's say roughly one million registered nurses were compelled to go back to school for a BSN.

That is a huge influx of cash for all of the entities involved in providing the CCNE certification, the online schools, for Sallie Mae, and in the form of the $ 250,000 magnet status application fees and full time onsite magnet consultants fees. Let's not forget the management bonuses for achieving magnet status for their non profit hospitals. Because being a non profit certainly has no effect on those CEO and CFO salaries.

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

At some point, the BSN will be required, regardless of all the speculation. In Canada, in order to write the RN exam, candidates must have a BSN or they are ineligible. All our Diploma programs closed years ago.

People may think, "Well that's Canada." Yes, however, the writing is on the wall for the US. It's only a matter of time. Nothing is fair about health care anymore.

[BrandonLPN, LPN]

At some point, the BSN will be required, regardless of all the speculation. In Canada, in order to write the RN exam, candidates must have a BSN or they are ineligible. All our Diploma programs closed years ago.

People may think, "Well that's Canada." Yes, however, the writing is on the wall for the US. It's only a matter of time. Nothing is fair about health care anymore.

Of course, Canada also grandfathered in all of their non-BSN RNs. Which I'm hoping we do when the BSN inevitably becomes the entry to RN practice here.

There is no good reason for the employer in the OP to demand its experienced ADN/diploma RNs go back to school or lose their jobs. They (the employer) are doing so because the current economic environment puts the ball in their court, and they can bully employees with impunity. Again, its just a convenient excuse to weed out top-pay nurses or nurses still under old, more-generous, pension plans.

This hospital claiming they are doing this out of concern for patient safety or some commitment to education or something is an insult to intelligence.

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

At some point, the BSN will be required, regardless of all the speculation. In Canada, in order to write the RN exam, candidates must have a BSN or they are ineligible. All our Diploma programs closed years ago.

People may think, "Well that's Canada." Yes, however, the writing is on the wall for the US. It's only a matter of time. Nothing is fair about health care anymore.

At least Canada had the cojones to make a decision and be done with it...instead of passive aggressive behavior for 40 years.

[BSNbeauty, BSN, RN]

Threads like this makes me so grateful I've returned to get my BSN. I have 5 more classes left and I can't wait to be done with it.

[DoGoodThenGo]

At least Canada had the cojones to make a decision and be done with it...instead of passive aggressive behavior for 40 years.

It worked in Canada same as in the UK, France, Germany and elsewhere; that is because nursing is governed by a single government agency with vast if not countrywide jurisdiction. Making the BSN mandatory in the United States has failed because there are fifty different BONS that highly value their sovereignty.

Education in the United States is a businessat all levels including college/university. Once you start talking about making the BSN mandatory it makes plenty of community college and other ADN programs nervous. Everyone from chairpersons down to clinical instructors could see their jobs threatened and *THAT* means war. They will draw back their ears and fight which is a natural response but isn't going to solve the problem of this debate.

In any event the writing is all the wall in many urban areas for ADN programs. In places like NYC where the BSN is fast becoming the de facto requirement for employment of new grads in hospitals, sooner or later enrollment in ADN programs will begin to decline. The old mantra of obtaining one's associate and then working in hospital while going to school for the BSN (hopefully on the employer's dime) is becoming more and more difficult. You can go back but chances are the nurse will be funding her or his BSN studies out of their own pocket or best way they know how.

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

Nursing is governed by Provincial legislature in Canada, similar to the state BONS. Basically, the Provinces decided that the BSN is the minimum entry point for RNS. Nurses with X years of experience were grandfathered in.

Is it fair that many employers are being unreasonable? I'm not implying that it is. Just demonstrating for the sake of this discussion that's where things are heading. Employers don't care what nurses views are on this subject because the market is saturated.