Adn Or Bsn?

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I was just wondering, what is the difference between an ADN (RN)and a BSN (RN), besides the fact one is a 4 year and one is a 2 year program?

Specializes in Med-Surg.

Hi. Welcome to Allnurses.

The BSN is an investment in future job opportunities that you aren't going to see at an entry level. Opportunties such as education, quality, research, management, public health to just name a few. You never know where you want to be 10 or 20 years from now, so it's a good idea to get it out of the way as soon as you can.

Both ADNs and BSNs are Registered Nurses passing the same NCLEX exam, so entry level pay is relatively the same.

I got my BSN in about 24 months after getting, doing an online part-time program. Most RN to BSN program take anywhere from 12-24 months depending on the co-reqs needed. Most are designed for the working RN. What's nice is that you can probably take advantage of tuition reimbursement programs that most hospitals/jobs offer.

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the pros? you are more educated and have a larger diversity of nursing areas you have studied. theory, community/public health, research, etc are areas you get with a BSN and not with a ADN

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ty for the input! so if i choose to persue the bsn after i get my adn i can do the classes all online (no additional clinicals?)...good point on the tuition reimbursement!

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Specializes in CCU/MICU/ICU/Hyperbarics.

like Tweety said, it all depends on what you want to do after you get your RN license. i got my BSN because i knew from the beginning that i wanted to move on to Masters. i have no regret on getting my BSN of course. getting BSN doesn't take much longer, but the pay is the same as ADN. ADN is a good way to become RN if you are having financial needs that you want to start making money as quickly as you can. sometimes even one year or half year of delay in making money makes difference to some people. many hospitals will reinburse you for going from ADN to BSN if you commit some time during or afterwards at the hospital, so you can save a little bit of tuition there too. so that answer to your question would be to know what you want to do.

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i know im going to start out with adn. i really think im then goin to persue the bsn while working. as far as the masters degree, im not sure...what can one do with that? (im sure a lot, but i don't know since it's a masters degree haha)...

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Specializes in CCU/MICU/ICU/Hyperbarics.

oh gosh. with master's you can do so much more and make so much more money! i'm actually trying to get in to CRNA school (nurse anesthesist). for the longest time i wanted to be ACNP (acute care nurse practitioner). both are master's degree and they have much much more autonomy than RNs do. if you do look for more info on internet, you may change your mind on going straight ahead to BSN!!! good luck!

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TY SO MUCH FOR THE INPUT...HOW MUCH LONGER WOULD THE MASTERS BE (TIME)...IF I CHOOSE TO GET BSN FIRST...OR AM I THINKING ABOUT IT WRONG? THE REASON I WANT TO GET THE ADN FORST IS B/C IT MAKES SENSE WITH ME AND MY FAMILIES LIFE (TIMEFRAME AND WORK)...THEN WHILE I WAS A WORKING NURSE I WAS GOING TO GO FOR THE BSN (AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF TUITION REINBURSTMENT (HOPEFULLY) FROM AN EMPLOYER TO FURTHER...THEN GO ON TO THE MASTERS? OR IS THAT NOT HOW YOU DO IT? (IM NEW TO ALL THIS LOL)-OR WOULD I GO FROM ADN AND JUST TRY TO GET MY MASTERS?

YOU TALKED ABOUT CRNA school AND ACNP BOTH BEING MASTERS DEGREES... I WOULD OBVIOUSLY NEED TO KNOW WHICH DORECTION I WANTED TO GO IN RIGHT (OR IS MASTERS A GENERAL DEGREE)?

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Specializes in ER and family advanced nursing practice.
Can anyone tell me the pro's off obtaining my BSN over obtaining my ADN? I have heard that the pay is not much more (at all) if you have your BSN (vs the ADN)...Am I wrong? And what are the other benifits of the BSN?

How much longer would it take me to get the BSN once I have my ADN?

Thanks so much!:)

Big misconception that ADN programs are faster. They are not. By the time you have obtained all of your prereqs (takes 1 year plus) you still have to go through 2 years of ADN classes. Most BSN programs give you two years to get your pre reqs, then you do two years of BSN training. It is almost the same. I have an ADN. My wife has a BSN. She started working on her pre reqs 1 year after I did and gradutated only 9 months after I did.

So by the time you add up pre reqs, ADN training, and then an ADN to BSN bridge you are well over 4, closer to 5+ years. Just get the BSN. If you decide that you don't like bedside nursing you will have far more options: law school, advanced practice nursing, CRNA. pharm sales, etc.

Hope that helps,

Ivan

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Specializes in Hospice, corrections, psychiatry, rehab, LTC.

I'm an AD nurse and a DON, so not having a BSN hasn't hurt my career too much. Some employers give preference to BSNs and others require them. A lot depends upon where you're headed and what you want to do. I chose an AD program because economics required me to work an eight-hour job while I attended school, and the BSN programs in my area seemed to expect you to have the whole day free. One AD school had a program specifically tailored for those who were working, with most of the classes and clinicals during the evening hours. It's about the only thing that allowed me to do this.

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ivanh3: you know i never really thought of it that way! It is similar in time!

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Specializes in CCU/MICU/ICU/Hyperbarics.

okay. so here is the thing. like ivanh3 said, even ADN is "associate" degree, it really takes like 3 years, and it takes 4 years to get BSN if you don't fail any classes. but i can see that you want to go for ADN and then try to go for BSN with tuition reimbursement. but usually to qualify to get the reimbursement you have to be working for a while before you can go back to school to get reimbursement and if your final and ultimate goal is to get masters (like me) then it would have taken so much longer to reach my goal. most of the masters program requires for you to put in 1 or 2 years of minumum clinical time (out of school clinical time, as in after you get your RN license) before you can be eligible to apply to master's program anyways, so that's why i went ahead and got my BSN. i'd rather pay my student loan than to wait 2 more years till i could get my masters. so, as i said before, it all depends on what you want to be. do you want to become a floor nurse? or do you want to go further? choice is yours.

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I have a BS in Physical education and a Masters in Exercise Physiology.I am considering becoming a nurse then perhaps a NP or CNA. One local school offers a LPN to ADN degree. Another school offers a BSN. Each program is 2 years, but the tuition really differs.I realize I would need to continue at another school for NP or CNA.

Also what is the difference in ADN and RN?

Any advice is appreciated!

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