ADN=RN

Nursing Students ADN/BSN

Published

So, earlier today, a friend and I got into an argument. I will be starting a 2 year nursing program after my pre-reqs this fall and am thinking of just getting the BSN because of all talk about it. She is going to school for her BSN. She thinks that if you go to a tech school, you can only get your LPN and not your RN. Then, she said that even if you can get a 2 year degree, why should 2 year nurses make the same as 4 year nurses... which kind of makes me mad. Because 2 or 4, as long as your not in management pretty much do the same thing. So, now I'm thinking of just doing the liberal arts classes and then transferring to a 4 year college, because I'm sick of the whole debate. What do you think?

And you're getting an RN at a tech school???:)

I got my RN from a Technical College, and every one of my credits transferred to the 4 yr University toward my BSN/MSN. :w00t:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in OB (with a history of cardiac).
I don't know about everywhere but in my area, an LPN doesn't get a 'degree', they are diploma students. I'm not sure what you mean by tech school, is that like a career college or trade school?

Actually, where I live they've upped the ante, so to speak for LPN. I graduated in the last diploma class at the Technical College I went to. The LPN degree there is now either an AAS or AS or something like that.

I don't know where you are, but in hindsight I would have actually gone straight for the BSN, just because the two major health systems in our area won't hire new grad ADN's and I'm not too sure they'd even hire an ADN with 30 years experience over a new grad BSN. Be that as it may, I did LPN to ADN, and now am doing ADN to BSN. After that...well, we'll see how badly we're hurting financially!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

If my end goal is to become a CRNA, Is the most effective way to go ADN then BSN?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Obstetrics.

That is so annoying. I hate the comparison between an ADN program grad and a BSN grad. Both equal RN. You take the same NCLEX. One grad is graduates with an associate's (with more clinical hours) and the other is a bachelor's (with more classroom hours). Ridiculous.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

The bottom line is, as with a lot of things in life, what is good for one person is not necessarily good for everyone. That is why (thankfully), when it comes to getting into the field of nursing, there are many different ways to do it. The minute any of us start comparing ourselves to one another based on education and degree status alone, we begin to neglect the fact that, regardless of degree, we all have unique skills and weaknesses that we bring to the table.

Yes, a BSN is a more difficult degree to attain, and yes, BSN nurses have additional education you don't get in ADN programs. Yes, a BSN is also much more expensive to attain in most cases. No, BSN nurses don't generally start out significantly higher in pay or supervisory role than ADN nurses. Yes, having a BSN opens up more opportunities for you in the future. No, ADN nurses are not lazy morons who "took the easy way" into nursing because they don't have the brains and the drive to get their Bachelor's.

Yes, we should all congratulate each other for making it to whatever point we are at in our career, and refrain from making other people feel badly about their very personal education and career decisions. God knows there are a LOT of stresses to deal with in the nursing profession - sniping at each other over credentials should NOT be one of them.

I have had similar conversations with friends and acquaintances, and all of us have valid points. The bottom line is, we all choose the path that works the best for us, that seems right for us, and we walk down that path hoping that those around us will be supportive and understanding of our choices, even if they do not agree or understand.

I hope that your friendship with this person can be repaired and that she will choose friendship over an attitude of arrogance she has adopted from listening to someone else's opinion on this debate. Best of luck to you.

And yes, I am choosing to do an ADN program also. Not because I do not value a Bachelor's degree, but because I am a mother of 4 children and need very much to balance my educational goals and the financial burden they represent with the needs of my family. And I thank GOD that there is an ADN option available to me that allows me to do that. And I KNOW in my heart that I will be an excellent nurse because I choose to be so, not because I have the most advanced degree possible.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I see these posts and I feel frustration. For me the decision is logistics. I live 10 miles away from community college or 2 hours away from a university to get a bacchelors. With the price of gas being $3.30 or greater - being an unemployeed, 40 year old mother and wife with responsibilities would never work! So YAY me I am getting an ADN and loving it! The great news is my CC is partnered up with a large university in the metroplex that is 100% online and I can get my BSN in only 18 additional months and if I am working at a hospital then hopefully they will help me with part of that cost. It is a win-win situation for me. I say weigh your situation and do what is best for you. I like the idea that I can be a working nurse in a shorter time and still complete my education in about the same time it will take to get a BSN.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med Surg - Renal.
If my end goal is to become a CRNA, Is the most effective way to go ADN then BSN?

No, the most effective way is to first be REALLY good at science and math, then get your BSN and get a job in an ICU for at least a year.

Here are the admission requirements for a local anesthesia school:

Minneapolis School of Anesthesia- Prospective Students

Have fun!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in N/A.

Word! This is EXACTLY what I am doing. Let me see....do I want to spend $40,00 on a BSN or $6,000 at this tech school and be done in half the time?! It's a no-brainer in my opinion. I was also advised by a mentor (long time nurse) that having the BSN doesn't really matter much (in my area) unless you want to teach or become a NP.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
I guess it depends on which 4-year school you are talking about, but I don't know any 2-year, community college that could compare to my (5-year) nursing school in terms of educational quality or admissions standards. Yes, 4 years of education looks better to employers AND to graduate programs than 2 years of education does. But by all means if you're just looking to get into the working world fast, then a 2-year program is right for you.

​Wow. Just...wow.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
The people that say, "we are all the same, we all have the same license, we all just help people the same," have an extremely limited view of the profession of nursing. Well they are factually correct in that we all have RN licensure, people with a bachelors degree have many more doors open to them than people who do not. So while your friend in the BSN program may be irritating, and may not have the most mature outlook, she is factually correct. She will, in fact, have more opportunities open to her five years down the road then you will. Maybe even sooner. The problem is that for most nursing students, their only perception of the profession is of staff nurses in hospitals or skilled nursing facilities. However, we all went to the same nursing programs, and many, many of us do not work in hospitals. Some work in public health, school nursing, parish nursing, case management, or many other settings requiring nursing licensure. Many of these, and many more desirable longer - term options, require a minimum of a bachelors degree.So if all you aspire to is to be a staff nurse in the hospital, rehab facility, or skilled nursing facility, you probably will be just fine with your Associates degree. However, if you have the slightest inkling that you might want to do something else in your long working life, you might want to consider being prepared for that now. Don't say nobody told you.

With my puny diploma, I worked in home care and was even promoted to a supervisory level; worked in hospice; was the manager of a hospice and even helped get its first state certification; was a case manager; and, worked in outpatient oncology. Right now I do work for a website for a nursing specialty. I also was a prenatal coordinator in a clinic that served mostly Spanish speaking patients. (I speak Spanish.)

Maybe my situation is/was unique, but there are opportunities out there for nurses who don't have a degree. You may have to sell yourself or have other skills, but it's possible.

I agree that a BSN is preferable, but it's not always possible for everyone. We shouldn't make nurses who don't have the much vaunted BSN feel that they're inferior or have less to offer.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in HIV, Psych, GI, Hepatology, Research.
Yeah... sorry. I just want to prove to my friend. It just makes me MAD that she'd make such a callous comment like that. Like if I were to get an associates in nursing, I'd be less of a nurse than her because she would have bachelor's degree. Thanks for your comments, they are much appreciated.

She will probably pay more for her BSN and you will be done sooner with an ADN. She may start at $1 more per hour for a comparable position (from what I hear that is about the only starting pay difference) but by that time you will already have two years experience and have received more than one raise (in a perfect world and assuming that you both started school at the same time). You can always get your BSN while working and will be giving a pay raise at that time accordingly.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

A lot of the young BSN-holding RNs I've met seem resentful about having the same job prospects and pay rate I do, especially when they've paid around 75% more on their educations.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment