ADN vs BSN Nurses' Competency

[StudentNurseMNUS]

Hello everyone,

Based on your experiences, do you think ADN nurses are just as competent as BSN nurses straight out of nursing school? I'm attending a four year university to attain my BSN degree and have taken various challenging courses, a majority of which I had to successfully pass to even get into the program. However, my friend attended a local community college to get an ADN and often boasts to me of how easy his prerequisite courses were, since he took them online, and how easy nursing school was since the professors he had were not as rigorous as the ones I currently have. He passed his NCLEX and has been working in a telemetry unit for 5 months now. So is a BSN degree just a longer degree because it is filled with humanities courses and "busy work" nursing courses rather than just the essentials? Is a BSN degree over-preparing students or is the ADN degree not demanding enough? Should ADN nurses even have the same scope of practice as BSN nurses?

[Guest1033582]

Just now, Nurse Magnolia said:

But since you brought it up, you pretty much Have two years of pre reqs and two years of nursing

Healthcare Policy & Intro to Professional Nursing are not pre reqs.

1 minute ago, Nurse Magnolia said:

You are In for such a rude awakening as proven by your responses here.

Maybe I am. But I'll still be a damn good nurse.

[londonflo]

12 minutes ago, gratefulheart365 said:

I learned how to start IVs, Foleys, place NGs, provide trach care, change sterile dressings-

Since the development of simulation and mannequins being much more realistic many curriculums have moved these skills into the first semester so that students have many opportunities to practice these in lab with high fidelity simulators and other training mannequins. Yes, some of the skills used in assessment are introduced and practiced in lab so that students can use them in their first clinical experience. In my experience, a high level skill that requires a level of nursing judgment in application is not expected to be used in clinical until the nursing student has a nursing background sufficient to decide when and how to deliver that skill in a safe manner.

As previously said, some of these skilled may be done by unlicensed workers if the procedure is outlined in detail and parameters are set so that the skill is safely and appropriately employed.

[Wuzzie]

2 minutes ago, gratefulheart365 said:

But I'll still be a damn good nurse.

Not if you get run out on a rail because nobody can stand your attitude.

[Nurse Magnolia, BSN, RN]

1 minute ago, gratefulheart365 said:

Healthcare Policy & Intro to Professional Nursing are not pre reqs.

Maybe I am. But I'll still be a damn good nurse.

No...no you won’t. A nurse who thinks she knows everything and lacks interpersonal skills, empathy, compassion and the ability to communicate therapeutically is not a good nurse.

[Guest1033582]

Just now, Nurse Magnolia said:

A nurse who thinks she knows everything and lacks interpersonal skills, empathy, compassion and the ability to communicate therapeutically is not a good nurse.

You've never seen me with patients. I put on a great "nurse" front. I actually was awarded outstanding student this semester.

[LovingPeds, MSN, APRN, NP]

Just now, gratefulheart365 said:

You've never seen me with patients. I put on a great "nurse" front. I actually was awarded outstanding student this semester.

Being a nurse isn't a front. I'm a nurse from the moment I wake up until the time I go to bed. It never turns off. I don't have to turn it on. It becomes a part of who you are as a person. If you're having to put on a "front", then you're not ready to be a nurse.

[Guest1033582]

Emily-Joy out. Thanks for the lively debate, but I'll stick to the advice of my professors and peers. See you around the AN community.

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

Closing for staff review.