I'm not trying to start a heated conversation, but what is the advantage to hiring BSN? (i currently have BSN) but i know MANY great nurses who have their ADN.
Rumor has it that our hospital is no longer hiring ADN.
Other than being able to continue on in education, what would be the reason behind this?? What is it about BSN that make them different from ADN?? Is pay different?? (I don't dare ask the ADN nurses i know their pay compared to mine, but i've been curious)
There is a difference if someone wants to 1) commission with the military, or 2) become a community health nurse and also 3) one wants to be come a APRN or a nursing manager...BSN usually required for all. If ones goal is to be a bedside nurse and thats it, ADN is more than sufficient.
I am doing a online BSN now but I feel like I'm wasting money and time. It seems like hospitals are hiring only experienced nurses and BSN is not going to help to get a job.
Specializes in Functional Medicine, Holistic Nutrition.
I'm a proponent of the BSN route. As another poster mentioned, there have been some studies that have demonstrated better outcomes in certain settings with higher percentages of nurses with BSNs. These studies have been hotly debated because of the implications. I won't go into that as I would suffice it to say that there does need to be more research into this area of nursing practice.
Instead of focusing on practice implications, there are other reasons to prefer the BSN route over the ADN. I'm a firm believer that education is never wasted. A bachelor's degree, any bachelor's degree- not necessarily just in nursing, provides a well-rounded educational foundation that you can easily transfer to any life/work situation. Because of those extra classes, you gain a better understanding of some of the cultural, social, economic, and political issues that impact the world in general, and health care in particular. An associate's degree may also provide some of these same courses, but a baccalaurette education has a much broader curriculum.
As health care continues to change, the nurse's role will also change and become increasingly complex. For bedside nursing, the BSN versus ADN may not yet be firmly proven to make a clear difference. But as nurses become more involved with care coordination and roles outside of the hospital setting, those that have a bachelor's degree will have a clear advantage.
Nursing is far behind other health care professionals that have continued to increase their educational requirements, and overall, benefited from doing so. Yes, some of this is "education inflation", but I don't think that the nurse that has tremendous responsibility in providing the majority of direct patient care, which is so very important in patient outcomes, and taking on the huge role of coordinating the patient's care should be the least educated member of the team.
but I don't think that the nurse that has tremendous responsibility in providing the majority of direct patient care, which is so very important in patient outcomes, and taking on the huge role of coordinating the patient's care should be the least educated member of the team.
So who should be the least educated member of the team? I'm not trying to start anything I'm just curious. Even with a BSN aren't RN's still the least educated of the team except for CNAs/techs? Physical therapists and pharmacists have education beyond the 4 year degree. So with that thinking shouldn't MSN be the entry level/goal for RNs?
I'm not trying to start anything, I am also an advocate of education and although I don't think a straight BSN is practical for everyone, I think it is a good idea to eventually get their BSN even if they decide to go the ADN route first. I understand where you are going saying that RN's shouldn't be the least educated considering what a role they play in patient care, but even with a BSN aren't they still in most cases the least educated? I guess I just can't think of many fields that are part of the "team" that don't have at least a masters degree or training beyond a bachelors.
Specializes in Functional Medicine, Holistic Nutrition.
So who should be the least educated member of the team? I'm not trying to start anything I'm just curious. Even with a BSN aren't RN's still the least educated of the team except for CNAs/techs? Physical therapists and pharmacists have education beyond the 4 year degree. So with that thinking shouldn't MSN be the entry level/goal for RNs?
I'm not trying to start anything, I am also an advocate of education and although I don't think a straight BSN is practical for everyone, I think it is a good idea to eventually get their BSN even if they decide to go the ADN route first. I understand where you are going saying that RN's shouldn't be the least educated considering what a role they play in patient care, but even with a BSN aren't they still in most cases the least educated? I guess I just can't think of many fields that are part of the "team" that don't have at least a masters degree or training beyond a bachelors.
COTAs and PTAs typically have associate's degrees. There are still some PTs and OTs that have bachelor's degrees that were grandfathered in, and most RDs have bachelor's degrees as well. My point was more that, in my opinion, a bachelor's degree is considered an entry-level degree for most professional occupations.
Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
Until recently the ADN was at a temoundous advantage over the BSN. At least in those states like where I live in Wisconsin where an ADN is desined and set up to actually be completed in two years.
The ADN is considerably cheaper. In my state about $6K total vs state university at around $50-60K. Until recently there was little hiring preference for BSNs over ADNs.
The ADN nurse in four years could become and RN, get their BSN (RN to BSN desined for working nurses) on their employer's dime in another two years WHILE getting high qualiety RN experience. So after four years the nurse who started with an ADN could have a BSN and two years of experience, would have made something like $120K (over two years), plus had health insurance for two of those years and very likely owe nothing at all. vs the BSN grad who at the end of four years was a brand new grads with no experience as an RN and very likely owing a considerable amount in student loans.
A lot of the nurses from our SICU go to CRNA school. A person could (and many did) go from high school grad to CRNA school ready in four years, plus they made $120K in wages in that time. This was at a time when new grads, either ADN or BSN could get hired directly into speciality units right out of nursing school. Today with the current preferance for BSNs at many hospitals the advantage has swung to the BSNs IMO.
SunSurfRN
134 Posts
There is a difference if someone wants to 1) commission with the military, or 2) become a community health nurse and also 3) one wants to be come a APRN or a nursing manager...BSN usually required for all. If ones goal is to be a bedside nurse and thats it, ADN is more than sufficient.