ADN vs. BSN vs. MSN

Tweety, BSN, RN · Jan 11, 2006

The ADN and the BSN start out pretty much on equal footing in the beginning. They both allow you to sit for the NCLEX exam and become nurses and most places make no distinction in the pay. The advantage of the BSN is realized later as perhaps you want to get away from bedside nursing and go to other areas such as management, pharaceautical companies, case management, or other areas that are BSN preferred. (It depends too where you live, many rural areas hire ADNs into all kinds of management positions.)

The MSN is a different ball game and can be used if you want to teach, be a clinical specialist, administrator, etc.

If it were me, I would go the BSN route and have that under the belt. The BSN can get you into any number of MSN programs later if that's the route you want to go. You never know what you want to be doing 10 years from now and the BSN would give you more options.

Good luck.

holisticallyminded · Jan 12, 2006

Please tell me why it would make a difference to have a BSN instead of an ADN if you have a BS in a related field. Say.......... dietetics/nutrition? (More science, management, clinical, community, etc. I have also been working in my field for 5 years).

mom and nurse · Jan 12, 2006

I also have a BA in another field (Communication Disorders). I applied and was accepted into an ADN and a BSN program. I went for the BSN and have not regretted it (I'm a newer nurse). As the previous poster stated, ADNs and BSNs pretty much start off the same as far as salary. What is different is that when you want to move into some areas of nursing other than being a bedside nurse, you will find that in spite of your Bachelor's degree in another field, there are areas of nursing that require the BSN. For example in the area I live, a BSN is required to go into Community Health Nursing, and the military requires a BSN. The hospital I work at is beginning to advertise for nurses and the ads say BSN preferred (though I work with several ADN nurses). The last two Assistant Directors of Nursing on our unit were BSNs, the Director of Nursing, though, has a MSN, as does the clinical specialist. My instructors in nursing school were nurses with MSNs and PhDs. At the present time I'm working part time on my MSN and hoping it will give me more opportunities in the future (though I enjoy bedside nursing some days...I have other days where I realize I may not be able to run from patient room to patient room forever......). It depends on what your eventual goal is. Hope this helps.

Mom and Nurse :)

Gompers, BSN, RN · Jan 12, 2006

Personally, I'd stay close to home and do the ADN program. I love nursing, but it's not worth leaving your family for one to two years!!! Just get the ADN, start working as an RN, and if you want to get your BSN or MSN later on, your hospital will pay for you do do it on a part-time basis while you continue to work. You really don't need an MSN unless you want to become a nurse practitioner, clincial nurse specialist, or teacher later on. RNs with ADN and BSN degrees basically start out the same. Maybe a buck or two more with the BSN but nothing crazy. You might have more chances to move up to management if you have the BSN, but you don't usually do that for a few years after starting work anyways, so by then you will have had time to go back to school anyways.

Like I said, I love nursing, but I'd never leave my family to study it.

mom and nurse · Jan 12, 2006

Personally, I'd stay close to home and do the ADN program. I love nursing, but it's not worth leaving your family for one to two years!!! Just get the ADN, start working as an RN, and if you want to get your BSN or MSN later on, your hospital will pay for you do do it on a part-time basis while you continue to work. You really don't need an MSN unless you want to become a nurse practitioner, clincial nurse specialist, or teacher later on. RNs with ADN and BSN degrees basically start out the same. Maybe a buck or two more with the BSN but nothing crazy. You might have more chances to move up to management if you have the BSN, but you don't usually do that for a few years after starting work anyways, so by then you will have had time to go back to school anyways.
Like I said, I love nursing, but I'd never leave my family to study it.

After rereading the original poster's comments i would have to agree. 3 hours away is a long way to go for your BSN. Stay close to home with your family. There will be opportunities to get the BSN later after you receive the ADN. As an RN you will have many opportunities when you graduate....(there even are RN-BSN online courses so that's an option to consider later).

MomToLL · Jan 12, 2006

Thanks for the great input so far. This is very helpful. I have been reading a lot of posts on this site and experience many of the same things as you all do. I guess my biggest beef is the lack of support from family and friends. It seems like nurses are just not taken seriously. This really bothers me, especially considering the amount of time and effort I have put into just the pre-requ's. That stuff is NOT easy!!!

Stay close to home with your family. There will be opportunities to get the BSN later after you receive the ADN. As an RN you will have many opportunities when you graduate ...

I agree with this statement. This is how I feel, too. I don't want to be without my children. I am sure I will miss those girls so much, I won't be able to keep a straight thought. On the other hand, I kind of feel pressured into the accelerated program. My husband is alway on my back about my "useless" first degree. When I confront him he says he's just making fun and does not mean it, but I know he DOES mean it. He would not say these things if he didn't mean it. Anyways, I feel like I have to go through the accelerated program just to proof that my first degree was not wasted.

Gompers, BSN, RN · Jan 12, 2006

Your children will only have one childhood. Don't let your husband's insensitive comments take you away from your daughters. Life is too short.

Just my opinion. :)

mom and nurse · Jan 12, 2006

MomToll - No degree is useless. That's worth repeating...No degree is useless. I have a first degree in another field (Communication Disorders) and never worked in that field (except for volunteer work with deaf children). I was a full time wife/homemaker and I raised my children full time for 13 years (that was not useless either...all moms truly are working moms...). When you become a nurse you'll find that your life experiences actually help you be a better nurse (especially the Mom part :) Don't go through the accelerated program just to prove something to your husband or to anyone else. There will always be people to discourage you or encourage you about becoming a nurse.....

I don't regret my first degree was in another field, i don't regret I went to school to become a nurse (though folks tried to discourage me and some folks still feel I should have gotten a Masters in Communication Disorders instead) and I don't regret staying home with my children all those years.

I wish you well in whatever you decide.

Mom and Nurse

karmyk · Jan 13, 2006

The wife of one of the of the guys who worked for me wanted to become a nurse. Her husband wholeheartedly supported her decision and told her that she should go for it all the way and work for her BSN in Atlanta (which was a good 100+ miles away) instead of staying local and doing an Associates RN program (they didn't get a local BSN program until well after she began the program in Atlanta).

That being said, for a good two years, he took on the responsibility of taking care of their three children himself while he made her stay at a dormitory near her school so that she could focus on her studies (she would come home on the weekends). Luckily, her mother was willing to help raise the kids, too, so he didn't go completely insane trying to handle all of the family issues himself while being my primary Senior NCO (he was the SMSgt who helped me run our Computer Help Desk-- so you can imagine how stressfull his job was, especially since we were undermanned and when Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom kicked off, everything that could possibly go wrong on our network decidedly to make our lives extremely... challenging).

In the eyes of her husband and the daughter who was old enough to understand what was going on, the sacrifice they'd go through for those two years were worthwhile because she would be going into a field she really wanted to be a part of. I should also add that her husband saw it as a future investment of his

But they did pull through, even though there were times when it was very difficult for them. There were weeks when he got very little sleep and spent most of his time working in the office-- including weekends-- for no overtime pay (that's military life for you). On some evenings (after regular business hours... and we were all working past regular business hours in my office) he even had to bring his kids into the office while he worked. Everyone in our office also did our best to help him out whenever we could...

In the end, she graduated and earned her BSN, and I believe he was extra-proud of her when she finished it because in a way her degree was an entire family effort..

..so it's possible for you to do it all, even with a family.. especially if they're understanding and willing to roll with the punches as they come and support you when you need it.