Are 2 year nurses getting phased out?

[mack7580]

I am going to start nursing school in August and I want to get my 2 year and then move to Texas from Minnesota. People keep telling me that pretty soon no businesses will hire 2year RN's and they will require a 4 year RN. I don't want to waste my time if this is true, and I will look for a different career path. Does anyone know if this is true?

[seanpdent, ADN, BSN, MSN, APRN, NP]

Heh heh.. well I'm a "2yr" RN.. from a diploma school. So I may be just a tad biased here... but...

I'd love to see an employer refuse a nurse these days simply because of them being a "2yr" not a "3" or "4 yr" nurse. UUhh has anyone seen the latest statistics on the nursing shortage supply and demand.

LOL.

[BlueRidgeHomeRN]

a question from an australian:

do adn and bsn nurses get paid the same wage? have equal opportunities? no difference in their responsibilities or role?

i ask this because our system is a three year degree course. our enrolled nurses (like lpns) have gone from a one year course (called certificate iv) to a 2 year course (diploma of nursing). it won't change the latter's wages or responsibilities.

in the us, rn's from all three entry educations--adn, bsn, and hospital diploma grads---take the same boards, except in the territory of puerto rico, which issues a "higher" level license to bsn's, who take more advanced boards.

new rn grads usually make the same, more or less. the difference appears down the road, as more management, education, and out of hospital jobs such as case managment are open to bsn's, as they have are viewed as having a true (four year) "college degree".:grad:

lpn's are a different license, and education is a vo-tech school or community college, but the full time program is about a year, give or take a few months. to the best of my knowledge, lpn's do not get an associates degree, but i may be mistaken, as so much in the us varies state-to state and regionally.:typing

[P_RN, ADN, RN]

In 1965 the ANA issued a notice to this effect. Let's see.....2008 minus 1965=43 years........Not gonna happen within the foreseeable future.

Read all about it here:

https://allnurses.com/forums/f100/1965-entry-into-practice-proposal-relevant-today-17960.html

[BrokenRNheart]

With a nursing shortage? Now, with the way the people in high places have been acting lately it wouldn't surprise me but it sure is a ridiculous idea considering the facts.

This rumor is as old as dirt and probably generated by BSN schools to generate more students.

[HeartsOpenWide, RN]

:deadhorse:No offense to the OP...but I am soooo tired about hearing the rumors of this:uhoh3:

[danh3190]

Even if it were going to happen in our lifetime, I'd still rather get a 2 year RN then go the RN to BSN route to finish my education while earning money.

[Ms Kylee]

Seems I heard this same rumor about 30 or so years ago about LPN's.. and they're still around.

[GadgetRN71, ASN, RN]

You know, there might be something to the universities perpetuating the rumor. A few weeks ago, they had a rep from one of the 4 year colleges in my area at the hospital. I stopped by the booth to talk to her since I always planned to go back for my BSN(only because I may want to pursue a CRNA or NP degree later).

One other person walked up to the booth and thought it was for a primary nursing degree. The woman says "Oh no, this girl here(points to me) is an RN but wants her DEGREE in nursing" Ummm, lady, hate to break it to you but I have a degree in nursing-an associate's degree, and I'm proud of it. She then asks where I work at the hospital, and I tell her I work in the OR. She gets this shocked look on her face and says "as a nurse? not as a tech?". I can only assume she thinks that only BSNs are circulators and the lowly ADNs and diploma nurses are techs. She seemed very out of touch, at any rate.

Oh, and I'm still going back for my BSN, only I'm doing it online. I just can't face doing the work full time, go sit in a classroom grind again. Especially when I might have to deal with people like that woman-I doubt she's been a bedside nurse in the last 25 years or so!

[llg, PhD, RN]

Actually, I"m pretty sure that colleges make a big profit on BSN completion programs. Financially, they have a great incentive for encouraging people to get their ADN or Diploma and then pick up their BSN later. Online programs are "cash cows" for schools.

Think about the finances for a moment. The classes that are needed for a BSN completion degree are classroom courses in which a large number of students can be taught by a cheap adjunct faculty member (like me). Prelicensure students require expensive clinical courses that require a low teacher-student ration. They also need a lot of time-consuming hand-holding and special services that are expensive to provide.

A BSN completion course online can have dozens of students (hundreds even) ... all taught by the same instructor (with maybe some graduate student assistant helping to grade the papers). And the students are already licensed, practicing nurses who understand the basics of nursing, how to manage their time, etc. Such courses are MUCH cheaper to run. That's why a lot of "diploma mills" and/or "for profit" schools teach so many of their classes online.

... and with employers paying the bills, the continued flow of cash into the school's pockets it fairly secure.

Universities have lots of incentive to encourage people to get ADN's and Diplomas. The universities will make more profit in the end that way.

[GadgetRN71, ASN, RN]

The online program certainly is more expensive than the traditional program, but I'm willing to pay for the convenience of not having to juggle my work schedule with school.

The online program I chose has a traditional school attached to it and it's accredited. The 4 year school that was at my hospital actually had some issues with their program over the last 10 years.

I was conflicted about getting the BSN because part of me felt like I was giving in to the mindset that only BSNs are "professional" nurses. BSNs certainly don't make more at my facility or in my state. But if I want to pursue an advanced practice nursing degree, I pretty much have to.

Most of my class though had no interest in a BSN and I can't say I blame them. Some of the best nurses I know are diploma nurses, erspecially the ones who went through those programs where you lived on campus or at the hospital.

[Spritenurse1210, BSN, RN]

Yeah once the little thing known as the nursing shortage resolves itself.

[oneLoneNurse]

Yes and no.

Home, yes. Stateside, no.

I plan on being grandfathered into ON. :)