Associate Degree program a thing of the past...

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I am graduating in 3 weeks and just found out a few hospitals (magnet + tgh) will NOT be hiring AS degree RN's starting in Jan 2012. They have a new policy in place that requires all RN's to have a BS by 2018. That part is okay b/c I plan to get a BS degree by then. The part that has me freaking out is the fact they won't be hiring AS as of Jan. 2011. This makes me think the surrounding hospitals will follow suite very soon. I still plan to apply everywhere I can but just want to give people a heads up who have AS degrees and still looking for jobs and/or in school. --- Tampa,Fl area.

Hi everyone, I am currently attending a state school majoring in Child and Family services. I graduate in May and then I plan on transferring to a community college to get my nursing degree. Since an associates in nursing is becoming obsolete according to some of you, will my child and family services degree help me in getting a job at all? Then I would have two degrees under my belt. :confused:

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My thought oin the University making money is a little different. Lets just say you go to Joe's College of Nursing and get your ASN. You worked hard and took alot of courses. Now you want to get a degree at Prestige University. They are not going to take all your credits because you already took them. They want to make sure when you go out into the world sporting a Prestige U degree you are of a certain caliber and they cannot control the quality of their students if you only take a few classes there and walk off with a superior (sounding anyway) degree. They need to be sure you stand up to their name.

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
I think most hospitals will end up going this route. With the abundance of nursing students they need to up the standards for hiring. I know that here in Los Angeles some hospitals right now are letting go of their LVNs because they are requiring at bare minimum a RN which I am sure will eventually turn into a BSN. DOnt fret though. Getting your BSN can be as easy as three months online from what I heard of nurses I know. You just have to make sure if you want to pursue a MSN that the schools you will be applying to will except your BSN degree.

Please post a link to this three onto BSN completion program you've heard of. Here I am, slogging through an online program where it takes about three months just to finish a course.

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@ashburns4ever

You might as well head straight back to school once you graduate, if that is the case for you. Why bother looking for a job if you feel that it will become hopeless? I don't think that is the case. Every state, city, hospital is different. The fact is, if employers need nurses they will hire nurses, regardless of what degree they have. I can appreciate your concern for wanting to let others know, but how exactly is this helping them? Other than stating, "Oh, you don't have a BSN, well, you're not good enough for us, sorry". I know that is not the case, many diploma and AS degree nurses are just as or more competent than BSN nurses.

I do hope you will find a job. And, I do hope you will get your BSN too. I'd be more worried about my own circumstances right now than worrying about others, in this case. It won't change anything.

Good luck to you. :)

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Specializes in TELE, CVU, ICU.
If you live on your own....why do you include your parents income. I am not sure this was the place to put this in this thread. You are young, what is the hurry that 6 months is too long. Even if you get financial aid it doesn't mean you will get accepted into a program right away. Call the local schools financial offices and ask them how to proceed. Many are choosing nursing right now because of the economy and it's a recession proof job....which it isn't. There are MANY new grads right now with thousands in loans and haven't been able to find work. Try re-posting this in the FLA forum or the student forum, there is even the one with colleges that may help you.....I wish you the best.
I think the poster might be referring to the age the Fed uses to determine if one is an independent student for purposes of financial aid. It's 24, whether one lives with their parents or not. If a student is
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Thats exactly wat I mean, I stll have to include parents income because under fin.ancial aid rules im still a dependant.

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just curious for those in Texas-I was considering LPN, however now that alot of companies are slashing their jobs, I'm now considering an Associate's in Nursing, I had planned on applying to a program next year...means I should be done by 2015...I'm also older 32 so would be 35 upon completion of the program-is it hard to obtain a job at that age, and is it all companies leaning towards not hiring ADN nurses or mainly just hospitals...thanks for any input

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just curious for those in Texas-I was considering LPN, however now that alot of companies are slashing their jobs, I'm now considering an Associate's in Nursing, I had planned on applying to a program next year...means I should be done by 2015...I'm also older 32 so would be 35 upon completion of the program-is it hard to obtain a job at that age, and is it all companies leaning towards not hiring ADN nurses or mainly just hospitals...thanks for any input

It is not hard to get hired at age 35.

As to whether hospitals are hiring ADN's, that varies by region.

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I succeeded! :) Fortunately, I am at a facility that embraces nurses of all education.

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congrats!

I am really hoping that I can find a job when I graduate next year. I, too, will have my ADN. The program I am in here is by far one of the best in the state. Our new grads get hired quite often, even compared to the BSN programs. we have a lot more clinical hours than the BSN programs here in the city. I am worried because I will be moving to Tn when I graduate (following my hubby) where I will be new to the hospitals! I plan on have letters of reference from my teachers, but will that be enough? I do plan on going to the university there to get my BSN. Their program is 3 semesters, so i can finish in a year!

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I live in Virginia, and I am a new graduate and the hospitals in the Richmond area are also trending toward hiring only BSN graduates, I was required to sign a statetment that stated I would get my bachelors within 5 years of being hired, if not I face termination at the end of the five years, they also went as a far as to require all RNs be bachelors degree educated within 5 years or they also face termination, regradless of their time within the organization. It's all about the money and in order to get more money for the organization hospital need to be Magnet accredidated and also receive awards like Beacon. I also am guessing this will be a new catch for Medicaid/Medicare reimbursement in the future and the hospitals are just trying to stay ahead of this.

Do you have any info on the Fredricksburg area? I have a BA in education and my respiratory therapy certificate and I'm finishing first level in ADN program. The hospitals I've looked out require minimum ADN for most positions. I fully intend to bridge to BSN ASAP but I want to work too. I'm licensing in Texas since they're part of the compact system and I can transfer to Virginia with no problem.

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Four friends of mine graduated from AS in Nursing programs and two of them can't find a job (the other two were hired after doing a new grad program at a community hospital). We live 40 minutes outside of Boston MA and 20min from Worcester, and while they managed to find jobs it was not what they wanted. All four wanted jobs at a hospital like Mass General, B&W, UMass Memorial ect. and were told they would not be considered until they got a BSN. It seems to be a set standard in the city but the smaller hospitals will still hire an AS student (at least for now). My two friends that did not find a job are now doing applications for BSN completion programs so they don't have a gap in their resumes. I graduate with a BSN in three years and I'm really hoping the job markets picks up by then :/

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