Associates or Bachelor degree?

Nursing Students ADN/BSN

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I finally found the confidence to go to nursing school and am planning to pursue the Associates degree because it'll take only 2 years.

(I have a previous Bachelor of Arts degree so I feel like I 'wasted' time..)

When calling multiple colleges, most got rid of their ADN program and only offered BSN and up. One college advised me to do the Bachelor degree of nursing instead, because it'll be easier for job hire especially because of the Magnet Status (I do want to work in a hospital but I'm flexible).

From my research, quite a lot jobs accept you with even an ADN. But I don't know if that'll change in 2019-2020 orso when I graduate.

In your opinion, do you think doing BSN is better, or are they just trying to get more money $$$ out of me? If BSN really is THAT much better, then I'll do it. I do have financial strain, I'm planning to work and school at the same time.

I am not interested in managerial or nurse educator positions that requires BSN.

Thank you for all the input :) :cat:

Based on current trends in the hospital RN workforce, I would get a BSN.

If you have a choice of BSN or ADN - do the BSN program. Even if you are not going into education or mgmt I think it is better to have the BSN behind your name. You will have a slight advantage as for as jobs go because of the BSN. On the other hand....if it is really competitive in your area I would do whatever program you get into the quickest and be done - in the end you still take the same NCLEX and you will have RN behind your name.

Specializes in ER.

I would look at both routes and figure out 3 programs you would be willing to apply to. I'd aim to find 5-8 and then apply to 3-5. Look at admission requirements. What do they require? Do they require you to take classes beforehand? A lot of programs are moving towards point system and admitting either twice a year or once a year and just based off of points.

In my experience, there is a mixture of whether it is beneficial to wait 3-5 years to get into an ADN program that has a long waiting list or to get into a BSN program and pay a higher cost. My school did away with their wait list so that doesn't apply anymore but I had coworkers who tried to get into my CC and ended up finishing a BSN before they had the call about whether they wanted to start clinicals.

Location will play key. Having a BSN from a university that no one trusts won't be more beneficial than an ADN from one that people respect.

In my experience, it was far beneficial to have a good resume for finding a job than to have a BSN. I was hired into an ICU with an ADN but I switched back to ER. I had classmates start in ICU, NICU, ER, etc. I was the first to get my bachelors and I had it within 1 year of graduating with my ADN. It was about 8 months for me to earn since I started end of March and graduated the first week of December. I planned ahead though and found a school that partnered with my community college so I knew what classes to take before starting the BSN.

Also, no one really cares what school you graduated from except for new grads. Seriously. HR will want a BSN because it'll save money but most hospitals require it within 3 or 5 years.

Applesxoranges, thank you so much for the insight.

If I have the choice (based on location and all), I'm thinking of doing ADN, find a job, and if I don't get one because of the degree then i'll do BSN.

Thank you for all the great tips!

I heard that ADV provided more hands-on and clinical experience rather than BSN. That's why I prefered ADN. I hope that 3-4 years from now the job market for ADN people is still ok. I guess we'll see.

Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Sorry, that's a fallacy. Accreditation requirements dictate the number of clinical hours that are required, so there aren't any differences based upon ADN vs. BSN. The BSN curriculum has additional requirements. Healthcare is an increasingly complex industry. Nurses are the primary workforce. It's logical that educational requirements must increase to keep pace.

Although the 80% BSN goal has been associated with Magnet criteria, they did not originate it. In 2010, the IOM released a report with findings based upon extremely large research studies. One of their recommendations was a general increase in the educational level of all nursing staff. They also originated the national goal of an 80% BSN workforce by 2020 based upon evidence that larger proportions of BSNs are associated with significantly better acute care outcomes.

Specializes in ER.

It depends. In some states, you can look up the amount of clinical hours that each program requires. My program a few years ago required more clinical hours that the BSN programs. There is a minimum that everyone has to have and it's set by the state. The main difference between the programs a few years ago in my area was the general education credits.

Specializes in GENERAL.
Sorry, that's a fallacy. Accreditation requirements dictate the number of clinical hours that are required, so there aren't any differences based upon ADN vs. BSN. The BSN curriculum has additional requirements. Healthcare is an increasingly complex industry. Nurses are the primary workforce. It's logical that educational requirements must increase to keep pace.

Although the 80% BSN goal has been associated with Magnet criteria, they did not originate it. In 2010, the IOM released a report with findings based upon extremely large research studies. One of their recommendations was a general increase in the educational level of all nursing staff. They also originated the national goal of an 80% BSN workforce by 2020 based upon evidence that larger proportions of BSNs are associated with significantly better acute care outcomes.

Well, well, well. Not very long ago AN conducted a poll to quantify how many nurses held the BSN vs.the AD.

From what I recall it was basically 50/50.

This leads me to believe that there are ADs out there who are not hurting for work and are very happy living in ignorant bliss without the BSN and are still able to take care of the complex needs of whatever patient comes down the pike.

To wit: In 1965 the ANA issued a "white paper" stating that sometime in the future, can't remember when, the BSN would be the minimum academic entry requirement for admission into the nursing profession.

So it's 2017 and we're still waitng.

This tells me that academic requirements have taken a backseat to the needs of the labor market and the profit motive of schools who spew out various "preparations" of nurses who are legally sanctioned by the state to take care of patients.

In other words, in the eyes of the folks cutting the checks, X is as good as Y despite what the studies show and the financial incentives of becoming a magnate hospital

So OP since schools today are driven by ever increasing tuition costs, what I would do is obtain an AD from a CC after which you get a job and if you fell like it get a BSN on your employer's tuition reimbursement dime.

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