Associates or Bachelors??

Xar25 · Jul 24, 2015

You know, your pre-reqs are going to be the same regardless (at least here in Texas) - statistics, bio, a&p, nutrition, pharm, etc. So that "two year degree" winds up being more like a 3 year degree, when you take in the two years of "nursing school" with the at least one year of pre-reqs. And doing ADN-BSN is going to be a good year or two of management type classes, so you'd wind up doing more school in the long run, with that route.
As for work, I can only speak about here in Dallas, Texas, but many of our magnet facilities require a BSN. And the ones that don't prefer BSNs for residencies and internships. So that knocks you out of consideration for a good chunk of the job market. My facility where I work is a county hospital, and ADNs get jobs here and are accepted for residencies just as much as BSNs. But I've heard in rural areas, they don't care at all. Look at the hospitals around you, look at their hiring posts, and see what it says for requirements. That's going to give you your answer. Does it say "ADN, BSN preferred" or does it say "BSN required"? Some of the facilities around here won't let you work critical care without a BSN, too.
Best of luck!

Hi thanks for replying. Unfortunately the pre-reqs are different for both the university and the nursing program provided at my cc. Certain classes that I take for the nursing program will not count for the pre-reqs that I need to transfer to the other nursing program for my bachelors. With the associates program I will easily be done within 3 years. If I decided to transfer I will have atleast another 6 years due to my current work situation..and that is a very long time. I will definitely look into what hospitals require

Xar25 · Jul 24, 2015

Hi Hun,
I went a CC in NOVA too and just graduated and passed boards. You've been told right. It is hard. I've had a total of 2 real interviews and I expect offers from both. So, yes, you will have to work harder to find a job but it is what it is. Many of us choose the ADN route for different reasons. A lot of folks in my program found jobs easily by getting a position as a tech while in school and then they got a job with that same hospital (that would turn down an ADN on the outside) so that's my advice to you. I didn't have the option of being a tech while in school so I have to work harder to find a job and use my networking skills with other nurses in the field.

Hi thank you for replying. I am not a big fan of school so when I'm faced with the possibility of finishing school maybe at 24 I'm not too happy. I have been told that the program at nova provides interning too so that it's not as difficult to find a job. But I would like to move past nova one day not live here for a long time. Thank you

CrunchBerries · Jul 24, 2015

More education is *ALWAYS* better. less is never better. You know, one should never say always and never but in this case, it's true.

Awesomocity0 · Jul 24, 2015

I spoke to an advisor today who gave me a lot of false and misleading information on transferring to George Mason, I then called George Mason and they gave me many different options as well. But I have not had the opportunity to speak directly to someone who has experience with an associates and a bachelors except on this forum. I am looking around to see what is necessary but I do not want to spend the rest of my life in this town either.

I think you're missing the point. You literally can do the 'research' necessary yourself. Say you're looking to purse nursing in Dallas. You make a list of hospitals. (There are a lot in Dallas, so I'll just pick a few.)

Parkland Memorial

Baylor Dallas

Methodist Dallas

Presbyterian Dallas

Children's Medical Center

UT Southwestern Medical Center

Say you're interested in adults, eliminating Children's. Say you're interested in ICU, so you're looking for residency postings, but worst case scenario you'll take anything. So you go to the websites of those hospitals and look at the "careers" section, then select the "Registered Nurse" category. You click on jobs. You look at those job requirements.

Say you see this:

Parkland Memorial:

ICU nurse residency: ADN required, BSN preferred

Med-Surg fellowship: ADN required

Baylor Dallas:

ICU nurse residency: BSN required

Med-Surg residency: BSN required

etc. And you see, all available online, with an hour of your time, that most hospitals require or prefer BSNs. And you make the decision from there. I literally do not see any reason at all to go by what someone says when you can actually look it up for yourself for your city/town/region. A job posting isn't going to be misinformed, confusing, etc.

Jenniferocious · Jul 24, 2015

Hello! Here's my personal experience. I have a Bachelors degree in another field. I just graduated in May with my ADN. I applied for a lot of positions (even "new grad" positions), only to be told that I needed my BSN to be considered. Well, yesterday I was offered a position at a community hospital in my area and I accepted. I am enrolled to begin the online RN-BSN program in January as the hospital I am now working for strongly encourages it.

So while I only had an ADN, I did get a job... but I am going for the BSN but I am having my employer pay for my tuition.

Good luck to you.

akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P · Jul 24, 2015

I am an ADN grad. I graduated about one year ago and it took me approximately 8 months to find a position as a working nurse. I also have a bachelors degree and so far the only thing I can tell you that it has done for me is that because of the way California's rules are set up, all I had to do was take the nursing classes to earn my ADN. I looked into acquiring a BSN at the time and the only potential (and affordable) option what had been for me to attend the local state university. The problem was that since I already had earned a bachelors degree, I could not attend the University because they were closed to all new admissions of 2nd bachelor students. That was for every program, including nursing. So I focused my energies on getting into an ADN program. If memory serves, the semester that I started nursing school, the University opened the nursing program to 2nd bachelors students, I was already committed, and it would've taken me an additional 2 or 3 semesters to enter the 2nd bachelors program.

I will also say that in my case, while I was not very choosy about the nursing jobs that I would accept, I did limit some of the choices because I wanted to accept a position where ACLS was a requirement. At this point, to the best of my knowledge, all of my classmates have found positions. They had to possibly go as far as 5 â€“ 6 hours away from home, but the majority positions within one â€“ 2 hours of home although some of those positions were either in psych or long-term care/SNF. I myself had to go approximately 2 hours away to find a position as an ER nurse and it looks like I may be transitioning to ICU in the near future. Personally, I do not mind the drive and within another year or 2, I should be able to easily find a position much closer to home.

Why do I say this? It is simply because you must know your local market and your own limitations to make your own decision about which path you should take. I should also add one more thing: I had to work full-time while attending nursing school and the University program would not have been compatible with full-time work simply due to the schedule that they had. The nursing program that I attended generally had a very compatible schedule with my work schedule so I was able to go to school full time and work full-time without making too many sacrifices. To the OP, you best know your own situation and you should definitely investigate the circumstances surrounding schooling and work and the local market before you make your decision as to whether or not you want to pursue and ADN or the BSN. The BSN will make you more marketable but the trade-off here is you will have to wait potentially a few more years to become a working nurse, even though you may have a position immediately after graduation from a BSN program.

Good luck making the decision!

Rocknurse, MSN, APRN, NP · Jul 24, 2015

I speak as a 23 yr veteran diploma nurse who made the transition to BSN after seeing the landscape change. If the market had been the same as it was back in 2001, I would say get your ADN and work your way up. After careful observation of the current environment, I would say that if you have a choice, go for the BSN. My RN to BSN took 2 long years part time, which I had to do because I was working full time. This was an accelerated course too, and we did 6 credits every 8 weeks. Rather than having to go through two admissions, two fees, two graduations etc, you might as well just get it done now. Your job prospects are better, your chance of getting an acute hospital based position is better, and you won't regret doing it in the long term. I've been observing nursing for 23 years and I see the direction it's going in. it's not a good environment to be under-educated in, which is why I'm now in grad school. In my area major corporations are swallowing up smaller hospitals at an alarming rate, and you just have to remain competitive. That's the bottom line. Rent has to be paid and the bills keep coming.

singwithme123 · Jul 24, 2015

I would say that if you have the means and the opportunity to go ahead and get your BSN now (as opposed to getting an Associate's first then BSN later), I would do it. The job market is extremely tight for new grad nurses, and anything that gives you any advantage is worth it. There are hospitals that are reluctant to hire ADN nurses..

adventure_rn, MSN, NP · Jul 24, 2015

Thanks. That's the point I was going to make, too. Whether it's dumb or not doesn't actually make any difference. If you go to a recruiter and say, "your hiring requirements are dumb! You should hire me anyway," I highly doubt it's going to go your way.

:lol2:

Haven't we all wished we can say something along those lines at one point or another...

BuckyBadgerRN, ASN, RN · Jul 24, 2015

amzyRN · Jul 25, 2015

Get the bachelors. It will give you more options in your career and in certain states you will be more marketable. It is true that there are ADN programs that are better than certain BSN programs as far as obtaining clinical skills; but at the end of a BSN you will be more likely to get a job. Two of best nurses I know are ADNs with no bachelors degree in anything else; so I don't think that the BSN necessarily will make you a better nurse; but will give you more options.

michlynn, BSN, RN · Jul 25, 2015

This topic has been discussed more times than I can even count. Type it in the search bar in the top right and you'll find more than enough info. A little more education will never hurt.