BSN degree seems off topic

[Wayne47]

A lot of people I know call the BSN degree a B.S. nursing degree if you get my point. Throughout my my BSN program I have felt that many of the classes were not truly nursing related. I don't think that classes such transcultural nursing is important enough of a 4 credit hour class when we could be learning more about subjects such as pharmacology or advanced nursing skills. Basically I think that the classes offered in the BSN programs are just not important enough to dedicate an entire semester worth of work to. Must nurses will agree that they only get their BSN so they can apply for ARNP/CRNA school or because they want a job away from patient care.

Does anyone else agree with me? What are your thoughts about the BSN?

[carolinapooh, BSN, RN]

The writing done for my BSN was not "my own ideas, assessments and observations". My only "ideas" identified the nursing implications of the literature we read.

Unless you committed serial acts of plagiarism, you certainly wrote your "own ideas, assessments, and observations" on whatever it was you were writing about.

Resurrected this old post because it bugged me. :)

[carolinapooh, BSN, RN]

16 hours of my BSN were taken at the graduate level - including pathophysiology (most awesome course EVER), community health, and diagnostic reasoning/physical assessment, as well as nursing research and a grad level stats course.

Hardly fluff. :) It depends on your program.

[Winry]

I can see why you feel that way. My nursing experience is very different. I went to a 4 year college for two years thinking I wanted to be a Medical Technologist. This summer, I had a change of heart and am now going for nursing! I switched to a 2 year college and am now taking some of my non- nursing classes (such as Anatomy & Phys., Microbiology, etc) and am starting Nursing school next fall. Long story short, I missed the deadline to apply to start nursing school in the Spring semester.

I have found that when you are going to a 2-year school for nursing, the classes tend to be more directly related to what you are studying. This includes my non-nursing courses. For example Microbiology at my four-year college included EVERYTHING that nursing, environmental, and Biology majors needed to learn. At my 2-year college, Microbiology that I am currently taking is geared towards nursing and is much more applicable.

Now granted, i still plan on getting my BSN. My 2-year college has a deal where if you get a GPA of 3.0 or higher when you finish, you are automatically accepted into a BSN program at another college, and all of the classes online. I personally want a BSN because it has more in the way of opportunities in specializing and advancement in my career. But the degree in itself isn't necessarily better in a way of education.