BSN is a joke

[nurseguy22]

I am a nurse at a major hospital where I have worked over a year after gaining my ASN. I have returned to get my BSN. What I'm not understanding is why there is such an ENORMOUS disconnect between what I do at work and the class work I need to do. It doesn'y apply at all. I have to take family care classes and informatics with very little practical application. I have to memorize all the rules of APA. My patients don't care if I can wrote a wonderful APA formatted paper. They just don't. It's like there is no appreciation in BSN education for what nursing is really about. At no time will I EVER do a CFIM on my patient or a PEEK readiness assessment. Get real. Where is the disconnect? Everyone I talk to say's the same thing about their BSN program, that it is completely useless. Who decided that nurses needed extensive training in social work and paper formatting?!?! I don't deal with social work. I have a team of social workers for that. At no time will I ever be in a patients home trying to improve the communication between family members ect. There are family counselors ect for that. It isn't my job! Yet here I am getting trained in areas I have no interest in, and will never ever use in my career. And for what? So I can say I have 3 letters behind my name and the school and hospital can make more money? Its a joke. I'm learning nothing of value. I would drop out and find a new school, but everyone I talk to has the same opinion about where ever they went. Basically healthcare has become obsessed with accolades, but forgot that those accolades were supposed to represent a level of expertise.

Why is there such an enormous disconnect between real life nursing and nursing education??!?!?

[MurseJJ]

To me, getting my BSN would have been just a stepping stone to getting a masters.....and at 63, I am no longer convinced that RN's with a masters degree and doing teaching or research has any connection to bedside nursing.

Why? Can't they do both? There are many RNs at my institution that hold masters degrees, do research/EBP/QI, and practice at the bedside (one of the nurses on my unit has two masters, chairs a hospital committee, does EBP/QI projects and presents at conferences, and still is at the bedside). I'm aware of at least one nurse in on of our ICUs that holds a PhD, teaches, does research, and is at the bedside caring for patients. The editor of the journal of neuroscience nursing is a PhD nurse that also is at the bedside.

It definitely is possible to get a graduate degree and stay at the bedside, and do teaching/research if that's what you want to do. I'm "only" a BSN and I do research (with a PhD mentor), though luckily I get protected time.

[lcgivz12]

I agree that BSN programs have a lot of unrelated material, but I also think that this material comes into play when you get your masters degree and beyond. When you get your masters or doctorate, you will take many classes that pertain to your increasing expertise. However, you must be able to read research and write professionally to complete graduate-level work, which BSN program prepare you for, and not associates programs. So I recommend BSN programs to those who know they will go on to complete a masters. Otherwise, you are right, it could be just a waste of time and irrelevant material.

[BostonFNP, APRN]

A BSN at the bedside does the exact same things that an associate degree nurse does....

There is a significant body of research that suggests otherwise, but that aside, the main difference that most people here are mentioning (but not understanding) is that in many places if a nurse isn't a BSN then they can't even work at the bedside, even at a facility they have been working in.

[MunoRN, RN]

There is a significant body of research that suggests otherwise, but that aside, the main difference that most people here are mentioning (but not understanding) is that in many places if a nurse isn't a BSN then they can't even work at the bedside, even at a facility they have been working in.

There's no evidence to support that the nurses ADN programs are graduating will produce poorer outcomes in the patients they care for. There is evidence that ADN programs from the 90's and prior were unequal to BSN programs, which led to significant restructuring of ADN programs, the result of that change has not yet been evaluated.

[MunoRN, RN]

The asn programs in my area do not. I'm not entirely sure where you are getting that information from to make such a blanket statement.

To clarity, I was referring your blanket statement that ASN programs don't generally include research and EBP or to the same degree as BSN programs.

Both accrediting bodies require an emphasis on research and EBP in all course content. If there are programs in your area that don't do this, then they are either unaccredited or you should report them to their accreditation body.

[Reyn04, MSN, RN]

In a breakroom years ago I worked with a BSN who (surrounded by ASN & ASN students) whi groused that he should be making more money than ASNs. Someone, rightly, pointed out tgat they all had the same license & all did the same job but when he got mote experience (as he was a new grad nurse) he had more potential over time to move into higher paying positions than they did. I was a CNA & an ASN student at the time but I remember that clear as a bell.

Years later this is my experience. I got my ASN & a job. I hear my hospital wants MAGNET & as a result wants BSN nurses & are pushing ASNs to go back. They also remove all ASNs out of permanent Charge Nurse positions: BSNs only at that level. Now, all ASNs are only floor nurses.

We (unrelatedly) decided we were going to move to a new state & I hear about the heavy preference BSNs receive. I went back to Chamberlain's online BSN program so I could say I was enrolled for a BSN. I didnt get a single call back until I'd completed it a year later. Not 1 interview for a trained, licensed, 18 month experienced critical care nurse in multiple hospitals. Hospitals who only stated BSN preferred not mandatory.

Finished coursework submitted an application: got a call the next day (literally). Took the job. Several weeks later supplied my diploma & letter from the college stating my official graduation date (i didnt attend), gave that to my HR dept: got a raise for having my BSN. While there with my BSN I was able to both train for charge & become a clinical teacher for the attached University's BSN program (working under the CNE). I was offered other opportunities such as being a Jr. Nurse Educator.

2 years later I moved to another state and already had my BSN so I dont know what hiring was like without it BUT. I've worked a few places & 1 place (MAGNET) states they need a certain percentage of BSNs for its certification.

I decided to get my MSN because I know I have 20+ years to go & physically may not be able to do bedside for that time. I want opportunities. I just completed the coursework in Aug & I'm glad I did it now because I wont have the pacience later. & if you wanna talk about learning stuff you wont need to know: do your MSN.

As an ASN studen my school made it clear to us that the ANA's goal is to make the BSN the minimal standardbeducation for nurses. It is one of the necessary steps of moving nursing from a "job" to a "profession" (long lecture but that was the upshot. So while it was "only" an ASN school at the time we were being told that we would need more to be in nursing long term.

So why? Um. Because.

If you ste a befside nurse & thats all you want to do & feel your facility will never push for more, then dont. You're right in that it wont make you a better bedside nurse. But if you want to advance positions, change facilities, move... have the potential to earn more later, or dont want to get stuck if they mandate it 5 years before you retire or something, get it out of the way & be done with it.

[quixotic.dy]

Having a bachelors in nursing isn't about what you can do as a floor nurse in a hospital it's about preparing you to be part of leadership and also to go on to get a graduate degree.

If you only aspire to work as a staff nurse, then don't waste any more money and time on a bachelors degree. If you desire to be a manager, nurse practitioner, educator, nurse scientist, or researcher then you need a bachelors degree and that is why you are doing this extra work.

I had this same disconnect working on my BSN (I did not start with the ADN) when we were doing these incredibly in depth assessments and then in the hospital nurses are very quick and to the point. I was like why am I doing all this work when this isn't what nurses do? Until I saw a nurse practitioner do a focused assessment which was more in depth than any assessment by a doctor and was what we had been learning.

The bachelors program is giving you a taste of what comes at the next level so that when you get there, you aren't deer in the headlights.

I do share your hate for everything that feels like busywork. So trust me I do feel for your frustrations.

(And yes I have not one but two bachelors degrees but lack of proper punctuation and whatever else because it's on my phone and the internet.)

[nuangel1, BSN, RN]

you could also look to your supervisor and see if they could send you to a class on 12 lead EKG.or you could go to a seminar on it this would get you CEUs

[bgxyrnf, MSN, RN]

So basically the BSN should cover everything everyone is exposed to in every setting.

No, but cardiac electrophys and multi-lead ECG are fundamental and broadly applicable from neonates to geriatrics, from tox cases to trauma, from the maternity wards to the ortho floor, from the ED to the ICUs.

Frankly, I'm stunned that anyone is arguing to the contrary.

[MurseJJ]

No, but cardiac electrophys and multi-lead ECG are fundamental and broadly applicable from neonates to geriatrics, from tox cases to trauma, from the maternity wards to the ortho floor, from the ED to the ICUs.

Frankly, I'm stunned that anyone is arguing to the contrary.

Basic cardiac electrophysiology, rhythm interpretation, and common treatments of common arrhythmias are taught in the ADN/pre-licensure BSN curriculum (they may be tested on the NCLEX-RN), and should be understood by the bedside RN, whether ADN or BSN (or anything else).

12 lead EKGs? Depends on the setting, especially if they are being done with any frequency for the bedside RN to maintain competency.

[SmilingBluEyes]

EDUCATION is NEVER a "joke" if you take it seriously and apply it appropriately. YOU are making it a "joke" and that is sad to me.

[jeanbeth, MSN, DNP, RN]

"The data need to show the organization's progress toward 80 percent of registered nurses obtaining a baccalaureate or graduate degree in nursing by 2020. An explanation should be included in the assessment narrative when data do not demonstrate progress toward this 2020 goal." From ANCC Magnet site. Sounds like they require BSN nurses.

http://www.nursecredentialing.org/Magnet2016FAQ