BSN is a joke

Flatline, BSN, RN · Oct 12, 2017

Yes but those tools are not only available to BSNs and to imply that those of us who have learned to use them in the course of our careers are poseurs and incapable of understanding the "subtleties" is elitist and divisive.

Do you like apples?

I did not state, nor do I believe I insinuated, that the tools were the sole domain of of BSNs. I was only saying that the tools acquired by the BSN nurses make it easier for them. Some of those basic tools are common to every BSN nurse.

Not every diploma or ASN nurse has those tools. Good or bad, useful or not, that is the truth.

Flatline, BSN, RN · Oct 12, 2017

I never alleged you said this but it has been implied in some of the posts here.
And to be clear there is no component of the bsn program that produces nurses who are better critical thinkers than any other nursing education. Frankly I'm in the camp that believes much of our critical thinking skills are innate and we build on those regardless of our educational background.

I want you to know that I appreciate and value you, regardless of your background, education, or chosen specialty or job.

chacha82, ADN, BSN · Oct 12, 2017

You can fuss or you can just do it. Luckily my work pays for me to pursue my BSN. Yes, it's no fun to work full-time and then have to do homework on my days off but I tell myself it won't be forever. I will say I have taken some very interesting classes, some had nothing to do with nursing. I took a class about the Vietnam War as an elective that made a big impression on me. I also took an End-of-Life care class that forever changed the way I see some things in nursing.

Wuzzie · Oct 12, 2017

I did not state, nor do I believe I insinuated, that the tools were the sole domain of of BSNs. I was only saying that the tools acquired by the BSN nurses make it easier for them. Some of those basic tools are common to every BSN nurse.
Not every diploma or ASN nurse has those tools. Good or bad, useful or not, that is the truth.

Except when they're not. That's my point. There are nurses of every flavor that have those tools in their orificenal even as newbies. It depends primarily on the person not the education.

OldDude · Oct 12, 2017

This is from my experience...I don't know about the "BS" part but there was very little relevance to actual nursing in my nursing school; just a mechanism to get the "paper" so you could start your real education. It appeared most of the instructors were there as an alternative to retirement.

RunnerNurse09, BSN, RN · Oct 12, 2017

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??!?!?

Firstly, I think it depends on where you go for your BSN. I took an advanced assessment course and a genetics course. Also, my bachelor's degree is really where we got into evidence based practice, which does apply to clinical practice. How are you going to know which methods work best for your patient? You mentioned communication, but communication amongst family members and patients is huge in nursing. I agree that APA formatting is a headache, but its the way things are done. Learning to sift through research to advance nursing and other disciplines does actually matter. What I learned in my BSN curriculum really helped me grow as a nurse. I am sorry yours didnt.

lifelearningrn, BSN, RN · Oct 12, 2017

This does not require a degree. SMH.

Sure you can learn this outside of a school setting, but you're going to have a hard time proving you have this knowledge/skill set without a degree.

lifelearningrn, BSN, RN · Oct 12, 2017

Yes but those tools are not only available to BSNs and to imply that those of us who have learned to use them in the course of our careers are poseurs and incapable of understanding the "subtleties" is elitist and divisive.

I never meant to imply that you were a poseur or that you haven't learned these skills throughout your career. My sister has been an ADN for 3 decades and will always run circles around me. However, not having a BSN has limited her in the last 10 years, as the requirement for one has become ever so prevalent. She's at the end of her career and doesn't want to be at the bedside any longer. She has the knowledge and skills, just not the paper.

Ddestiny, BSN, RN · Oct 12, 2017

I did not read all 7 pages of responses here so my reply might be a bit redundant.

I seriously felt the exact. same. way. when completing my BSN. I was initially excited to get back into school and thought I'd at least get to take another pathophysiology class or learn about some kind of "advanced techniques". I was seriously disappointed when I found out that the classes really felt like "gen eds". The thing I *loved* about nursing school was that it was all applicable, which kept my interest. I'll admit, I'm not a good student with things that are abstract and not applicable. Taking a test about nursing theories (not specific theories, mind you -- just the *concept* of nursing theories) was my version of hell.

I feel like the most interesting class I took the whole time was an Ethics class that was an actual Gen Ed. I do not like administration, nor do I enjoy research. I did gain insight into digesting the research, which I do appreciate, but man did it take a lot of effort to get there. I'm not going to perform nursing research.

I bought a computer program called PERRLA that helped with the APA formatting. You do have to have a basic concept of what you're doing with it (i.e. you fill in the info for your citations but if you forget that only the first letter of the publication title is capitalized, it will not correct it for you). I wrote a lot of papers, which honestly was one of the more enjoyable parts because it generally meant I was reading and learning about things that I found applicable. We were turning towards ERAS protocols here at my hospital and I did a 15-20 page (can't remember exact numbers at this point) research paper about it, which allowed me to educate my colleagues more about it. THAT I can deal with.

If I didn't want to keep going on to grad school eventually, I would have stopped after the first semester. The new credentials haven't done anything but add 3 letters on my nametag. I don't get paid more and at least for now I live in an area where BSNs are not required. Most patients don't know what goes into a nursing education and don't really appreciate what the difference is between a BSN and an ADN, or even what those letters mean.

There are plenty of reasons for bridging to the BSN (i.e. open up new job opportunities, preparation for NP/MSN, learn about management/research, etc) but it's not going to feel like that instant gratification of nursing school where you're learning so much about how to help the patient lying before you. And that's frustrating. My only recommendation to people with the same frustrations is this: decide on your real end-goal, and follow that path. The benefits of the BSN do not always outweigh the financial and time costs for everyone, but only you can choose.

stathe85 · Oct 12, 2017

I actually have my BSN and am working towards my masters. Clinical thinking is a big part of the BSN. It may not seem to you now that you wont use these classes, but since I graduated, I feel I use almost everything that I learned.

Wuzzie · Oct 12, 2017

Sure you can learn this outside of a school setting, but you're going to have a hard time proving you have this knowledge/skill set without a degree.

My critical thinking skills, knowledge base, published papers, presentations, work ethic and my professionalism are the only proof I've ever needed.

Wuzzie · Oct 12, 2017

I never meant to imply that you were a poseur or that you haven't learned these skills throughout your career. My sister has been an ADN for 3 decades and will always run circles around me. However, not having a BSN has limited her in the last 10 years, as the requirement for one has become ever so prevalent. She's at the end of her career and doesn't want to be at the bedside any longer. She has the knowledge and skills, just not the paper.

This I agree with but it isn't what I was talking about. Yes, not having a BSN definitely hampers the ability to move from the bedside and for those who want to move on they will have to suck it up and get those three extra letters. However, forcing the experienced nurse who has no intention of doing anything but the honorable job of a bedside nurse to get a BSN is an overreach.