BSN minimum requirement

Nurses General Nursing

Published

It is my firm belief that the minimum requirement for nursing should be a BSN. We want to be accepted as a profession, yet we allow 2 year programs to dominate the field. Now I went to a 2 year program and will be finishing my BSN this semester. My school did a great job preparing me for "tasks" of nursing, but oh, it is so much more than that. Many other countries have moved or are moving towards 4yr degree minimums and the US needs to stay atop in this competative field. The nursing shortage will not always be here and it is to your advantage to get your degree now. The 2 yr programs will make a great footstep in the years to come, but the 4yr degree will become the RNs of the future. As nurses move into the 21st century we need to pull together to demonstrate our power as a profession, the only way to do this is to have strong, educated nurses in not just bedside tasks but critically thinking, politics, research and community health. Think about it, comments welcome.

I have been hearing ADN nurses bad mouth the BSN nurses as a bunch of useless lazy snobs, and the BSN nurses bad mouth the ADNs as uneducated and somehow beneath them. I just don't get it. Why aren't nurses supportive of eachother? Why don't we recognize an ADN's amazing bedside care or a BSNs hardwork in getting her degree (or vice versa)? A nurse is a nurse is a nurse.

By the way, our BSN program was the same program as our ADN for the first 3 years. After three years the ADN nurses left to work and the BSN students did one more year. So no one was more technically prepared than anyone else and everyone did the same critical thinking. I have to say this in defense of the BSN and ADN students.

I have been hearing ADN nurses bad mouth the BSN nurses as a bunch of useless lazy snobs, and the BSN nurses bad mouth the ADNs as uneducated and somehow beneath them. I just don't get it. Why aren't nurses supportive of eachother? Why don't we recognize an ADN's amazing bedside care or a BSNs hardwork in getting her degree (or vice versa)? A nurse is a nurse is a nurse.

By the way, our BSN program was the same program as our ADN for the first 3 years. After three years the ADN nurses left to work and the BSN students did one more year. So no one was more technically prepared than anyone else and everyone did the same critical thinking. I have to say this in defense of the BSN and ADN students.

A nurse is a nurse is like saying a doctor is a doctor. Get real, the one aspect that nursing really needs to pursue is specialization. The days of having a little knowledge about everything should be gone. Nursing should be specialized just as the physician community has done.

A nurse is a nurse is like saying a doctor is a doctor. Get real, the one aspect that nursing really needs to pursue is specialization. The days of having a little knowledge about everything should be gone. Nursing should be specialized just as the physician community has done.

Hi,

I feel that many of the "posters" are missing the initial point. BSN as a point of entry to professional nursing. I feel that the four years needed to accomplish this feat weeds out alot of people. I also believe that nursing should be an apprentice field CNA LPN RN. Many other professionals go this route. Electricians, plumbers, etc. Do we deserve anything less???? TTFN Remember we are performing a service that is as important if not more important than the others.... Life or death....

Hi,

I feel that many of the "posters" are missing the initial point. BSN as a point of entry to professional nursing. I feel that the four years needed to accomplish this feat weeds out alot of people. I also believe that nursing should be an apprentice field CNA LPN RN. Many other professionals go this route. Electricians, plumbers, etc. Do we deserve anything less???? TTFN Remember we are performing a service that is as important if not more important than the others.... Life or death....

This whole post is exactly whats wrng with nursing. Way to much bickering and fighting about who is better. It does not really matter we are all here to do a job, take care of patients and one of the big reasons we are not taken seriouly is because we are so poorly organized and are to busy fighhting among our selves to see the big picture, But thats what happens when you have a profession dominated by women. My post and that comment may offend some of you, however if you look at some of the posts on this site and talk to your collegues they will tell you the same thing. As far as the BSN thing goes it might help us be taken more seriously who knows it is only been being said for 30 odd years that it should be the entrance level and today the only state in which it is true is North Dakota. theres a promising future. It all comes down to this it willnever change ADN's and diploma nurses make up 64% of RN's so quit b***hing and if you don't like it move to North Dakota population roughly somewhere between 650,000 and 700,000. in contrast Michigan has 111,000 registered nurses

This whole post is exactly whats wrng with nursing. Way to much bickering and fighting about who is better. It does not really matter we are all here to do a job, take care of patients and one of the big reasons we are not taken seriouly is because we are so poorly organized and are to busy fighhting among our selves to see the big picture, But thats what happens when you have a profession dominated by women. My post and that comment may offend some of you, however if you look at some of the posts on this site and talk to your collegues they will tell you the same thing. As far as the BSN thing goes it might help us be taken more seriously who knows it is only been being said for 30 odd years that it should be the entrance level and today the only state in which it is true is North Dakota. theres a promising future. It all comes down to this it willnever change ADN's and diploma nurses make up 64% of RN's so quit b***hing and if you don't like it move to North Dakota population roughly somewhere between 650,000 and 700,000. in contrast Michigan has 111,000 registered nurses

Specializes in Everything except surgery.

Bickering...B****ing?? I think not! Even though I totally disagreed with the original poster, I have enjoyed reading the posts that sprang from it. The following is a quote from one I truly enjoyed..."I do believe that BSN should be the level of entry for those reasons but mostly because it allows an individual nurse to easily walk forward from the bedside into other roles when (or if) she tires of the role that the ADN/diploma program so aptly prepares their students for"

This post validated my original post! "Allows the individual nurse to easily walk FORWARD FROM THE BEDSIDE into OTHER ROLES when(or if)she TIRES of the role that the ADN/diploma program so aptly prepares their students for" Now lets see if my uneducated tired old brain can grasp this concept. Now tell me if I get it wrong now. So the ADN/diploma programs aptly prepare their students for...umm now let me see here...nursing?? Hold on..I'll get it ...if those programs prepare them to nurse at the bedside...umm where does the BSN/MSN programs prepare you to work?? Hmmm..must NOT be at the bedside..eh? Now..let me go even further here...oooh this means really stretching my brain matter ...hold on...neurons are firing...HEY..I get it. Get you ADN....go on to get your BSN/MSN...so you DON'T have to work at the bedside anymore...is that it??? OOOhhh ok...so now...if having your BSN should be the entry level to nursing...and all the BSN as getting away from the bedside...and there are no other levels of nursing...ummm...now let me see here.....WHO IS AT THE BEDSIDE??

OOh don't tell me...IT's THE NEW GRADS!!! Now won't that increase superlative patient care. Yeah ...right!

Gloria

Specializes in Everything except surgery.

Bickering...B****ing?? I think not! Even though I totally disagreed with the original poster, I have enjoyed reading the posts that sprang from it. The following is a quote from one I truly enjoyed..."I do believe that BSN should be the level of entry for those reasons but mostly because it allows an individual nurse to easily walk forward from the bedside into other roles when (or if) she tires of the role that the ADN/diploma program so aptly prepares their students for"

This post validated my original post! "Allows the individual nurse to easily walk FORWARD FROM THE BEDSIDE into OTHER ROLES when(or if)she TIRES of the role that the ADN/diploma program so aptly prepares their students for" Now lets see if my uneducated tired old brain can grasp this concept. Now tell me if I get it wrong now. So the ADN/diploma programs aptly prepare their students for...umm now let me see here...nursing?? Hold on..I'll get it ...if those programs prepare them to nurse at the bedside...umm where does the BSN/MSN programs prepare you to work?? Hmmm..must NOT be at the bedside..eh? Now..let me go even further here...oooh this means really stretching my brain matter ...hold on...neurons are firing...HEY..I get it. Get you ADN....go on to get your BSN/MSN...so you DON'T have to work at the bedside anymore...is that it??? OOOhhh ok...so now...if having your BSN should be the entry level to nursing...and all the BSN as getting away from the bedside...and there are no other levels of nursing...ummm...now let me see here.....WHO IS AT THE BEDSIDE??

OOh don't tell me...IT's THE NEW GRADS!!! Now won't that increase superlative patient care. Yeah ...right!

Gloria

Not to throw gas on the fire but...

I think this discussion as several others have noted illustrates the "class wars" in nursing at the present time. Experienced, competent and valuable diploma/ADN nurses are feeling threatened by the looming "requirement" of a BScN. Many feel this is unnecessary and unfair and in a lot of ways it is. Superficially it is an added expense for likely no benefit beyond what the additional education will bring you.

I think what the original poster was getting at is that it would be valuable to have a common base for nurses. This would go far to eliminate the "class wars" and promote unity and professionalism. By setting this mark at a university degree it somewhat raises the bar in terms of the profile of the profession. Most other professions with similar degrees of responsibility to nursing require a degree. This is not to say a degree is necessarily "better" than a college diploma. It has their merits and drawbacks. In my experience diploma nurses are definately originally better prepared for work on a floor due to their greater focus on clinicals. However this disparity is generally short lived. Again, everyone is different. Generalization of anyone based on their education is short-sighted and un-professional. I've seen plenty of diploma nurses pass the buck of bedpans and diaper changes...

The main benefit of a BScN at present is the ability to go beyond the floor nurse role. This is NOT a requirement but an option. To be an educator requires a mix of experience and education on education. In any other field, teachers need to be taught how to teach and nursing should be no different. Further education to be an educator is a good thing in my book.

Anyway, just my 2 cents.

Cheers,

J-P

Not to throw gas on the fire but...

I think this discussion as several others have noted illustrates the "class wars" in nursing at the present time. Experienced, competent and valuable diploma/ADN nurses are feeling threatened by the looming "requirement" of a BScN. Many feel this is unnecessary and unfair and in a lot of ways it is. Superficially it is an added expense for likely no benefit beyond what the additional education will bring you.

I think what the original poster was getting at is that it would be valuable to have a common base for nurses. This would go far to eliminate the "class wars" and promote unity and professionalism. By setting this mark at a university degree it somewhat raises the bar in terms of the profile of the profession. Most other professions with similar degrees of responsibility to nursing require a degree. This is not to say a degree is necessarily "better" than a college diploma. It has their merits and drawbacks. In my experience diploma nurses are definately originally better prepared for work on a floor due to their greater focus on clinicals. However this disparity is generally short lived. Again, everyone is different. Generalization of anyone based on their education is short-sighted and un-professional. I've seen plenty of diploma nurses pass the buck of bedpans and diaper changes...

The main benefit of a BScN at present is the ability to go beyond the floor nurse role. This is NOT a requirement but an option. To be an educator requires a mix of experience and education on education. In any other field, teachers need to be taught how to teach and nursing should be no different. Further education to be an educator is a good thing in my book.

Anyway, just my 2 cents.

Cheers,

J-P

+ Add a Comment