BSN does NOT open the door for better opportunies

featherzRN, MSN · Dec 26, 2015

My new position is BSN required - and it was exactly what I wanted to do so my cheapie BSN was very well worth it. :) No, I can't work from home (yet), but it's a non patient care position with no off shifts.

SmilingBluEyes · Dec 26, 2015

It's a shame you thought the BSN would just automatically open all the doors. Many think this. Many become disillusioned and disheartened. I blame nursing schools in some respects; they tell students, there is a nursing shortage---- get that BSN and you are good. No wonder so many new grads/newly-minted BSN nurses are unemployed and losing heart. They were told some things that simply are not true in today's economy and nursing opportunity outlook.

It's more complicated than that. How much experience do you have and where? You have 8 years, but doing what? Many nurses are in your same situation, not able to find jobs and it's very disheartening. Seeing as you are not a new nurse, then you should already know what I have said to you so far.

You should also know, it takes a LOT of determination, work and follow-up to get what you want. And yes, for some, relocation. Since you cannot relocate, you will have to keep widening your net and just plug away at it.

You have some things working against you that have nothing whatsoever to do with your holding a BSN-----you will have to be a lot more determined and keep trying harder if you expect anything to come to fruition. If you are not qualified for a given position, having a BSN won't necessarily make any difference.

SmilingBluEyes · Dec 27, 2015

Also, I would suggest networking. Are there friends, former coworkers, professors/ instructors that may help you? I got most of my jobs not based just on what I knew, but really WHO I knew.

GaleSRN, BSN, RN · Dec 27, 2015

Getting your BSN SHOULD make a difference, and in the future it may. However, the nursing profession has not caught up with other fields. I do not have a BSN. I do, however, have a degree in economics and an ADN. I have been a nurse manager for over 13 years. I think the nursing profession still looks at experience as the key issue, not the degree. My coworker in dialysis had a MSN and had a really hard time getting a job in nursing. I, on the other hand, with 38 years of nursing, was hired on into management. It really shouldn't be that way. That degree should be worth something more than $35.00/hour. Not having one, but having the experience, put me way above her in both pay grade and position.

JewelsRN22 · Dec 27, 2015

Funny, I live on a 30 acre farm. I have my BSN and I am a Nurse Manager at a hospital...I work 5 days a week. Would not be without the BSN and since my BS can't take me any further going for my MSN! Education is never a waste. But you can't expect to be handed anything, have to work for it!

Editorial Team / Admin · Dec 27, 2015

Funny, I live on a 30 acre farm. I have my BSN and I am a Nurse Manager at a hospital...I work 5 days a week. Would not be without the BSN and since my BS can't take me any further going for my MSN! Education is never a waste. But you can't expect to be handed anything, have to work for it!

And make sacrifices. If there are no better job opportunities in the area, then OP must either choose to be satisfied with what she's got or accept that she must relocate.

Carolll · Dec 28, 2015

Baby steps, a lot of the home health agencies don't hire nurses straight out of the hospital because the nurses find out they don't like to go into peoples homes, dogs, cats, roaches, rats.......I think you get the drift. Anyway, start out by applying per diem and see if you can get some experience just filling med boxes, then you can apply full-time and get the job that you want.

greenerpastures · Dec 28, 2015

I don't know... I wouldn't have my job (Med-Surg RN in hospital that's trying to go magnet) If I did not have my BSN. We let a lot of really GREAT techs go when they became nurses because they were RN's. I was kind of upset over that one. A different hospital got to keep them. Our loss

We are all RNs. Did you possibly mean they had ASN/ADN degrees?

txredapple79, BSN · Jan 2, 2016

I am a Supervisor for a WAH company. At our company, hiring is done based on where we need a nurse to live. Secondly, how are your phone interviews going? I can't tell you how many people I've' turned away simply because it was like pulling teeth when talking to them over the phone. To be clear, this is the type of work you will be doing, and for example, if your cell phone keeps cutting out, you may need to find a better option for your interview call. Perhaps you can look at companies that offer nursing advice over the phone, and are willing to pay for you to get multiple licensures. Best of luck in your search!

derdwein · Feb 14, 2016

I'd love to know more about this!

Bchapm01 · Feb 14, 2016

I understand your frustration. Unlike you, I went to college right out of high school and earned my BSN. There are two things I find frustrating regarding the lack of difference in nursing pay and opportunities between an ASN prepared RN and a BSN prepared RN. #1 I am unaware of any other "profession" that does not require a minimum of a 4 year degree. #2 if you are satisfied being a bedside nurse for your entire career, there is NO advantage to obtaining a BSN. That being said, there is only one reason you would be encouraged to do so by administration. The reason is that it benefits them, not you! The number one reason is the desire of the hospital to obtain Magnet status. Approximately 10 years ago, our hospital made the decision to eliminate LPNs. In an attempt to retain them as RNs, they offered to pay the full tuition cost for them to obtain their RN degree. A few department were allowed to keep LPNs, i.e. IV team, radiology, etc. Who was left to fulfill the role vacated by the LPN? The RN, of course! One action they took at the same time as a cost-saving measure was to reduce the number of nursing assistants. Needless to say, the RNs were given a lower nurse-to-patient ratio but were left with a lesser number of ancillary staff to delegate tasks to. Needless to say, our hospital achieved Magnet status initially but failed to maintain it for a variety of reasons but primarily related to poor patient satisfaction scores.