80% BSN staffing by 2020

Nurses Activism

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This has been on the forefront of every conversation regarding nursing I have been a party to as of late. 80% of BSN prepared nurses for acute care by 2020. Is this just being kicked around as an ideal, or did this mandate pass? Not sure if this is national or state.

A number of hospitals will only hire BSN's. That is certainly their right, however, to use the 80% by 2020 mandate as a reason to not hire less than a BSN is a bit odd to me.

My understanding is that this mandate states that currently employed nurses are grandfathered. They also have a 10 year period of time to obtain a BSN. From what I have read about this, it is a state mandate that has yet to pass in most states. But the information is vauge.

Or is administration just throwing it out there in attempts to go for Magnet status???

Curious on if you have heard this in your area?

Specializes in Certified Med/Surg tele, and other stuff.
I forgot to add, many hospitals pay a BSN very little over an ADN. Do you see a trend? The BSN may find his/herself in the same boat. Pressure from a hospital to spend money for a degree in order to get paid the same or slightly more. Many nurses don't see the value in getting a Master's or Doctorate because where's the money? More work, more hours, more liability and less pay ratio wise, especially with student loans. May as well go to med school? offshore to cut costs? and the toll it takes on your familly?

I'm one of those. The BSN surge is slowly happening in my area, so to protect myself I'm putting myself through school. My family suffers, I have no social life, and I won't get paid a dime at work for it, and I'm putting myself in debt. Heck, it's not even on my name tag.

My previous manager (who had their MSN) wanted all MSN staff on the acute care floor :roflmao:. I asked him if he was going to pay more for an advanced degree? You can guess his answer.

So yeah, you are going to pay a MSN the same as an ADN/BSN AND expect them to work the floor too????

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Specializes in Critical Care.
So if you were to do a ADN to BSN bridge right now it would take a year and cost $8000 or so. That would give you six years of making $520 more per year before the 2020 mark for a total of $3120 extra at your current job, reducing "cost" to less than $5k. This is reasonable to me.

If you choose not to invest in your education because the money isn't there then why be surprise when the hospital cuts you because the education isn't there for the money?

The cheapest RN-BSN program available in my state will run $16,000 for the typical ADN grad, the cheapest non-online program runs about $29,000 for the typical ADN grad. $8,000 was pretty typical around 2007, 2008, but times have changed.

More education is always better, so why are we allowing BSN Nurses to work, shouldn't they all be MSN Nurses?

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Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
What is the point in requiring a DNP for a nurse practitioner? Might as well become a MD. I'm all for education, but that totally makes no sense.

*** One of the two medical schools in my state is starting up two, three year medical programs at satellite locations. The local University's DNP FNP is 3 years of full time study.

It would seem a legitimate question.

The requirements for physician and FNP are moving much closer together, but compensation is NOT.

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Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
But in my facility, nurses are paid 25 cents more an hour for having a BSN! That's $10.00 more a week! That is $520 a year! Perhaps that pays one (or two) student loan payments.

But we must all go do this. NOW. 2020 is right around the corner....and THEN we can pay you back to the new grad BSN pay....but ya still got your 25 cents.....

*** That $520 a year is really more like $300 after taxes.

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I agree and given the fact that a DNP ..."will keep the MDs from pushing back on giving access to healthcare a "doctors' duty", given the fact that NPs give equal care, based on EBP... "...and even though, "Nursing and Medicine are two different models of care. "... it does make sense to consider an MD degree instead of a DNP.

Sorry, couldn't address multiple threads. :) I think this is an important discussion.

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I was initially agreeing with PMFB-RN: "The requirements for physician and FNP are moving much closer together, but compensation is NOT. "

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Specializes in MICU - CCRN, IR, Vascular Surgery.
My previous manager (who had their MSN) wanted all MSN staff on the acute care floor :roflmao:. I asked him if he was going to pay more for an advanced degree? You can guess his answer.

So yeah, you are going to pay a MSN the same as an ADN/BSN AND expect them to work the floor too????

I'm sorry, I just died laughing. When I have my MSN, I'm certainly not going to be working on the floor!!

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.

I'm sorry, I just died laughing. When I have my MSN, I'm certainly not going to be working on the floor!!

Agreed...there is a career path for MSN prepared nurses...and more away from the bedside. :yes:

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Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
I'm sorry, I just died laughing. When I have my MSN, I'm certainly not going to be working on the floor!!

*** Both of the hospitals where I work have tons of MSN prepared RNs worked side by side with ADN and BSN as staff nurses. Many of them are not qualified to do anything else and not all of them are management material.

Some are qualified NPs but can't afford the pay cut that working as an NP would mean.

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Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
I was initially agreeing with PMFB-RN: "The requirements for physician and FNP are moving much closer together, but compensation is NOT. "

Lets consider this. This is just for my area that I am familiar with.

Internal medicine physician-

* Undergrad degree. - 4 years

* Medical degree - 3 years

* Residency - 3 years paid at $50K/year

Starting pay - $200K give or take.

Family Nurse Practitioner -

* Undergrad degree - 4 years

* DNP - 3 years.

* No residency

Starting pay - $80K give or take.

The smart & ambitious your person would have to seriously consider the cost / benefit of DNP vs MD.

The DNP doesn't look very competitive to me. The advocates of DNP seek to dramatically increase the time and financial investment for FNPs without a corresponding increase in scope of practice or compensation.

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I'm just completely frustrated with this whole "you need a BSN degree to continue to do the same job you are doing". It makes no sense to me. Once I get my BSN I will not get paid a cent more at my job and I'll be doing the same exact thing. Why can't they leave us ADN nurses who love bedside alone!!! I already know and understand about EBP, so why I need to spend 30,000 dollars on something I already know about is nonsense ! I'm half way through my RN-BSN program and all it has been is a bunch of fluff classes.

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I live in Ontario Canada and here a BSN has been required since 2005. All diploma programs were stopped shortly before then. We never had ADN. I do not have a BSN and have absolutely no interest in getting it. Like the previous post said why would I spend the money to do the same job I am doing. You can be hired into different jobs as long as you graduated before 2005. A nurse from the US would either have had to graduate before then with ADN or if they graduated after that would have to have a BSN as well. We have a number of people from the US working here. Those of us without a BSN, and that is the majority still, do not have to obtain a BSN at all. We are all considered equal when it comes to front-line nursing jobs.

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