BSN vs ADN Education?????

shodobe · Jul 27, 2005

To tell you the truth, you are opening a can of worms. Very heated and debated issue which you will get a multitude of different opinions. Better left alone because there are no logical, concrete answers. If you must, do a search and you will find all the info you need, be it right or wrong. Good luck though.

Traumatized · Jul 27, 2005

To tell you the truth, you are opening a can of worms. Very heated and debated issue which you will get a multitude of different opinions. Better left alone because there are no logical, concrete answers. If you must, do a search and you will find all the info you need, be it right or wrong. Good luck though.

Thanks for the reply. I have to open the can. When I recieved the assignment I knew it would be a heated topic. I have found a couple good journal articals. Just kind of looking for a general opinion.

DianeMyra · Jul 27, 2005

I will never understand why this topic (or PA vs NP, or CRNA vs assistant anesthetist for that matter), has to "open a can of worms". If one is satisfied with the route one has chosen, why does it have to be defended so bitterly? It amazes me the length people on here go to trying to prove the worth of their degree. I'd say IMO, but hey I wrote it, it obviously is :) -Diane

caroladybelle, BSN, RN · Jul 27, 2005

Please use the Search option and review the several hundred threads on this BB with literal thousands of opinions already posted on this topic. Many of them were posted in response to the exact same query as yours. And many of them are current.

There are right now at least three other threads that have been active in the last 24 hours related to this topic.

I am not meaning to be curt (as I know that you are new) but the topic has been beaten to death on this BB. And many posters will no longer post on the topic, because they are a bit worn out on it.

You can always revive and bump an old thread if you want newer responses.

zacarias, ASN, RN · Jul 27, 2005

Traumatized,

I say go with the articles you found and continue to look for more. Asking people on this board will yield unusable results (a tainted survery essentially).

If you are doing clinicals or work at a hospital, you could randomly ask nurses what they think and then you could use that info.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Jul 27, 2005

I will never understand why this topic (or PA vs NP, or CRNA vs assistant anesthetist for that matter), has to "open a can of worms". If one is satisfied with the route one has chosen, why does it have to be defended so bitterly? It amazes me the length people on here go to trying to prove the worth of their degree. I'd say IMO, but hey I wrote it, it obviously is :) -Diane

I agree. The problem with the internet is someone can offer an opinion, as an honest opinion, and then someone will take it as demeaning or read something into it. I can say "BSN should be the entry level for RN practice" and someone will chime in and say "I'm sorry you don't think of me as good enough to be a nurse, how arrogant of you, but let me tell you something............".

Been there and done that. More than likely will do it again. :rotfl:

**RosesrReder, BSN, MSN, RN** · Jul 27, 2005

I was did a search about your topic and there is so much info that will be sure to help you. Remember this seems to be the off topic topic and just to avoid steamy situations you may want to do a search. Best wishes to you. :)

Trauma Columnist · Jul 27, 2005

Welcome. Other posters have made good suggestions. Also, in order for a debate, personal opinions are usually not the best to use - you want facts, such as patient outcomes (many articles related to this currently), nurse satisfaction ratings, and other things. Good luck.

Traumatized · Jul 27, 2005

Thank You all for your good info. The debate is on.

VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN · Jul 27, 2005

At the risk of :deadhorse :deadhorse :deadhorse

Pro-ADN

Mahaffey, E.H. (2002, May). The relevance of associate degree nursing education: Past, present, future. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. Retrieved May, 8, 2004 from http://nursingworld.org/ojin/topic18/tpc18_2.htm

National Organization for Associate Degree Nursing (N-OADN).

http://www.noadn.org/adn_facts.htm

http://www.noadn.org/noadnfoundation.htm

Advantages of ADN and/ or multiple entry levels:

Relatively low cost

Less time investment

Better able to reach rural and isolated communities, minority populations, the disadvantaged, and males

Able to quickly produce nurses for the nursing shortage

Puts local people to work by equipping them with a useful and marketable job skill

Other articles of interest:

Lawler, T.G., & Rose, M.A. (1987). Professionalization: A comparison among generic baccalaureate, ADN, and RN/BSN nurses. Nurse Educator, 12(3), 19-42.

Martin, P., Yarbrough, S., & Alfred, D. (2003). Professional values held by baccalaureate and associate-degree nursing students. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 35(3), 291-296.

Smith, J.E. (2002). Analysis of differences in entry-level RN practice by educational preparation. Journal of Nursing Education, 41(11), 491-494.

Hope these links and article references help. Best wishes with your school project.

targa · Jul 27, 2005

The Aiken article has been thoroughly vetted... it is a watershed. I think the bottom line is................. that BSN nurses are better prepared to think critically, a process which improves patient outcome. The writing is on the wall... and sooner or later states will begin requiring that new grads have a BSN. Some teaching hospitals are trying to achieve an all-BSN workforce. While some might say that that goal is unrealistic, I don't think it's a stretch to say that, all things being equal, a unit manager will hire a BSN over an ADN any day.

I personally know a lot of nurse managers, and I know what they're looking for. There might come a time, sooner than we think, when ADN nurses will be considered nothing more than "technicians", and BSN nurses will be making all the important patient-care decisions (as well as managing). This is not a fantasy; this debate is going on right now at my nursing school. The nurses who control the state boards and professional associations are, for the most part, BSN-educated and higher. The line is already in the sand.....................