Can an ASN RN work in a Hospital?

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Apr 5, 2012

The job market in nursing is very tight right now. Many new grads with AND and BSN are having difficulty finding jobs. Hospitals are not hiring and are running with a minimum. Couple that with nursing school churning out new grads at an alarming rate....and you have a plethora of nurses right now. Many of the nurses supposed to retire to cause this shortage can't retire because they lost their 401K's when the market dumped. Hospitals can afford to be very selective in hiring the best candidate. can ADN work as an RN? Yes the question can they find a job.

Has the Nursing Shortage Disappeared?

It's that time of year again. Graduating nursing students are preparing to take the NCLEX and are looking for their first jobs. This year, many are finding those first jobs in short supply.

Reports are rampant of new graduates being unable to find open positions in their specialty of choice, and even more shockingly, many are finding it tough to find any openings at all.

These new RNs entered school with the promise that nursing is a recession-proof career. They were told the nursing shortage would guarantee them employment whenever and wherever they wanted.

So what happened? Has the nursing shortage—that we've heard about incessantly for years—suddenly gone away?

The short term answer is clearly yes, although in the long term, unfortunately, the shortage will still be there.

The recession has brought a temporary reprieve to the shortage. Nurses who were close to retirement have seen their 401(k) portfolios plummet and their potential retirement income decline. They are postponing retirement a few more years until the economy—and their portfolios—pick up.

Many nurses have seen their spouses and partners lose their jobs and have increased their hours to make ends meet for their families. Some who left the profession to care for children or for other reasons have rejoined the workforce for similar reasons.

In addition, many hospitals are not hiring. The recession brought hiring freezes to healthcare facilities across the country, and many are still in effect. Help wanted ads for healthcare professionals dropped by 18,400 listings in July, even as the overall economy saw a modest increase of 139,200 in online job listings.

http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/content/NRS-254907/Has-the-Nursing-Shortage-Disappeared.html

The Big Lie?

Without a doubt, the main source of frustration experienced by recently graduated and licensed but still unemployed nurses is what could be called "the big lie."In other words, the television commercials that encourage young people to become nurses -- and then abandon them for months (or years) without employment; and the educators who tell them that the associate's degree is perfectly adequate to guarantee employment, that they will have their pick of jobs when they graduate, and that there is plenty of time to get a BSN later on. Who knows whether it is greed, ignorance, or wishful thinking that underlies the fairy tales told to nursing students about their future job prospects? Whatever the motivation, the disillusionment of our new grads is palpable. The jobs they expected after all of their hard work just haven't materialized, and some grads are getting pretty desperate.

The Big Lie?

Losing Our Skills

The Holy Grail

Take a Job, Any Job

Get Out of the Hospital

Back to School?

Does Uncle Sam Want You?

Feel Like a Little Golf?

Give Us a Chance

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/755051?src=top10 requires registration but it is free

I hope this helps. Search the site using the search engine here and you'll find this subject has been discussed at length.

KelRN215, BSN, RN · Apr 8, 2012

"Can" an associates-prepared nurse work in a hospital? Yes. Is it easy for an associates prepared new grad to find a job in hospital nursing these days? No.

Most hospitals in my area "prefer" BSN prepared RNs. They also prefer to not hire any and just overwork the ones they do have.

I don't live in California but this year is actually the first year my floor has hired new grads since 2008. And now we're ONLY hiring new grads because they're cheap. We have hired 6 new grads since July which is more new grads than have been hired in the 5 years that I've been there. In that time, we've also had 10 experienced nurses (out of a staff of about 45) resign. All of the new grads hired were BSN prepared. It's tough to get into the hospital as a new grad these days and I imagine it's going to be even tougher for all these new grads on my soon to be (as of tomorrow) former floor when they've got 5 patients on nights with everyone else too busy to help a week off of orientation.

Morainey, BSN, RN · Apr 8, 2012

Of course a nurse with an associate's degree can work in a hospital, it's just (as the above posters mentioned) a matter of getting hired. I worked at my hospital for a year before I graduated, and it's the smartest thing I ever did. The job market for nurses is pretty tight in New England right now.

UVA Grad Nursing · Apr 8, 2012

I concur with the above comments. An ADN can work in a hospital setting, but it will be tougher for you. In my town, there are two hospitals that hire new grads. Both prefer BSN grads, and one has a quota to hire no more 20% ADN-prepared individuals into new grad positions. So this means that the 60 Associate Degree students here in town (plus the other 150 ADN new grads within a 1-hour drive) are competing for a max of 16 spaces for new grads at that hospital.

The ADNs getting hired are the ones line HalfMarathoner who are already working as Patient Care Assistants/Techs in that hospital.

So if you know precisely where you want to work, I recommend that you work for that hospital while you are in your associate's degree program.

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Apr 8, 2012

Ditto what everyone else said. Yes, ADNs can be hired into hospitals: I'm proof of that...and I wasn't a tech/CNA that converted over, but instead a straight hire both times.

However, a lot of hospitals prefer BSNs, especially if they are or in the process of seeking Magnet. In my facility, almost all of the new grads hired were BSNs...and of the very few (3-4 out of more than 80!) that weren't, they were internal hires and/or had already started a RN-BSN program.

It's not impossible, but you may need to start planning ahead now with networking and/or getting a job in your desired facility.

libran1984, ASN, RN · Apr 8, 2012

I live and work in Indianapolis, Indiana and I've never heard of ASN new grads having difficulty finding a hospital position. Even myself after only 9 months out of school, an LPN, obtained a highly coveted ER position and act as a primary nurse. I have heard rumors that the East Coast is much more strict about LPN vs ASN vs BSN.

GadgetRN71, ASN, RN · Apr 14, 2012

No problems here for ADNs and I'm on the East Coast. My ADN program is well regarded in my state. The problem is mainly for new grads, and that goes for the BSNs too. Still not bad for nurses that have experience.

applewhitern, BSN, RN · Apr 14, 2012

The ADN prepared nurse can work anywhere here. As a matter of fact, the Director of Nursing at my hospital only has an ADN! My first cousin is also a DON, and she has only the ADN. Most mid-to-upper level management positions do require a BSN, but as stated, that is not always the case. A lot of times, it is simply "who you know." I would think long and hard about it before I put out $60k!! If you get the ADN, a lot of hospitals will re-imburse part of your tuition for advancing your degree.

sherri12 · Apr 16, 2012

It doesn't take $60,000 to get a BSN. I will have finished my BSN from start to finish in 3 1/2 years at a cost of about $26,000.

clahoney7 · Apr 17, 2012

I just wish it was an option to use my BSN in the hosptial because they won't hire me over the new grads. I was a CNA in 1995 got my LPN in 1998, RN-ASN in 2004, BSN in 2010. I have only briefly worked in the hospital and despised working LTC so didn't really have a good record at it, now I am paying the price because as a Case Manager for 6yrs I cannot get back to do bedside nursing to get a leg up for FNP or DNP.

BSN doesn't cost $60k you have to shop around.

Sarmjone · Jul 18, 2013

Hey! I noticed you're in Indy. I am too and am looking at Ivy Tech's ASN program- where did you do your schooling for LPN? Do you know if it still seems like a decent market for SENd? I was accepted to an ABSN program, but it is way too expensive!