caught up between ADN & BSN

PMFB-RN, RN · Nov 14, 2006

i am really confused on which to take... adn or bsn.. basically, what are their differences in terms of salary?
*** in most places there is no difference. in a few hospitals there may be a small differential for bsns.
is the difference kinda huge or just a little? i know that bsn takes longer years.
*** maybe, maybe not. some people spend several years on a waiting list and it can take 6 or 7 years to get an adn.
in a hospital, does it really matter if you're a aa-rn or bs-rn???
*** it makes no difference at all as a bedside nurse.
are they treated differently?
*** not that i have ever seen. usually it is bsn nurses who are promoted to managment positions. that said there are plenty of nurse managers with adns. there are certain jobs only open to bsn nurses such as school nurse, community health nurse, active duty military nurses and a few others. in a hospital all jobs are open to any rn
i am really confused on which to take.. and chances in enrolling at a university are really slim!!! i am also concerned about the time, my dear!! omg! mainly the years!! yet, i wanna have a good position in a hospital. hope you can help me about this. your response would really be a great help.

*** my advice is to take whatever program will get you an rn license the fastest. if you choose adn you can then get your bsn and likely do it at hospital expence.

BeccaznRN, RN · Nov 14, 2006

Given the competition to get into nursing school, I would say go with the program that accepts you!

llg, PhD, RN · Nov 14, 2006

If you do a search of this site, you will find lots of threads on this issue. The bottom line is this:

Immediately after graduation, there is little (if any) difference in the job opportunities and/or pay between a new graduate ADN and a new graduate BSN. Both are new graduate nurses prepared to do the entry-level job in nursing. Many employers offer no extra pay to the BSN for their extra education and those who do pay extra usually offer only a small amount. A few places do prefer to hire BSN's, but most places will hire both types of nurses for their entry level positions.

The difference comes later. The BSN grads have more opportunities for career advancement and more opportunities for certain types of jobs that require the extra education. Also, the long-term historical trend favors the more highly educated nurses.

Based on the above-stated facts, my advice is this. Choose the program that works best for you at this time to get your initial RN. However, if that "best option" for you at the moment is the ADN, understand that you will need to complete your BSN eventually should you decide to stay in nursing and want to have the full range of job opportunities available to you. If you don't complete your BSN, your options may be limited in the future.

Many people start with an ADN and then complete their BSN's later and that is OK. Just don't fool yourself into thinking that it will meet your lifelong needs just because the job opportunities for new grads are so similar with either degree. Someday, you will be 55 years old and you might be interested in some of those "BSN preferred" or even "MSN preferred" options.

llg

Megsd, BSN, RN · Nov 14, 2006

*** My advice is to take whatever program will get you an RN license the fastest. If you choose ADN you can then get your BSN and likely do it at hospital expence.

And keep in mind that just because an ADN is a "two year program" it A) probably will take more than 2 years when you include prereqs, and B) many ADN programs have abysmally long waiting lists. I was planning to apply for both a ADN and BSN program, but the ADN program had over a 2 year waiting list, whereas the BSN program either accepts or rejects you each quarter. I got into the BSN program on the first try and will be finished about the same time I would have gotten a chance at the ADN program.

So make sure to explore all your options since the ADN may not be faster anyway.

VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN · Nov 14, 2006

hi barbie q :)

the adn/bsn debate has been discussed extensively here.

please see this thread which contains links to previous discussions and articles: adn vs. bsn for entry level nursing