Curious-why do people put ADN, RN? It's ASN...

RN_SummerSeas, MSN, APRN, NP · Jul 10, 2015

I find it unprofessional because it does not desinate your degree, I learned this from upper management who frown on it as it is not a designated degree acronym.

Many people don't put their major in their initials, nurses do, I know some others do, but not all. I have an A.A. engineering but I don't put A.A.E. ever. I have an A.S nursing so I would put A.S.N. if your associates is applied science it is A.A.S or A.A.S.N.

After I noticed the hostile responses on here I thought I'd look it up and the official is A.S or A.A.S. D for Degree is not used in those designations. My daughter has a BFA not a BDFA or BFAD. I am working on a BSN not a BSND or BDSN. My husband has a B.S. aviation but uses B.S. and M.B.A. I have just never seen it applied to any other degree and thought I would ask...

My humble opinion is that I earned that lovely degree and I am going to display what I earned-my associates in science.

No need to get angry people you want to list ADN go for it! I literally asked out of curiousity because I always wondered about it.

RN_SummerSeas, MSN, APRN, NP · Jul 10, 2015

I think it is just you. It's not unprofessional at all.

Must be me and my organization who expects the appropriate designation.

RN_SummerSeas, MSN, APRN, NP · Jul 10, 2015

Sometimes people get hung up on titles. They worked hard for their credentials, and want it to be clear what they have. I can't blame them (although, the ones who have 320 letters after their name sometimes make me wonder if they're overcompensating for something ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½).
I'm with the rest of the crowd, though; how is ADN disrespectful? It's a legitimate Nursing degree.

NEVER said disrespectful EVER.

RN_SummerSeas, MSN, APRN, NP · Jul 10, 2015

Basically the title says it all! I am curious why anyone would put ADN, RN after their name...you hold an associates in SCIENCE nursing, RN to BSN-bachelors of SCIENCE nursing. Associate Degree Nursing just seems so unprofessional. Maybe that is just me, but I thought I would ask!

I had NO idea so many would be so offended, seriously, it was a question. I NEVER said ADN was disrespectful, ever.

If I could delete this I would because I was on here to chat not get attacked. So even though I started the thread, I am out because I don't need hate because of a simple question. Guess I should make sure to never ask an opinion question here. Good to know...

Enjoy your ADN's, ASN's, AASN's, BN, BSN. BDSN, BSDN, whatver you want to call yourselves, super sorry I asked.

elkpark · Jul 10, 2015

What I've seen is people use "ADN," for "associate's degree in nursing," to refer generically to ASN and/or AAS degrees as a group (since both are associate's degrees). I haven't seen (in real life) anyone put "ADN" after their name as part of their credentials. Of course, I don't think I've ever seen anyone include their associate's degree in their signature; the ADN-prepared :) people I've known have just signed their name, RN.

And I wasn't offended at all by the question. You're right, of course, that there's no actual degree that includes the word "degree" in the name of the degree, and it should be obvious that "Associate's degree in nursing" isn't the name of any actual degree.

noelly10 · Jul 10, 2015

After I noticed the hostile responses on here I thought I'd look it up and the official is A.S or A.A.S.
No need to get angry people you want to list ADN go for it! I literally asked out of curiousity because I always wondered about it.

OP, where were you feeling we were being hostile? We weren't angry, I feel everyone was just informing you as to why some people call it ADN and others call it ASN. No hostility, just plain facts. You asked why, and you were told why. Simple as that. Relax.

noelly10 · Jul 10, 2015

I had NO idea so many would be so offended, seriously, it was a question. I NEVER said ADN was disrespectful, ever.
If I could delete this I would because I was on here to chat not get attacked. So even though I started the thread, I am out because I don't need hate because of a simple question. Guess I should make sure to never ask an opinion question here. Good to know...
Enjoy your ADN's, ASN's, AASN's, BN, BSN. BDSN, BSDN, whatver you want to call yourselves, super sorry I asked.

Why so serious? I felt this thread was very informative and I learned a lot from it.

allnurses Guide · Jul 10, 2015

What I've seen is people use "ADN," for "associate's degree in nursing," to refer generically to ASN and/or AAS degrees as a group (since both are associate's degrees). I haven't seen (in real life) anyone put "ADN" after their name as part of their credentials. Of course, I don't think I've ever seen anyone include their associate's degree in their signature; the ADN-prepared :) people I've known have just signed their name, RN.
And I wasn't offended at all by the question. You're right, of course, that there's no actual degree that includes the word "degree" in the name of the degree, and it should be obvious that "Associate's degree in nursing" isn't the name of any actual degree.

That's what it is called here in California.

My understanding has always been that an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN), also referred to as Associate in Nursing (AN) or Associate of Applied Science in Nursing (AAS) are all the just different designations of the same degree.

Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN/ASN)

An Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) is a two-year degree that prepares students to become registered nurses (RNs). The program typically includes internships, classroom instruction, and/or clinical rotations. ADNs are among the fastest ways to enter the field of nursing. They are also known as Associate of Nursing (AN) degrees, or Associate of Applied Science in Nursing (AAS) degrees.

P.S. I sensed NO hostility OP.

MunoRN, RN · Jul 11, 2015

I find it unprofessional because it does not desinate your degree, I learned this from upper management who frown on it as it is not a designated degree acronym.
Many people don't put their major in their initials, nurses do, I know some others do, but not all. I have an A.A. engineering but I don't put A.A.E. ever. I have an A.S nursing so I would put A.S.N. if your associates is applied science it is A.A.S or A.A.S.N.
After I noticed the hostile responses on here I thought I'd look it up and the official is A.S or A.A.S. D for Degree is not used in those designations. My daughter has a BFA not a BDFA or BFAD. I am working on a BSN not a BSND or BDSN. My husband has a B.S. aviation but uses B.S. and M.B.A. I have just never seen it applied to any other degree and thought I would ask...
My humble opinion is that I earned that lovely degree and I am going to display what I earned-my associates in science.
No need to get angry people you want to list ADN go for it! I literally asked out of curiousity because I always wondered about it.

"ADN" does actually designate your degree since if you have an ADN, the type of degree you have is an Associates degree.

Many Associates in nursing programs do not designate being Associates of Arts or Associates of Science or Associates of Applied Science, it's the school that designates it to be an Associates degree in Nursing. If someone is granted an "ADN" it is correct to call it an "ADN" to call it an "ASN", if they were never granted an ASN, would be incorrect.

Are you sure you have an Associates in the Arts (AA) of Engineering? That's typically an AAS or AS.

Dogen · Jul 11, 2015

I'm not even sure why anyone would put their degree in their signature, except for prestige. Maybe it's just me, but I don't care if you're an AAS, an ASN, an ADN, a BSN, or an MSN. I care that you're licensed by the state - so including your RN makes sense - but I don't even typically read what people put after their names.

If I see Dogen, RN, BSN, BA, MHFA, QMHP... I just scan for the letters that matter (I.e., you're co-signing a hold, I need to see MD, DO, or QMHP) and ignore the rest. Since I never, ever need to know if you're a BSN or ADN-prepared nurse, it seems pointless to include it... No? Maybe? I'm also a slacker and want my signature to be as short as possible.

kalycat, BSN, RN · Jul 11, 2015

Strangely, even this gets mixed up sometimes. The University of Washington offers both a BA and a BS in psychology. UW has a single college of arts and sciences, which houses something like 20 departments, so I guess they can do what they like.
Not that this applies to a discussion of nursing degrees... just that how a school decides what degree to give you is part tradition and part mystery.

I have a BS in psych and attended a school that offered both a BA and BS. For the BS, you had to fulfill the general ed requirements for the College of Sciences, which were different from the BA. You had to take at least one math course beyond Trig (calculus), statistics, and at least a full year of "hard" sciences: bio, chem, or physics. The distinction, as explained to me at the time, had to do with your educational plans beyond undergrad. Those who were seeking LMHP certification, teaching, social work, or counseling graduate degrees were encouraged to pursue the BA. Those who were interested in pursuing basic research in behavioral psych, neuroscience, or neurobiology were encouraged to pursue the BS track to make themselves more attractive to these grad school programs. Just thought I would throw that out there to muddy the water even further! :)

allnurses Guide · Jul 11, 2015

At my local community college, we all graduated with Associate in Arts Degrees. We were not allowed to differentiate ourselves from the rest of the graduates. We all got AA Degrees.

Some of us rebelled though - and painted RN on our caps.

(I had a prior AA degree from same college from way back after high school . . . .a General Education AA degree).

I only put ADN after "Spidey's mom" to show how I went about getting my education. I don't sign my name or put that info on my name badge.