Does the BSNs get paid more than ADNs hold true across the board mostly?

Asystole RN · May 21, 2012

So...if you work in a hospital and get paid one extra dollar an hour for a BSN, work 40 hrs/wk, 52 weeks a year, you get a whooping 2080.oo -- which wouldn't cover the cost of a single class with textbooks at a brick and mortar school. You might get into management -- in my hospital, there are 7 NM, an infection control nurse, and the CNO. Now, if you've ever played "Pop Goes the Weasel" you will quickly realize that there's not going to be a seat for you in management for years...possibly never. I went for the BSN, mainly to assure that I have a job after our hospital's sold. We get no extra money for a BSN or for certs, and if you took tuition reimbursement, you are forced to work for the hospital until the tuition is repaid (read: indentured servitude). I chose Western Governors, and paid out of pocket -- I don't have to write anyone a check if I decide to move or change jobs.
I don't want to tell anyone not to get an education. But know what you're getting it for, what it will do for you, and what it will not do for you, especially if you're going to have to pay a lot out of pocket, or be forced to work in a specific hospital or area to repay the loans. I had a friend who went to med school, went into the health corp, and only then realized he didn't want to spend years in the back side of nowhere, an inner city hot zone, or other places that were on the list. They want double damages to get out of those kind of contracts.
Caveat emptor -- let the buyer beware. Or in this case, the RN looking to get a BSN.

So you are saying that your hospital only has 9 non-bedside nursing positions that traditionally require a BSN or higher level of education? Your hospital must only have about 15 beds.

My hospital is only a community hospital (250 beds) and has 6 clinical nurse educators alone. There are something like 10 unit directors, double the number of supervisors. Our President, CNO/DON, and VP of operations are all RNs. There is of course an infection control nurse but also a quality assurance nurse. There is a HIPAA/corporate compliance nurse, 3 employee health nurses, 4 informatics nurses (shared between 2 hospitals), and a partridge in a pear tree. This of course does no count the clinical educators and sales reps which usually at least have a BSN (I have met two that were met nurses however).

These are just the positions I can think of off the top of my head.

DebblesRN, ASN, BSN, RN · May 22, 2012

Where I have worked, BSN did not get you any more money than an ADN as a staff nurse, BUT you can work in administrative positions as a BSN, and THAT will make you more money. I know a lot of magnet hospitals are geared towards hiring BSNs and if they hire you as an ADN, you have two years to complete your BSN.

Some facilities also have a clinical ladder program. A place I used to work had four levels, and you could only get a Clinical IV if you were a BSN. They got paid a higher hourly rate, and their cap ceiling went up. Basically, if you cap out on pay at 33.50 an hour as an ADN, BSN degree nurses may cap out at 43.50 an hour.

So there are ways to make more as a BSN.

cynthia829 · May 22, 2012

All three hospitals, in the area I live in, pay $1.00 per hour more for a BSN degree.

Miss Lizzie · May 22, 2012

My hospital pays $60 cents more per hour for a nurse with any bachelor's degree, not just a BSN.

my3suns · May 22, 2012

the facility i work at pays .60/hr more for BSN over ADN/Diploma nurses.

Stephalump · May 22, 2012

the facility i work at pays .60/hr more for BSN over ADN/Diploma nurses.

So, I could break even from the extra cost of a BSN over an ADN after working 25,000 hours. Fantastic.

Asystole RN · May 22, 2012

So, I could break even from the extra cost of a BSN over an ADN after working 25,000 hours. Fantastic.

That's only 12 years. Do you plan to retire or leave the profession anytime soon? This is of course if you do not get hired into a better position and get a significant raise because you are more marketable with a degree, ceteris parabus.

Tweety, BSN, RN · May 22, 2012

I'm wondering if the small differential for having a BSN vs an ADN is more common in the acute setting or is it the norm everywhere?

4% more where I work.

ORoxyO · May 22, 2012

We get nothing for a BSN. Same goes for certs

nerdtonurse?, BSN, RN · May 22, 2012

We don't have any nurse educators (the OB nurses do lactation training, but it's not a management thing), HIPAA compliance is handled by legal (no forensic nurses), and the infection control nurse doubles for employee health (in that she gives flu shots). Shift supervisors tend to be NM on their nights off. Nursing informatics? I wish. Several of the units/floors share nurse managers. We've got 212 beds. Other than the CNO, we've got no nursing presence on the board. We are very nurse manager "lean." Apparently, we used to have quite a few more, but positions were consolidated to save money.

We're in a very rural area, and we're doctor and PA heavy, nurse lean, and the hospital does not allow NPs in any field to work in the hospital. At our spot, the likelihood of promotion is very low, and pretty much goes to the nurses who were born in the area or have strong family ties. Of the few we have, no one is from outside of the area.

Things are different at other places, but I just don't want people to assume a BSN or even a MSN is going to open doors that don't exist at their particular facility.

mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN · May 22, 2012

Here, the issue is magnet status. I just got my ADN, but the hospitals that I would like to work for are all magnet. The deadline is 2015, I think. I can get my BSN while I work and get experience and then try to get where I would like to. So far, I have not heard of a pay diff between ADN/BSN.

Asystole RN · May 22, 2012

We don't have any nurse educators (the OB nurses do lactation training, but it's not a management thing), HIPAA compliance is handled by legal (no forensic nurses), and the infection control nurse doubles for employee health (in that she gives flu shots). Shift supervisors tend to be NM on their nights off. Nursing informatics? I wish. Several of the units/floors share nurse managers. We've got 212 beds. Other than the CNO, we've got no nursing presence on the board. We are very nurse manager "lean." Apparently, we used to have quite a few more, but positions were consolidated to save money.
We're in a very rural area, and we're doctor and PA heavy, nurse lean, and the hospital does not allow NPs in any field to work in the hospital. At our spot, the likelihood of promotion is very low, and pretty much goes to the nurses who were born in the area or have strong family ties. Of the few we have, no one is from outside of the area.
Things are different at other places, but I just don't want people to assume a BSN or even a MSN is going to open doors that don't exist at their particular facility.

Dear god...something is terribly wrong at your facility.

I don't think anyone has delusions that a degree will automatically catapult them into a better paying white coat job. Ceteris paribus, it will make them more marketable and if there are doors that will open they will be in a better position than without the degree.