BSN is a joke

Ruby Vee, BSN · Oct 11, 2017

I am a nurse at a major hospital where I have worked over a year after gaining my ASN. I have returned to get my BSN. What I'm not understanding is why there is such an ENORMOUS disconnect between what I do at work and the class work I need to do. It doesn'y apply at all. I have to take family care classes and informatics with very little practical application. I have to memorize all the rules of APA. My patients don't care if I can wrote a wonderful APA formatted paper. They just don't. It's like there is no appreciation in BSN education for what nursing is really about. At no time will I EVER do a CFIM on my patient or a PEEK readiness assessment. Get real. Where is the disconnect? Everyone I talk to say's the same thing about their BSN program, that it is completely useless. Who decided that nurses needed extensive training in social work and paper formatting?!?! I don't deal with social work. I have a team of social workers for that. At no time will I ever be in a patients home trying to improve the communication between family members ect. There are family counselors ect for that. It isn't my job! Yet here I am getting trained in areas I have no interest in, and will never ever use in my career. And for what? So I can say I have 3 letters behind my name and the school and hospital can make more money? Its a joke. I'm learning nothing of value. I would drop out and find a new school, but everyone I talk to has the same opinion about where ever they went. Basically healthcare has become obsessed with accolades, but forgot that those accolades were supposed to represent a level of expertise.
Why is there such an enormous disconnect between real life nursing and nursing education??!?!?

A BSN is a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. You've already got the nursing stuff in your ASN. (Much of it, anyway.) Now you have to complete the requirements for a Bachelor of Science degree. If you don't want to complete the educational requirements for a Bachelor's degree, you're free to deem in useless and not complete them. If you want the Bachelor's degree, you must complete the requirements.

guest52816 · Oct 11, 2017

As far as APA format is concerned, I simply hired someone from the Social Work department of the large university where I worked to type out my paper in APA format. The rate was reasonable, the work good and done on time.

If time is more important than money, hire someone in the Social Work department of a college or university near you to do the APA work. I thought it was money well spent.

Sorry, but I can't advise you on the rest!

Flatline, BSN, RN · Oct 11, 2017

Working the floor I did not use the B of my BSN. In my current job I find myself looking for more classes to reinforce informatics, statistics, APA/AMA, and even ENGLISH of all things.

Nursing is not limited to a series of tasks or a specific job and you might find yourself one day wishing you had more of those informatics classes.

guest52816 · Oct 11, 2017

Oh, I forgot to add that you are right, the hospital will get referred to as a "Magnet" hospital based on the number of BSNs. Hospitals like being called "Magnet."

You, however, will not get any more $$$.

Supposedly, studies have shown come correlation between BSNs and safety. I am just repeating what I was told on that subject.

Maybe another poster knows the true answer.

JROregon, ASN, BSN, RN · Oct 11, 2017

Agree with Ruby Vee, you can either do the work to get the BSN or not. You can do it cheaply through a WGU type program and take a bunch of credits at once or do it through a more expensive program with credits that are transferable anywhere if you desire to become an Advance Practice Nurse. Your choice. My BSN program was long, difficult, and had almost nothing to do with the job I was doing at the time. I became really proficient at APA format and learned a lot about public/community health. I actually became more familiar with my own community and the needs of vulnerable and marginalized people. It didn't help me start IVs or insert a perfectly sterile foley catheter but what it did do was broaden my knowledge base and make me more employable in case I decide I want to take a position that requires a BSN - right now my job only has the ADN requirement. It's your career and your choice.

klone, MSN, RN · Oct 11, 2017

Oh, I forgot to add that you are right, the hospital will get referred to as a "Magnet" hospital based on the number of BSNs. Hospitals like being called "Magnet."

Actually, that's not true. There is A LOT involved in being designated a Magnet facility.

And actually, NONE of it involves how many BSN-prepared floor nurses there are.

TrashPanda · Oct 11, 2017

Two words: Magnet Status. Around these parts, to even be considered for employment, you must have a BSN and most of the hospitals have told their ASN/ADN's that if they do not have their BSN completed by 0000 on 1/1/18, they no longer have a job as a nurse in that hospital. Many are now pushing for MSN.

klone, MSN, RN · Oct 11, 2017

Two words: Magnet Status. Around these parts, to even be considered for employment, you must have a BSN and most of the hospitals have told their ASN/ADN's that if they do not have their BSN completed by 0000 on 1/1/17, they no longer have a job as a nurse in that hospital. Many are now pushing for MSN.

Again, Magnet has no requirements for the type of degree held by floor nurses.

TrashPanda · Oct 11, 2017

Again, Magnet has no requirements for the type of degree held by floor nurses.

I should have clarified that the two major hospital systems here specifically cite the reason for requiring a BSN (and subsequent push for masters preparation) is their Magnet Status. I still have my email from three years ago that says, "In an effort to..." Magnet may not have that requirement, but (some) of the hospital systems do. Those three letters can sure have an impact on calls for interviews.

Sour Lemon · Oct 11, 2017

I am a nurse at a major hospital where I have worked over a year after gaining my ASN. I have returned to get my BSN. What I'm not understanding is why there is such an ENORMOUS disconnect between what I do at work and the class work I need to do. It doesn'y apply at all. I have to take family care classes and informatics with very little practical application. I have to memorize all the rules of APA. My patients don't care if I can wrote a wonderful APA formatted paper. They just don't. It's like there is no appreciation in BSN education for what nursing is really about. At no time will I EVER do a CFIM on my patient or a PEEK readiness assessment. Get real. Where is the disconnect? Everyone I talk to say's the same thing about their BSN program, that it is completely useless. Who decided that nurses needed extensive training in social work and paper formatting?!?! I don't deal with social work. I have a team of social workers for that. At no time will I ever be in a patients home trying to improve the communication between family members ect. There are family counselors ect for that. It isn't my job! Yet here I am getting trained in areas I have no interest in, and will never ever use in my career. And for what? So I can say I have 3 letters behind my name and the school and hospital can make more money? Its a joke. I'm learning nothing of value. I would drop out and find a new school, but everyone I talk to has the same opinion about where ever they went. Basically healthcare has become obsessed with accolades, but forgot that those accolades were supposed to represent a level of expertise.
Why is there such an enormous disconnect between real life nursing and nursing education??!?!?

But have you seen the way that some nurses write on here like they have never heard of a punctuation mark capital letter or paragraph so idk because maybe the witting does help even if its not something thats used everyday or even used at all because they hopefully you wont come out sounding like you failed the fifth grade twice, personally i will probably not get my bachelors unless i have to because i'm already old and a little tired and i can find work without it until i retire, but i do believe that more education is always better

JKL33 · Oct 11, 2017

Why is there such an enormous disconnect between real life nursing and nursing education??!?!?

I do think there should be a heavier clinical focus, without necessarily removing some of the other stuff you're talking about - which I believe is actually important for those who wish to be treated like professionals regardless of role. One must be able to write coherent sentences without grammar and spelling errors, know how to source and evaluate information, and have some understanding of the disciplines that affect nursing and patient care. Social work? I think you should know about that - we're the original social workers, after all. We don't just see the patient when there's a consult, but instead are there all the time. But, since BSN is required for clinical practice, the course of study should significantly focus on and seek to grant experiences and didactic opportunities that lead to something much more than a "novice" understanding of bedside nursing practice. In other words, it should be of immediate benefit and applicability to the person who earns the degree, and ultimately benefit the patients for whom the nurse will be caring. In my ideal world, one would not graduate from nursing school knowing how to write a paper but not be able to proficiently do med math calculations, or be able to create a power point about handwashing but not be able to do an appropriate physical assessment guided by knowledge and insight. There would never be a school where you could obtain a nursing degree without having taken a decent pharmacology class for another example.

The joke part is that advanced and expert-level knowledge isn't wanted at the bedside as far as I can see. At the same time that BSN entry level to practice is becoming more common, efforts are underway to, for example, decrease need and opportunity for critical thinking. Problems that we want to solve are not the problems that others come up with. There are many mixed messages and I won't pretend that that the disconnect you mention doesn't exist.