How important is a BSN?

SmilingBluEyes · Feb 17, 2005

It depends upon what you want to do, and how far you want to advance. Hope this helps.
The four-year BSN is preferred by most nursing leaders and provides the best opportunities in today's job market. If you look in the Want Ads, you'll find that a BSN is a requirement for many positions. It is the entry point for professional nursing practice.
The two-year Associate Degree focuses more on technical skills than theory and is often a stepping stone to the BSN. It allows a student to become a Registered Nurse and earn money more quickly than a four-year BSN program, so it works better for many students. It is the entry point for technical nursing practice.
The diploma, a 2-3 year experience was more common before the 1970s, when there were more than 800 diploma schools in existence. There are now less than 100 such schools. A diploma experience prepares students for work in a hospital or other inpatient facility. Depending on your career aspirations, this may or may not seem limiting to you.

sounds like a great university-definition to me! But it's narrow and not necessarily true. And believe me, ADN's are not technical nurses only! It's what the university professors TEACH you to believe.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Feb 17, 2005

sounds like a great university-definition to me! But it's narrow and not necessarily true. And believe me, ADN's are not technical nurses only! It's what the university professors TEACH you to believe.

I agree Deb. The original intent of the ADN was to get technical nurses out there, and be superviesed by the BSNs, but in the years since it has involved into so much more. ADNs not only have to have the technical skills, they have to be critical thinkers, charge nurses, case managers, etc. etc. etc.

I don't think we want to go there though do we?

SmilingBluEyes · Feb 17, 2005

My point is, today's ADN training is NOT merely technical. Sheesh, they need to update that now. We are not trained to do TECHNICAL skills only. We are also trained/educated/ prepared to take charge and "gasp" ----think like RN's, period. When we are hired, we are held to the same standards our BSN coworkers are.

Lord, yes, I am tired hearing we are "technical nurses". We are not. WE take charge and even manage, units now. It was a huge rub for me when I was in my rn-BSN classes. They were still preaching the same old same old. I took exception to it. Still do.

Bobbye · Apr 26, 2005

This has been debated on this forum ad nauseum. You may do a little searching, and find more than you ever wanted to find! The bottom line, is a BSN is as important as you want it to be. There is generally no difference in pay or job description. Certain jobs in education, management etc want an advanced degree, but that too depends on what area of the country and the size of your hospital. They have been talking about making a BSN an entry requirement since before I graduated in 1973, so I would not worry too much about that issue. Right now, there is such an acute shortage of nurses, they are making it easier to bridge to RN from LPN, paramedic, tech, etc. I don't think they are going to run out perfectly qualified and currently licensed RN's.

Iam new to the nursing lingo, What exactly is a BSN and a ADN? I feel these are titles that I need to know. Any more you feell like sharing, I'll sure take. Thanks, Bobbye

SmilingBluEyes · Apr 26, 2005

BSN=Bachelor's of Science in Nursing

ADN= Associate's Degree in Nursing

Diploma= Hospital-based nursing program

all 3 are educated and prepared to take the NCLEX (national boards) and assume the role of professional RN. The amount of time that each program takes varies from about 3 years for ADN and Diploma (ADN is called a 2 year degree, but it takes more like 3 years with all the prenursing work,-----to 4 or more for BSN (depending on how long you spend getting the prerequisite/corequisite coursework done).

There are accelerated BSN/MSN programs for people with prior bachelors' or higher degrees that can take a year or even less. They are very intensive.

Cassinia · Apr 26, 2005

This has always been a sore topic with me. I came into the nursing field after having a BS and double major in Special Education and Elementary Education. The BS was only worth the paper it was written on. When I sat in boards, why back when the dinosaurs roamed the Earth and they locked everyone in a large room, we all took the exact same test and by looking at us you couldn't tell who came from 2-yr, 3-yr, or 4-yr schools.

I have worked with BSN nurses and MS nurses who were scary because, while being book smart, they had NO common sense or how to adapt things to situations. As a student, the nurses use to tell us they preferred the 2-yr students over the 4-yr students (I was a 2-yr). We were often with other students just starting on the floor who were in their 3rd year and just starting in the hospital. As a nurse, I preferred the 2-yr students over the 4-yr; the 2-yr (at least in our area) was trained in the hospital from the very first class. It would make me crazy because a lot of the BSN's were like 'that's not what the book said,' well, DUH! The book is a guideline. Many of the 4 yr nurses were too busy trying to analize while the 2-yr nurses were in there up to their elbows in the action.

Alphabet soup behind someone's name never did impress me. What impresses me is what they can do with the knowledge and how to adapt it to different circumstances. And, as I said earlier, since we all take the EXACT SAME boards, who cares? It's why I also believe just because a person has a BSN after their name they shouldn't be paid more than any other RN from any other program. All you're being paid for is a piece of paper.

rach_nc_03 · Apr 26, 2005

Not only that, but they make you take the BSN courses (Theory, Research, Community Health, etc.) anyway, so I really don't see the point of paying the extra money rather than just getting the BSN and going from there.

I don't understand what you mean- are you saying that one should get a BSN, then get an MSN, rather than doing an RN-MSN bridge program? I have no interest in nursing management (did plenty of management and budget strategy in my last career), but need a master's to become a pediatric CNS, and I love research, so I'll probably get a doctorate, too. For me, with 5 years of university education in a different field, it makes no sense to go the RN-BSN-MSN route...it would take a lot longer than an RN-MSN program. In my area, you can get most of these things paid for by your employer.

To the OP: the best answer to your question, I think, is to research things in *your* area. See what job ads require. Ask HR people at different facilities. Look at tuition reimbursement for different hospitals. See what course requirements are for the different educational programs in your area. Find people doing what YOU want to do- med/surg, ER, clinic, OR, whatever- and ask them. If there are ADN, diploma, and BSN nurses working in that area, ask someone from each background. Once you collect all the data, decide what *you* think.

pricklypear · Apr 26, 2005

I have worked with BSN nurses and MS nurses who were scary because, while being book smart, they had NO common sense or how to adapt things to situations. As a student, the nurses use to tell us they preferred the 2-yr students over the 4-yr students (I was a 2-yr). We were often with other students just starting on the floor who were in their 3rd year and just starting in the hospital. As a nurse, I preferred the 2-yr students over the 4-yr; the 2-yr (at least in our area) was trained in the hospital from the very first class. It would make me crazy because a lot of the BSN's were like 'that's not what the book said,' well, DUH! The book is a guideline. Many of the 4 yr nurses were too busy trying to analize while the 2-yr nurses were in there up to their elbows in the action.
Alphabet soup behind someone's name never did impress me. What impresses me is what they can do with the knowledge and how to adapt it to different circumstances. And, as I said earlier, since we all take the EXACT SAME boards, who cares? It's why I also believe just because a person has a BSN after their name they shouldn't be paid more than any other RN from any other program. All you're being paid for is a piece of paper.

I really wish people would let statements like this die with the dinasaurs. I heard this so many times before I went to school. It must be written somewhere in some anti-BSN handbook. Every single person I went to college with would be welcome to care for me or my family. I had the EXACT same clinical time my friends in the ADN program had, and they studied just as much theory as I did the first 2 years. Now in the workforce, I couldn't tell an ADN from a BSN by their practice, can you? We had a bunch of new grads start last year, 2 BSN and 3 ADN. All have been EQUALLY competent, booksmart and, can you believe it, even the BSNs have COMMON SENSE!! Please don't discourage students from seeking their BSN by spreading these kinds of misconceptions.

And by the way, I don't consider my degree "just a piece of paper."

RN4NICU, LPN, LVN · Apr 27, 2005

I don't understand what you mean- are you saying that one should get a BSN, then get an MSN, rather than doing an RN-MSN bridge program?

Did you read the posts I responded to?

They were talking about the cost of RN to MSN programs and how they are very expensive - to which I replied - MANY of these programs make you take the same nursing courses that you would take in an MSN program, such as Theory, Research, and Community Health, etc. You really do not save yourself very much by going RN to MSN, particularly if cost is a factor. Some employers do provide full reimbursement, but not all do. Some reimburse for only some and some require you to work for them for a certain amount of time after completing your course. That may not be what a newly-certified NP wishes to do.