I'm sorry, I have the DUMBEST question...

Nurses General Nursing

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I'm really kinda new to all the acronyms and to how nursing itself works degree and "rank" wise, so I'm sorry if I sound really silly here.

My question is....what is the difference between an RN and all the other "N's" (ADN, BSN, MSN.....). I know what the ones in ( )'s stand for, but I thought all those were considered RN's, just with different degrees?? I saw on another post that you can get your RN, ADN, BSN....and I just got confused. I thought any Nurse's degree means your an RN.:confused: I saw that list of degrees but it didnt' answer my question as to the differences.

Sorry for the silly question....Please enlighten me oh smart ones! :bow: LOL. :)

i would like to say a bit about the comment of the diploma program not being assosiated with a university. that is not true. all diploma programs that i know of and have known of are assosiated with major universities. infact, the diploma school i went to was associated with an ivy league university. the diploma programs are located at hospitals but, its doesn't mean they are tought by the hospital staff. the college assosiated with our program taught,chem, bio, soc, psyc etc.... the nursing courses were taught by nursing instructors with msn's etc. our percentage passage rate on state boards in ohio was 99.8 % for 20 odd years.

that is true of my diploma program as well. our classes for psyche, english, sociology, anatomy, chemistry, microbiology and statistics etc. etc. were all taught by the university that our hospital based program was affiliated with at that time.

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Specializes in ORTHOPAEDICS-CERTIFIED SINCE 89.

There are no hospital diploma schools left in SC. My Initial diploma for RN read Assocoate Degree in Technical Nursing. About 6 months later we received an updated one that read Associate Nursing Degree. I reckon that's good 'cause the first one said I graduated on the SEVENTEETH of AUGUST.

My Ring has 74 on one side and N on the other. Since I did pass the College State Board Test Pool Examination that makes me a Registered Nurse.

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Specializes in Trauma, Teaching.

Thanks for the clarification on diploma programs :)

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There are no hospital diploma schools left in SC. My Initial diploma for RN read Assocoate Degree in Technical Nursing. About 6 months later we received an updated one that read Associate Nursing Degree. I reckon that's good 'cause the first one said I graduated on the SEVENTEETH of AUGUST.

My Ring has 74 on one side and N on the other. Since I did pass the College State Board Test Pool Examination that makes me a Registered Nurse.

I'm finding that 4 year schools are renaming a three year program to be such things as."fast trac program", they boast more clinical time with continued high emphasis on theory" Say this course is very intense but feel the nurse is better prepared. But the course is done in 3 years. (hmm... sound like diploma progam to me):lol2:

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There are no hospital diploma schools left in SC. My Initial diploma for RN read Assocoate Degree in Technical Nursing. About 6 months later we received an updated one that read Associate Nursing Degree. I reckon that's good 'cause the first one said I graduated on the SEVENTEETH of AUGUST.

My Ring has 74 on one side and N on the other. Since I did pass the College State Board Test Pool Examination that makes me a Registered Nurse.

I'm finding that 4 year schools are renaming a three year program to be such things as."fast trac program", they boast more clinical time with continued high emphasis on theory" Say this course is very intense but feel the nurse is better prepared. But the course is done in 3 years. (hmm... sound like diploma progam to me):lol2::cool:

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Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.

glossary of nursing and medical degrees and certifications

identifies degree acronyms.

each college determines type of program and degree it wishes to award based on national standards for each type degree.

from wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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generalized categories or types of associate's degrees

it is possible to break the associate's degree into two general categories.

transfer degrees:

these degrees form the foundation of a bachelors degree by allowing students to complete all of the general education requirements prior to (possible) transfer to a four year university. they include:

an associate of arts degree is often awarded for programs that are terminal or intended for transfer to a four-year college or university, usually with a major in the social sciences or humanities. it is also awarded to general studies students, those who decline to select an area of concentration

.

the associate of science degree is similarly awarded to terminal students or to potential transferees to a four-year college or university, but the areas of concentration are usually in mathematics, natural sciences, or technology.

the associate of fine arts degree is typically awarded to student in music, theater, and art (either performance or education related) and is usually transferrable. in many cases, general education requirements are not satisfied upon conferral.

the associate of arts in teaching degree (or in some cases an associate of arts with an emphasis in teacher education) allows students who transfer to any participating four-year institution to receive full credit for their approved lower-division education courses. the intent is to encourage a larger, more diverse pool of students who want to become teachers by allowing students to test their interest in teaching early in their academic career and to shorten the time it takes them to obtain their baccalaureate degree.

career or professional degrees:

the associate of applied science degree is awarded to students who are permitted to relax some of the general education requirements in order to study more course work in their program area. typically, this kind of degree is for students who intend to enter the work force upon graduation.

the associate of business administration degree is often awarded for programs that are terminal, but may also be intended for transfer to a four-year college or university, usually with a major in one of the business majors.

the associate degree is most often awarded to students completing educationally broad based post secondary programs requiring at least one but generally no more than two years of full-time study. in some instances, particularly allied heath programs, three years is the norm.

[/mouse]

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Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.

pa continues to have many nursing education programs:

52 practical nursing programs

professional nursing programs

24 hospital diploma

27 associate degree

35 baccalaureate degree

just like choosing clothes, people choose a nursing program that suites their taste, pocketbook & what will help them "look good" to employeer. ;)

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Specializes in geriatrics, pediatrics.

Where I worked at yrs ago, ADN stood for Assistant Director of Nursing, a position held by someone with a BSN.

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I have to say I've found this thread very interesting as I thought that all nursing programs in the US were Degree only.

In the UK Diploma programs are still the in the majority mainly because in the diploma program you receive a bursary of approx £5000+ per year. Not a lot but it can help. For the degree program its means tested and student loans.

While we asking questions can anyone please explain what a Bachelor of Science in Health Services Administration is (i.e.: how long and how intensive it would be) and what jobs it would qualify you for?

I've googled it a couple of times but haven't found enough info on it.

Thanks in advance

kitta

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your question is not dumb. all degrees in nursing are RN degrees. The advanced degrees BSN-MSN-PhD are more theory based and used in managerial and teaching/research/sales. But when it comes to the bedside all degrees are the same a BSN/MSN can do no more or is a better nurse than an Associate Degree or Diploma degree. Research has shown that ADN and diploma make the better bedside nurse, because, they have a greater desire. I know that will offend some of you. :angryfire But it is true. :lol2: Research it.:uhoh21:

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your question is not dumb. all degrees in nursing are RN degrees. The advanced degrees BSN-MSN-PhD are more theory based and used in managerial and teaching/research/sales. But when it comes to the bedside all degrees are the same a BSN/MSN can do no more or is a better nurse than an Associate Degree or Diploma degree. Research has shown that ADN and diploma make the better bedside nurse, because, they have a greater desire. I know that will offend some of you. :angryfire But it is true. :lol2: Research it.:uhoh21:

Interesting. Do you have a source for the research you cite? I'd like to read it.

Here's a quote from JAMA, which published a study of 168 hospitals in Pennsylvania:

"In hospitals with higher proportions of nurses educated at the baccalaureate level or higher, surgical patients experienced lower mortality and failure-to-rescue rates. "

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Specializes in Pediatrics.

My initial degree was from a two year junior college: an Associate of Arts in pre-nursing. They only offered pre-reqs for the BSN program (at the college an hours drive away). I then went to a diploma school, started my ADN, and ended with my BSN, soon to start my MSN. All in different schools.

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