Any ADN or Diploma students doing Community/public health rotations?

[jenrninmi, MSN, RN]

According to my text it's mostly just BSN RN's that can work in the community/public. I have heard that sometimes when it's a lack of funds that they may hire ADN RN's etc instead. Is this true or is it changing?

[Altra, BSN, RN]

According to my text it's mostly just BSN RN's that can work in the community/public. I have heard that sometimes when it's a lack of funds that they may hire ADN RN's etc instead. Is this true or is it changing?

Diploma student here ... we do a home health rotation -- some clients have home health through their private insurance, and some get involved with home health through community service agencies. We explore those different mechanisms during the rotation.

We also have community health involvement during our psych rotation. One of our clinical sites is a state psychiatric hospital, and we have an opportunity to observe court proceedings regarding involuntary commitments and to participate in the treatment team meetings for our assigned patients. We also spend a day with a hospital-based RN or CRNP to follow up with clients who have been discharged to group homes or some other type of supervised housing.

I'm curious about the "lack of funds" dictating the hiring of ADN or diploma RNs -- are you saying that they would be paid less than a BSN RN in this scenario? If so, that would be contrary to typical hospital & private practice employment practices. There would then be no incentive for ADN or diploma nurses to pursue those positions, leaving only BSNs.