Grand Canyon RN-BSN

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Is there any updated information? I have been in heavy contact with them and am looking at taking their RN-BSN program. I work with a GCU grad and she has nothing but positive things to say, but I want more opinions. ?

Any pro's and cons? Thankfully the only class I'm missing is stats and that is offered in the actual BSN program. I'm a bit nervous as my algebra skills are way old. If anyone took this class, do you have any advice?

Specializes in Certified Med/Surg tele, and other stuff.

Rob, that makes zero sense! Unless the person wants the degree for personal satisfaction, why bother?

I always wanted the degree, with or without a pay raise. I'm going to the monies to be added as just another way to add to the pot o' gold. ;)

Prism, I agree in many ways that nurses do the same job, so why the pay difference. I have no idea what degree many of my co-workers have and I have never asked. But if I can help recoup the cost of my education, I'm all for it. I find it weird that I get a 1.00 more for my certification and nothing for my BSN.

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Specializes in UR/CM, Managed Care.
Prism, I agree in many ways that nurses do the same job, so why the pay difference. I have no idea what degree many of my co-workers have and I have never asked. But if I can help recoup the cost of my education, I'm all for it. I find it weird that I get a 1.00 more for my certification and nothing for my BSN.

I agree, but I should clarify:

I'm one of those who actually believe that the BSN enhances knowledge and improves care. There are many that don't buy into that; there are threads on here that express the train of thought that Aiken had ulterior motive(s) for her research and that the timing of publication was suspect. I do not feel I am a gullible person, but also not a complete cynic.

When I said 'doing the same job', I was specifically referring to my cookie-cutter job where thinking outside the box is not necessarily encouraged. I can think it, and I DO now think differently about patients and care (since gradjeeation), but turning that into improved patient outcomes is limited by the restrictions of the job itself.

I will admit that on the occasions recently when both my mother and then later her husband were hospitalized, I had more confidence when I saw all the "BSN"s on the nursing nametags. I know what I learned, and I know now what I didn't know before I went through my program (which you could have never convinced me of beforehand), and if people want to call people like me a lemming then so be it. I, for one, would vote on higher pay and for the PowersThatBe to allow me to use my education for the greater good. I was a bedside nurse for a very long time, ICU nearly all of it, and yes I was a rockin' nurse if I do say so myself with that ADN. If I could do it all over though, I would have gotten this BSN back then and who knows how much more awesome I would have been? Ha!

I'm not a proponent of BSN-only entry, or mandatory education for those with eons of experience like I had. I know not everyone can go back for their BSN, MSN, etc., but I will always encourage any that can to do it. I was not a subpar nurse before, I just think this was education that absolutely improved me personally. So yes, I definitely think those that do ought to be compensated for the extra stuff that's in their brains, dangit! :)

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Specializes in ICU/ Surgery/ Nursing Education.
Rob, that makes zero sense! Unless the person wants the degree for personal satisfaction, why bother?

I always wanted the degree, with or without a pay raise. I'm going to the monies to be added as just another way to add to the pot o' gold. ;)

This is why most of our nurses on staff are ADN's, why bother if it means no more money and I can work without having to do it? I am in a rural area and we are staffed by exclusively ADN's for the most part. Out of the RN's that work I could walk the floor and tell you who I would let work on me and it would be less than 50% I believe. I like most everyone the unit (ICU) but after that it is a crap shoot. I feel bad for saying it because I work there but it is my opinion.

The reason I am doing it is so that I can leap ahead of someone for a management position or get a job if I ever move. More money is just a perk if I stayed here.

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1 never knows where life will take you....never in a zillion yrs did I think I would marry an American gal..give up my dream job in the Cdn Air Force and move to the USA....and then become a RN. An ADN may be fine where you are now and at this moment, but who knows a few years down the road where you will be? And in many centers, an ADN may not be that useful.........

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Specializes in ICU/ Surgery/ Nursing Education.
I agree, but I should clarify:

I'm one of those who actually believe that the BSN enhances knowledge and improves care. There are many that don't buy into that; there are threads on here that express the train of thought that Aiken had ulterior motive(s) for her research and that the timing of publication was suspect. I do not feel I am a gullible person, but also not a complete cynic.

When I said 'doing the same job', I was specifically referring to my cookie-cutter job where thinking outside the box is not necessarily encouraged. I can think it, and I DO now think differently about patients and care (since gradjeeation), but turning that into improved patient outcomes is limited by the restrictions of the job itself.

I will admit that on the occasions recently when both my mother and then later her husband were hospitalized, I had more confidence when I saw all the "BSN"s on the nursing nametags. I know what I learned, and I know now what I didn't know before I went through my program (which you could have never convinced me of beforehand), and if people want to call people like me a lemming then so be it. I, for one, would vote on higher pay and for the PowersThatBe to allow me to use my education for the greater good. I was a bedside nurse for a very long time, ICU nearly all of it, and yes I was a rockin' nurse if I do say so myself with that ADN. If I could do it all over though, I would have gotten this BSN back then and who knows how much more awesome I would have been? Ha!

I'm not a proponent of BSN-only entry, or mandatory education for those with eons of experience like I had. I know not everyone can go back for their BSN, MSN, etc., but I will always encourage any that can to do it. I was not a subpar nurse before, I just think this was education that absolutely improved me personally. So yes, I definitely think those that do ought to be compensated for the extra stuff that's in their brains, dangit! :)

I hear what you are saying but I had a question. Do you think that you are absorbing more of the information because you have your BSN after a full and rewarding career? Think of it as a nursing refresher if you will. I am the one that believes that I am learning something it isn't comparable to what I am paying. I learned in stats and research but most of everything else has been busy work and a review of my ADN program.

I have to tell you that I had a pretty rocking ADN program. I also was a non-traditional student (old) so I wanted to learn everything and applied myself to the Nth degree. Also I just graduated so most of that information is still in the forefront. This is one of the reasons I think I am not learning what I should be learning. Have to tell you I am learning almost nothing in ethics. This is the class I was looking forward to and it has turned out to be nothing like I would have expected it.

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Specializes in UR/CM, Managed Care.
I hear what you are saying but I had a question. Do you think that you are absorbing more of the information because you have your BSN after a full and rewarding career?

This very well may be the case. What I learned in BSN was more easily absorbed and applied as I had a healthy foundation to understand how and why I could and should apply extra knowledge to patient situations that I hadn't considered before.

I am the one that believes that I am learning something it isn't comparable to what I am paying. I learned in stats and research but most of everything else has been busy work and a review of my ADN program. I have to tell you that I had a pretty rocking ADN program...Also I just graduated so most of that information is still in the forefront.

I think this may also be a big difference for me - I went to ADN school so long ago and the program was brand new at the community college I attended. Nursing in general has grown leaps and bounds since then; back then no one cared about cultural competency or patients' perspectives. Certainly there was no focus on patient participation in their own care, the phrase "Health Promotion" hadn't been invented yet. In "my day", everything was so paternalistic and if the patient didn't do what you told them to do (without even bothering to tell them why), they were labeled noncompliant - no questions asked. I find that now I just look at patients differently; rather than body-systems and what can I do to fix this one issue, I look at the whole person (dare I say holistically? LOL) and dig deeper into why they are the way they are and how to get them to help themselves out of their current state.

I think ADN programs in general have grown to include so much more than I was ever taught, so those that have graduated fairly recently probably experienced much of what is included in BSN programs? It was mostly all new to me, and the repeats of info were not at the credit of what I learned at my ADN school, they were a result of on the job training of stuff I picked up here and there by just being observant and curious :)

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Specializes in Dialysis, Facility Administrator.

I finished my program at GCU in March and am very happy with the education I received.

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Still looking for a 2nd "anything" class that does NOT have a group project. Currently have HLT-314V Health Care Systems as my 2nd class..but no clue if it has a group project or not----my (un) adviser won't say!! So if you know of a class that does NOT have a group project, would love to hear about it.

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I think education, irregardless of promotions, is priceless. I am moving forward because I want a BSN, always did. Back in my day, a 3 year diploma was the real deal!! And I do think we did get a super education. However, I want that BSN now, to have for my knowledge base and in my back pocket for future job changes.

I think RN's that follow through are more respected and also I do believe I will learn a ton that will help me understand situations more in depth, perhaps give me ideas for another RN job I might enjoy? Etc...

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Specializes in Certified Med/Surg tele, and other stuff.
This very well may be the case. What I learned in BSN was more easily absorbed and applied as I had a healthy foundation to understand how and why I could and should apply extra knowledge to patient situations that I hadn't considered before.

I think this may also be a big difference for me - I went to ADN school so long ago and the program was brand new at the community college I attended. Nursing in general has grown leaps and bounds since then; back then no one cared about cultural competency or patients' perspectives. Certainly there was no focus on patient participation in their own care, the phrase "Health Promotion" hadn't been invented yet. In "my day", everything was so paternalistic and if the patient didn't do what you told them to do (without even bothering to tell them why), they were labeled noncompliant - no questions asked. I find that now I just look at patients differently; rather than body-systems and what can I do to fix this one issue, I look at the whole person (dare I say holistically? LOL) and dig deeper into why they are the way they are and how to get them to help themselves out of their current state.

I think ADN programs in general have grown to include so much more than I was ever taught, so those that have graduated fairly recently probably experienced much of what is included in BSN programs? It was mostly all new to me, and the repeats of info were not at the credit of what I learned at my ADN school, they were a result of on the job training of stuff I picked up here and there by just being observant and curious :)

Totally agree Prism. Nursing programs are much more progressive now.

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I think that now, the big push will be 2016. Apparently at that point a BSN will be required in most states.. it does not mean more money. It is that a BSN is required. The UW system already requires it. Denver, CO, where my daughter lives requires it ... or no job period. So you are not wasting you time. You never know what the future will bring. If more and more institutions, then states, want BSN's only... I would be concerned jobs are in jeopardy. And/or, at least prospects for moving would be limited. IDK, but that is what we hear around here.

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I forget which class it was in..may have been a few of them....but fellow students stated they were told to to get thier BSN, or they may be without a job. Some had a certain amount of time to obtain it. When i left my first and only hospital back in 2011, they had just started that. LPNs had a certain amount of time to get their BSN, and RNS (Diploma/ADN) had a certain amount of time to get their BSN. Not sure if they carried out on that or not. Hospital was putting so much $$$ towards it, and even had 1 of the universities come and give classes right at the hospital! Ones hospital may not require a BSN right now....but down the road......

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