helpppp

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Hi everyone!

So I'm currently new on this site. I'm a student at a community college and was going to apply for their nursing program in october. However I'm hearing more and more hospitals are only hiring people with their BSN's. My goal was to go through this community program and then I was going to go on to get my bachelors and so on. I'm also interested in Nurse Anesthetist programs. But thats for another post. Anyway Im just worried because my GPA isn't the best and all these nursing programs are so competitive. I feel like I'm never going to get in. I need some advice. I know it sounds stupid but my GPA definately does not reflect how smart I am and I realize the position I'm in is my own fault. I dont know, just feeling a little discouraged.

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Best bet is to talk to current RNs and recruiters in your area. Currently, it is mostly in larger cities and hospitals that new graduate ADNs are not being hired. There are still tons of areas that ADNs have no problems finding jobs.

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Specializes in Forensic Psych.

I agree, you need to look at your area.

Yes, most hospitals would love to be Magnet facilities (part of which means having 80% BSN nurses) which severely limits the hiring of ADNs, but they can only do that if it's feasible. Positions have to be filled, even if there are a low number of BSN applicants. Some areas don't even have local bachelors programs, so they are still almost entirely ADN staffed.

In my case, I live in a big metro area full of nurses. People come from all over the country to work in our med center, so ADNs have been pretty much blocked out unless they have years of experience. No one in our current graduating class has been offered a hospital job unless they had an "in" by working during school.

I'm sure they'll start branching out and getting jobs outside of the hospital (LTC, psych, etc), but I think most were hoping for acute care.

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Specializes in Oncology, Critical Care.

It varies, where I am we have plenty of hospitals, and quite a few colleges with ADN programs. the nearest hospitals to me hire ADNs, infact there are more ADNs than BSNs at the ones here. But if i moved more metro say philadelphia, an ADN wouldnt be competitive.

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It's all personal. It depends on how big of a factor time is. If time isn't a big concern than I'd wait it out for the BSN. I'm in a similar situation. As above posters stated it's also dependent on where you live. More rural, you'd probably be fine. Those hospitals who want to achieve 'magnet' status are shooting for 80% BSN by 2020. Thus, if a person were to go ADN then enroll immediately in RN-BSN I'm sure that'd help at least (unless you live in CA). Experience is huge though so sometimes that can trump credentials. Good luck!

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

Clarification - Magnet is not the only driving force behind the emphasis on BSNs in acute care. Results of several very large scale studies have revealed that BSN educated staff make a significant difference in patient outcomes in acute care settings. As a result, the IOM has recommended that this (80% BSN) become the standard for hospitals. The Future of Nursing: Focus on Education - Institute of Medicine

This is not going away. It will gradually occur throughout the US.

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thanks everyone!

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