How much difference in pay do two year rn's get than four yr??

Nursing Students ADN/BSN

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I'm a 22yr old male and going into a two year rn degree. I've heard that the only main difference is promotions and such. I'm really just trying to get through school and get some decent money to pay off the debt, then go back and get my masters if i want? Any advice?

Lindarn I'm an ADN and proud to be an ADN and anyone who has gone through the fires of hell of nursing school and passed NCLEX whether they be ADN or BSN have earned RN after their names and deserve the utmost respest. I stand by my words in my post.

I agree that schooling was difficult, as with any profession. To be honest with you if you are referring it to the fires of hell then I probably wouldn't want you pushing my digoxin or amiodarone. I guess that is why the ivy league university hospital I am employed at requires RN's to be Bachelors prepared. It is pretty scary to see some of the nurses the ADN's push out. BSN/RN will have left the bedside to either to pursue a masters/PhD and/or managerial/executive position. I know I do not plan on being at the bedside for much longer. There are too many opportunities out there to sit and watch it pass on by. I guess if you want to make a fair wage with only two years of schooling and work at the bedside for your entire career then ADN is the way to go. I guess there wouldn't be any bedside nurses if there were not any ADN programs.

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I will probably get some flamage for my opinion, but its only my opinion,lol, and yes I'm only a student (ADN, that wil go onto higher education) so my view is limited! But in my opinion, it the "person" that makes a good nurse, and not the school!! I have seen fellow students who excel in theory, sit around and brag about their high 90 average, yet you see them in lab or in clinical,and one is amazed they can even tie their own shoes. There is even a poster on this site that mentioned she has her masters degree, yet has NEVER given an IM injection? But hey,she has her masters, she is a super duper nurse! I guess i just see too many people hiding behind their degrees and not their actual skills. just because one has higher education, doesn't mean they have any skills! lot of book smart people out there, but when it comes to "hands on" or real world stuff, they don't do their degree justice!! Just my opinion! One can't say any school program is better than another, as they all differ soo much. But in the real world higher education will more than likely get one further,so will play the game,lol

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Specializes in NICU.
I agree that schooling was difficult, as with any profession. To be honest with you if you are referring it to the fires of hell then I probably wouldn't want you pushing my digoxin or amiodarone. I guess that is why the ivy league university hospital I am employed at requires RN's to be Bachelors prepared. It is pretty scary to see some of the nurses the ADN's push out. BSN/RN will have left the bedside to either to pursue a masters/PhD and/or managerial/executive position. I know I do not plan on being at the bedside for much longer. There are too many opportunities out there to sit and watch it pass on by. I guess if you want to make a fair wage with only two years of schooling and work at the bedside for your entire career then ADN is the way to go. I guess there wouldn't be any bedside nurses if there were not any ADN programs.

Wow, Tim. You've probably made a good decision not to pursue bedside nursing--it requires teamwork.

Be proud of your accomplishments, but don't knock others down.

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Specializes in ER, PCU, ICU.

The pay difference where I'm at is .25/hr.

It was said that if there were no ADNs, there would be fewer bedside nurses. This is true.You think there's a shortage of RNs now? If becoming an RN meant 4+ years in school, (not counting pre-reqs that 4 year colleges require) the number of grads would drop way off. I know I wouldn't have gone that route because at 36, I couldn't afford to take that much time off school, nor did I much want to. I have a degree in an unrelated field and didn't want to burn up my earning potential sitting in a classroom.

The ADN is important and relevant because it gets minimally prepared folks into the health care system early. Making a BSN the requisite for entry into the profession SIMPLY to increase "professionalism," is selfish and a viewpoint espoused by many who are frustrated by new-grad pay rates equaling those who have been on the job for many years, among other things. I've heard this viewpoint from a lot of "seasoned" BSN nurses and most BSN grads, but from few ADN graduates ... even those that have gone on to get their bachelor's degrees and more. Some BSN programs have the attitude that ADN RNs aren't "real" nurses. I've heard this from BSN students as recent as last week. Bull. That attitude is divisive and hurts the profession.

Professionalism has nothing to do with education because as mentioned, the general public doesn't have any clue how much education an RN has unless it's stamped on their tag. Even then, few outside the healthcare industry know what BSN means. Professionalism has everything to do with attitude. If unprofessional RNs are being hired and their actions are hurting the profession, it's because the facility didn't do a very good job in their pre-hire screening. Professionalism is an attitude, not a degree.

Anecdote: I volunteer at a local fire department. I wear the same gear, have to complete the same training, and have the same responsibilities that the paid staff do. Does the fact that I only work as a firefighter one day a week or that I don't get paid mean I shouldn't be able to work? No, the department brought me in because of the skills and talents I can offer to the community.

Now, all that said: I don't think a two year degree is the end of a journey. Rather, it's just the beginning. I've been a nurse awhile now. I haven't YET gone back to school, but I've continuously been in learning mode since graduation. (ACLS, PALS, ENPC, TNCC, PCCN, CCRN, Balloon pumps, ventilator/respiratory care, CRRT, hemodynamics, and advanced pharmacology are NOT part of any BSN program that I'm aware of)

I wish I could count my CEs towards an accredited degree because I'd only need a few more hours to get it. Do I intend to get my bacheolor's degree? Eventually. Do I need it to be an expert nurse? No.

In closing, any MD that belittles the nursing profession, regardless ADN/BSN, needs to be educated him/herself. There are ingorant asshats in every profession, doctors are no different. If an MD told me that I didn't go to college and didn't know what I was doing, not only would he get an earful from me, administration would be my first stop on my way home. If your administration doesn't support it's nursing staff, you should be looking for a new place to work.

Oy. Much longer than I wanted. Over and out.

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HI GUYS

I WAS READING THIS FORUM IT IS VERY INFORMATIVE . I AM CURRENTLY TAKING MY PREREQUISITES:banghead: TO ATTEND SCHOOL IN jANUARY 2009 FOR MY BSN. I AM ACTUALLY IN CLASS WITH ADN NURSES WHO ARE GOING BACK FOR THEIR BSN . THEY TOLD ME THAT TO WORK IN THE BEST HOSPITALS IN NEW YORK THEY ARE STARTING TO REQUIRE BSN GRADUATES. I AM NEW TO THIS. I DECIDED TO GET MY BSN I REALLY WANT TO BE ABLE TO WORK IN A GOOD HOSPITAL AND I WAS BLESSED TO KNOW NURSES WHO HAVE BEEN MENTORING ME. IT REALLY HELPS I KNOW THEIR ARE ALOT OF NURSES THAT DONT HAVE THEIR BSNS I PERSONALLY FEEL ITS A PERSONAL CHOICE YOU ARE NO LESS IF YOU DONT HAVE ONE . BUT I WILL SAY IN ANY POSITION:wink2: TO GO HIGHER IT DOES TAKE EDUCATION.

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HI GUYS

I WAS READING THIS FORUM IT IS VERY INFORMATIVE . I AM CURRENTLY TAKING MY PREREQUISITES:banghead: TO ATTEND SCHOOL IN jANUARY 2009 FOR MY BSN. I AM ACTUALLY IN CLASS WITH ADN NURSES WHO ARE GOING BACK FOR THEIR BSN . THEY TOLD ME THAT TO WORK IN THE BEST HOSPITALS IN NEW YORK THEY ARE STARTING TO REQUIRE BSN GRADUATES. I AM NEW TO THIS. I DECIDED TO GET MY BSN I REALLY WANT TO BE ABLE TO WORK IN A GOOD HOSPITAL AND I WAS BLESSED TO KNOW NURSES WHO HAVE BEEN MENTORING ME. IT REALLY HELPS I KNOW THEIR ARE ALOT OF NURSES THAT DONT HAVE THEIR BSNS I PERSONALLY FEEL ITS A PERSONAL CHOICE YOU ARE NO LESS IF YOU DONT HAVE ONE . BUT I WILL SAY IN ANY POSITION:wink2: TO GO HIGHER IT DOES TAKE EDUCATION.

Please do not post in all caps here -- it is the Internet equivalent of shouting, and it is a violation of the site's Terms of Service (TOS), which you can access and review using the link at the lower left corner of every page of the site. Thank you! :)

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Thank you very much I apologize I am at work, and I use caps alot. once again I apologize.

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At the hospital I work at, having a BSN will get you 50 cents more an hour than having an ADN.

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Why is the attitude that a BSN is earned only if you want to go into management, the military, etc. No one encourages BSNs to ask for a higher starting wage to reward the higher edication (and in fact, most nurses resent that BSNs want to be paid more). Are our patients not deserving of health care provider who has a four year college degree? Would you accept teachers for your children who only had an Associates Degree in Teaching? Or a three year diploma in teaching? Or a one year, "Licensed Practical/Vocational Teacher?

Why do nurses continue to propagate the myth that a BSN is only if you want to work away from the bedside, or direct patient care? Why do nurses not encourage young men and women to earn a BSN from the get go, and not do the "slow boat to china" route to become RNs? It has been our down fall that we do not insist that a BSN is the entry into practice. Other health care professionals have moved on, and are now light years ahead of us, in terms of education, control of their profession, and have the respect of other members of the health care team. They are not caught up in "shoud I get a Bachelors Degree, or should I go the shorter route and hope that I will be in a position to earn the higher degree when I am in a differant station in my life- married, kids, etc.

We continue to exert much more energy to only chase our tails to try to get where we want/need to be. Twenty years ago, when DRGs became the rule in hospitals, other health care professions increased their level of education, mainained control or their profession, and are now sitting pretty, compared to nursing. How did they accomplish this? Their educational insitutions re-assed what to teach in their programs, and added the business classes that were needed to survive in this new era of health care.

Nurses is not even to first base, and we will continue to suffer the consequences until we do. JMHO, and my NY $0.02.

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN

Spokane, washington

What you are saying is interesting because our class has been told on many occasions from instructors with a masters degree, that they would much rather hire an associates degree nurse than a BSN because the associates degree nurses are much better prepared, and have much more clinical experience right off the bat than nurses with BSN !!!

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Specializes in Oncology, Research.
What you are saying is interesting because our class has been told on many occasions from instructors with a masters degree, that they would much rather hire an associates degree nurse than a BSN because the associates degree nurses are much better prepared, and have much more clinical experience right off the bat than nurses with BSN !!!

This again? Not true. The state sets the number of clinical hours required in order to graduate and sit for the NCLEX. All prgrams ASN or BSN are required to comply. Having been a nurse in two cities known for their academic programs and speaking to many grads and students alike I can say with confidence that the differences in clinical hours are marginal. My accelerated BSN actually required 200 more hours than the ASN programs in my area. Also, individual managers may prefer to hire ASN grads however many places prefer to hire BSNs as an institutional policy. While the reasoning may be somewhat nefarious (boosting their stats for Magnet recognition, etc), it is still a fact that having the BSN will get you into these places a little easier (or at least help in getting your preferred position). I just wish they would actually reflect this in the pay.

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Last I looked, about a year ago:

at our big University teaching hospital..... $0.24./hr, where I work,

no difference in pay at all. The cost of a BSN in a AAS bridge program is @$25,000 for the one day a week/18 month deal last I looked, and I would never even be able to afford the commute, much less earn that loan $ back inspite of grants.

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Specializes in Mother-Baby.
Why is the attitude that a BSN is earned only if you want to go into management, the military, etc. No one encourages BSNs to ask for a higher starting wage to reward the higher edication (and in fact, most nurses resent that BSNs want to be paid more). Are our patients not deserving of health care provider who has a four year college degree? Would you accept teachers for your children who only had an Associates Degree in Teaching? Or a three year diploma in teaching? Or a one year, "Licensed Practical/Vocational Teacher?

I'm sorry LindaRN, but I don't know how anyone could take your comment as anything but a slight against ADN graduates. I'm an ADN graduate, so I guess by your standards, my patients deserve much better.

As far as teachers, ha ha ha. Most of our founding fathers, as well as many other scientists, nobel peace prize winners, and other outstanding individuals, were taught at home by their MOTHERS who most assuredly did not hold teaching degrees. Don't get me wrong, I think any public school teacher does need a degree, but your statement made me laugh. Also....I've never known a teacher who had to work as hard as nursing students do to get their degree.

I see nothing wrong with BSN's wanting more money. I see nothing wrong with continuing your education. However, to act as though we are less apt to take care of our patients is tacky at best. By the way, when you want to get superior use your spell check....

txpixiedust

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