How to put AA, AS degree to use?

[MJPN2012]

Anybody else have an Associate of Science and/or Associate of Arts degree on top of your BSN or RN? My RN is an applied science degree. Wondering how I could get some use out of the others or if they're only purpose is to look nice on a resume?

On a side note, it seems like I went through all of that education just to use my nursing "skills". What about all of those research and writing requirements?

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

If you're in a nursing job, it is unlikely that non-nursing degrees will add any value. Higher level Nursing Jobs have less emphasis on clinical skills and more on administrative, operational, and leadership skills & knowledge. Believe me, the ability to critique/understand research and writing is a requirement for most of them.

Health Care Leaders are expected to have excellent communication skills - in all modalities, including verbal, visual & written. Most larger organizations have 'styles' for different types of communication, including good old APA for formal proposals. The ability to aggregate, analyze and interpret data is another essential skill... necessary for everything from finance to quality/safety.

So, - those extra requirements are not useless. The broad-based curriculum associated with a BSN is what differentiates it as professional "education" rather than vocational "training".