I have a question and hope someone can help

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I have a BS in Criminal Justice and am contimplating completing my ASN, my question is would i be equal to a BSN? Would i be offered a salary same as a BSN or would my BS in CJS be utterly worthless?

My next question is what would be the salary difference at a hospital between ASN and BSN nurses??

Thank You for your time

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

Well, education is never wasted - so your CJ degree is not 'worthless'. BUT you will be an ADN nurse, not BSN equivalent.

HOWEVER, you may have a leg up when you go to finish the BSN just be virtue of having more general education stuff completed.

The pay differential - in my experience- is minimal. Why not call around and ask at some healthcare facilities? I wouldn't ask "How much do you pay?" but rather "What kind of differential do you pay for a BSN over an ASN?"

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Specializes in Urology, ENT.

No, your BS in criminal justice does not equal a BSN. It might be useful if you decide to become a forensic nurse, but no, it does not mean you have a BSN.

Where I'm from, BSNs are preferred, but from what I've been told and recall from both my parents and nurse managers, ASN and BSN prepared nurses make the same amount. As you can see from the forums, it's a highly debated topic, "does a BSN equal a better nurse if the ASN nurse has 15+ years over the BSN," "having a BSN doesn't mean anything if you can't start an IV in an emergency," the list goes on.

I hope that helps. For the paragraph above, I can only speak for the area I am from, I can't speak for the rest the country.

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Specializes in ICU.

Tons of nurses have degrees in non-nursing fields, and no, they do not equal a BSN. Both ADN and BSN prepared nurses take the same NCLEX, and share the same license to practise. Most BSN's are only paid an average of 50 cents per hour extra, if that. There is apparently a vast difference among nursing schools in what their particular requirements are. You would need to check with the school you wish to attend and see what courses you have already taken that will apply to nursing school. When I went for the BSN, my school took credits I had from way back in the 70's, so I am sure a lot of your core classes will transfer.

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Specializes in Medical Surgical.

You wouldn't have a BSN in nursing, but you could skip that and jump straight up to MSN if you wanted to, because you already have a BSN in another field.

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