First, I do not want to challenge nurses with several years of clinical experience that are ADN or diploma trained nurses or those nurses that graduated recently with a ADN, and I do not want to challenge anyone by saying that there is a difference between the ADN versus the BSN prepared nurse.
There is a push for all nurses to be BSN prepared or for ADNs to achieve their BSN; however, there is no increase in wages for the majority of those with their BSN or those going from an ADN to a BSN. I find that as a workforce, we do not understand our worth. Why do we need the BSN as it costs more and it has no pay benefits. Students that have an ADN from a community college have less student loans, and they make the same a student that has a BSN; however, the BSN student has increased student debt with no increased monetary income to show for their degree.
I challenge the nursing workforce to acknowledge our value as a profession, and demand an increase in pay if we are to have a BSN. The current yearly income of a nurse is based on the costs of an ADN level of education; however, it does not match the cost of a BSN cost of education. If I am required or it is preferred that I have my BSN, I need to be paid accordingly. I do not practice nursing strictly for the income, but I do appreciate putting a dollar value on the work I do.
that is a wall of caps text! So you wouldn't have a problem with being paid less than a bsn colleague?
i just like using caps. No offense :)
but our bsn nurses get the same pay as our asn nurses. Where i work they do it by years of experience. Some of my friends get paid less then me with their bsn. But i do think they should get a little extra in their check since they went to school longer
Hopefully the word is getting out on how for profit nursing schools are victimizing students. And if BSN is to be the entry point - so be it - But pre-nursing students need to know this.
Although I agree with your sentiments, salaries are determined by supply/demand and what consumers are willing to pay. Of course if BSN was minimal degree for RN (which I philosophically agree with) it would over time decrease the supply of RNs in the work force.
By the way I work in a unionized facility and BSN degreed nurses start at a higher salary and maintain that difference through out the pay scale.
Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
Although I agree with your sentiments, salaries are determined by supply/demand and what consumers are willing to pay. Of course if BSN was minimal degree for RN (which I philosophically agree with) it would over time decrease the supply of RNs in the work force.
Which is likely one of the motivators of the BSN as entry to practice. They should just fess up about it. BTW there can be no "BSN and minimal degree". It needs to be the ONLY degree for entry. Get rid of ADN and you need to get rid of the DE MSN. Otherwise we will be in the same debate in a few years.
By the way I work in a unionized facility and BSN degreed nurses start at a higher salary and maintain that difference through out the pay scale.
I work in a union hospital and BSN RNs do NOT make more. I would think the union would fight the hardest against such ridiculousness.
I find it funny that you talk about literacy and then you make the statement "Who do we do if a child don't pass a test? Am I the only one who sees the irony in that poorly worded (illiterate) statement?
This person has commented on more than one post today just to point out our lack of education. Try not to let their crazy talk bother you. The claims are unsubstantiated.
Eh, where I studied, entry level for nurses is equivalent of associates or diploma. Yet our licensing process is, IMO, much more difficult.
Now, I don't think that education is a bad thing or should be poo-pooed in any way. I just want to say that a nurse is not necessarily incompetent or stupid just because he/she doesn't have that BSN minimum. Especially when there are so many schools that pop up, spitting out all these BSNs, who get out to the field and don't know a patient's head from their tail.
Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
Unfortunately I think there are just as many, if not more POP up ADN technical school based programs that deliver a sub par program than a university based BSN.
In our practice we have two people with almost identical job descriptions, performing almost identical tasks, one while supervising administrative staff and admin end of the business, one while supervising MAs and clinical aspects of the business. The former is titled "administrative supervisor" and the latter is titled "Nursing supervisor," the second individual being a RN. Both of them report to the practice manager.
The individual on the administrative end is irate that the BSN nurse makes $11,000 a year more than she does, when they have the same core responsibilities. The difference is that the admin person has an associaittes degree in business. The RN has a baccalaureate degree (in Nursing, obviously). In other words, one of them is a college graduate and one is not. It puzzles me why the admin sup. fails to see this very clear distinction. If she were an ADN nurse, she would be in the same boat.
I haven't read all elevnty mellion pages of this, but I agree with the OP, that BSN nurses should be paid more by virtue of the fact that they have a college degree. It is that simple. Want to make more money? Get a degree. Don't care enough to bother? No problem.
I do think BSN should be the minimum education for entry, but as that is unlikely to happen, I'm not obsessing over it. It should have happened a long time ago. Nursing probably blew it, and never will fully professionalize. And that's really too bad.
In our practice we have two people with almost identical job descriptions, performing almost identical tasks, one while supervising administrative staff and admin end of the business, one while supervising MAs and clinical aspects of the business. The former is titled "administrative supervisor" and the latter is titled "Nursing supervisor," the second individual being a RN. Both of them report to the practice manager. The individual on the administrative end is irate that the BSN nurse makes $11,000 a year more than she does, when they have the same core responsibilities. The difference is that the admin person has an associaittes degree in business. The RN has a baccalaureate degree (in Nursing, obviously). In other words, one of them is a college graduate and one is not. It puzzles me why the admin sup. fails to see this very clear distinction. If she were an ADN nurse, she would be in the same boat. I haven't read all elevnty mellion pages of this, but I agree with the OP, that BSN nurses should be paid more by virtue of the fact that they have a college degree. It is that simple. Want to make more money? Get a degree. Don't care enough to bother? No problem. I do think BSN should be the minimum education for entry, but as that is unlikely to happen, I'm not obsessing over it. It should have happened a long time ago. Nursing probably blew it, and never will fully professionalize. And that's really too bad.
Someone with an associates degree is still a college graduate.
Someone with an associates degree is still a college graduate.
No, forgive me, I don't see it that way. Most people do not. An AD is not a "college degree." It is an associates degree, most people would call it an applied vo-tech sort of degree. It would be disingenuous for a CC graduate to call themselves a "college grad." College grad means bachelors degree. I suspect if someone qualified were to poll Americans, you would find that my opinion is not in the minority.
That doesn't diminish the value of individuals with ADs. Our admin sup is super. But she is not a college graduate and is not going to be paid is if she were. Cognizant of that fact, I believe she is in school aiming to complete her degree.
No need to take offense, it is what it is. Everyone choses the path that is best for them.
Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
Want to make more money? Get a degree. Don't care enough to bother? No problem.
If only it worked that way. Despite having practiced as a nurse in two countries, four states as a staff nurses, and 3 or 4 others as a traveler, the ONLY place I have heard of a nurse with a BSN being paid differently than an ADN doing the same job is here on AN. Except for posters here I don't actually know anyone who works in a place where nurses doing the same job get paid more or less than their coworkers because of a degree.
floridaRN38
186 Posts
i just like using caps. No offense :)
but our bsn nurses get the same pay as our asn nurses. Where i work they do it by years of experience. Some of my friends get paid less then me with their bsn. But i do think they should get a little extra in their check since they went to school longer