Is having a ADN useless these days?

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Do employers favor those with a BSN ?

*** First of all it is not ADN nurses who start clawing anyone until the "BSN only" crowd starts in on them. As for public confusion I don't see it in my life or practice. I am an RN. Everyone knows what that is and it requires no further explanation.

In my opinion one of the worst things that could happen to the field of nursing would be to exclude all the second and third career types that enter through the ADN programs (also through the accelerated BSN and MSN as entry programs but nobody is trying to get rid of them). I believe that our profession would much the worse if we excluded all the people who come to nursing from child raising, farming, logging, truck driving, small business, and a thousands other fields.

I formed this opinion based on my experience of having worked in a hospital where very single nurse had a BSN and nearly all came to nursing school from high school.

Requiring a BS would not exclude all 2nd career folks. I'm a second career person entering into nursing.....through a Bachelors program.

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Specializes in med surg.

I have a bachelors in business administration and an ADN. I got an ADN because getting a second bachelors degree seems silly to me. I think it amounted to 2 extra classes and about $20,000 more. So yes, I am an ADN but I have a bachelors degree and to me this is comparable to a BSN. I would think employers would see that it is too. The first two years of any bachelors program is just the GE that EVERYONE has to take for a bachelors degree.

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I have a bachelors in business administration and an ADN. I got an ADN because getting a second bachelors degree seems silly to me. I think it amounted to 2 extra classes and about $20,000 more. So yes, I am an ADN but I have a bachelors degree and to me this is comparable to a BSN. I would think employers would see that it is too. The first two years of any bachelors program is just the GE that EVERYONE has to take for a bachelors degree.

The statement that a bachelors in business administration and an ADN is equivalent to a nursing bachelors is assuming that the only difference between a nursing ADN and Bachelors is GE. My program has a years worth of 10 - 12 credits a term of nursing classes, that aren't offered in the local ADN programs.

I know that many folks have replied on this thread that they didn't feel they learned anything in their RN-BS program, but I think that's more dependent on the program than the degree.

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Specializes in Acute Care Psych, DNP Student.

I've never seen an RN-BSN program that is less than 30 credits of core nursing classes that are not offered at the ADN level.

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Specializes in med surg.

Yes, I realize there are additional courses that a BSN student takes that are not included in the ADN program.But I don't think they could be that much different than the courses any student takes when they pursue a bachelors degree in any field. I am curious as to the upper division courses that I missed. I know there is a nutrition one that we don't take as ADN students. I think there are also some management courses? I'm not talking the RN-BSN route, more the BS in another field with an ADN.

Do RN employers value bachelor degrees from other fields like other employers do? Or do they only look at BSN?

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Yes, I realize there are additional courses that a BSN student takes that are not included in the ADN program.But I don't think they could be that much different than the courses any student takes when they pursue a bachelors degree in any field. I am curious as to the upper division courses that I missed. I know there is a nutrition one that we don't take as ADN students. I think there are also some management courses? I'm not talking the RN-BSN route, more the BS in another field with an ADN.

Do RN employers value bachelor degrees from other fields like other employers do? Or do they only look at BSN?

I wasn't talking about non-nursing coursework, I need to do that as well, I'm saying I have a full year of 10 - 12 credits per term of nursing coursework that isn't offered in the ADN programs.

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Specializes in Ante-Intra-Postpartum, Post Gyne.
I have a bachelors in business administration and an ADN. I got an ADN because getting a second bachelors degree seems silly to me. I think it amounted to 2 extra classes and about $20,000 more. So yes, I am an ADN but I have a bachelors degree and to me this is comparable to a BSN. I would think employers would see that it is too. The first two years of any bachelors program is just the GE that EVERYONE has to take for a bachelors degree.

If your BA with an ASN was comparable to a BSN then they would change your BA to a BSN when you got your ASN. I do not mean to discount your BA degree, but I find it offensive that you are saying it is comparable to a BSN...the classes for your BA in business had absolutely nothing to do with nursing. A BSN requires nursing courses in addition to the GE courses require for an BA/BS degree; nursing course the ASN does not get.

I had several people in my BSN program with previous bachelors...they did not go to the JC and just get their ASN so they could be "comparable" to a BSN...they had to go to school in a BSN program to earn it. You might try to educate yourself on what is required of a BSN before you try to claim your degree is essentially the same. I took a business math class before I transferred for my BSN...I suppose that I have a business degree too...comparable to yours...

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Specializes in Acute Care Psych, DNP Student.

Let's reverse this for perspective. Would any nurse with a BSN go to a non-nursing employer and apply for, say, an engineering job because they have a BS degree and the job requires a BS in engineering?

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Let's reverse this for perspective. Would any nurse with a BSN go to a non-nursing employer and apply for, say, an engineering job because they have a BS degree and the job requires a BS in engineering?

Engineering is tough, because I don't think I've seen an ADN in Engineering. But how about Accounting? I doubt an employer who was looking for someone with a BS in Accounting would accept a person with a BSN and an Associates degree in Accounting.

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Specializes in med surg.

I think you guys are missing the point.

I didn't say I have a bachelors degree in business and want to now apply as an RN. I said I have a bachelors degree in business and an ADN. Big difference. I took a full 3 YEARS of extra education to get it too. ABOVE my bachelors degree.

And yes, a bachelors degree in any field with additional training in accounting should land you an accounting job.

Go back and reread my posts. If you have an answer, please answer, if not, I don't need the attacks.

Thank you

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Specializes in Ante-Intra-Postpartum, Post Gyne.
I think you guys are missing the point.

I didn't say I have a bachelors degree in business and want to now apply as an RN. I said I have a bachelors degree in business and an ADN. Big difference. I took a full 3 YEARS of extra education to get it too. ABOVE my bachelors degree.

And yes, a bachelors degree in any field with additional training in accounting should land you an accounting job.

Go back and reread my posts. If you have an answer, please answer, if not, I don't need the attacks.

Thank you

It is the statement below that people are getting upset about:

So yes, I am an ADN but I have a bachelors degree and to me this is comparable to a BSN.

If employers are looking for a BSN they want a BSN, not an ASN with a BA degree, because a BSN nurse has taken nursing courses a ASN nurse with a BA degree does not have. It is simply not comparable, especially since a BA in business is completely un-related to nursing. To an employer you are essentially a ASN nurse. I am not saying that is a bad thing, but if they employer is looking for a BSN nurse you are not qualified.

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I think you guys are missing the point.

I didn't say I have a bachelors degree in business and want to now apply as an RN. I said I have a bachelors degree in business and an ADN. Big difference. I took a full 3 YEARS of extra education to get it too. ABOVE my bachelors degree.

And yes, a bachelors degree in any field with additional training in accounting should land you an accounting job.

Go back and reread my posts. If you have an answer, please answer, if not, I don't need the attacks.

Thank you

Attacks? Disagreeing with your post is an attack? Here I thought this was a discussion board where folks commented on each other's posts.

So yes, you have an ADN in nursing. That's fantastic, no one is trying to take that away from you.

However, you haven't addressed the point that there is a substantial amount of nursing coursework over an above an ADN that is required for a BS in nursing.

I took a year and a half of prereqs then entered in to my 3 year BS program. I understand that you have an ADN and that it took a lot of work to get that. I just don't understand why you insist that BS programs are only different from ADN's in GE content.

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