Is the BSN worth it?

[NurseCalamity]

Okay, so I am an LPN starting my prerequisites for my RN this fall. I'm not scared... I graduated second in my LPN class. My question is.. is the BSN worth it? I know it's a lot of management and does go deeper into A&P and clinical skills. But would a nurse with a certain specialty be more desirable than a general educated nurse? Like oncology cert psych cert, etc? What are your thoughts?

[StuCozza123]

BS = Bull Sh......

MS = More Sh....

Phd = Piled higher and deeper

These BSN programs are full of useless classes that have no bearing whatsoever on a nurses practice. They are laden with busy work and are generally designed to separate a nurse from their hard earned money.

Where I work you get a 50 cents an hour raise for a BSN.....pfffffffffft

Some places require a BSN because it makes the work of the HR dept. easier... fewer applications and resumes to sift through. Unfortunately, there are many cases in which ADN's are looked down upon by BSN's because the latter does not have the alphabet soup after their names. I was once told (by a rather snobby nurse) that, "the more letters you have after your name, the better off you will be."

If you are going to work in a college/university setting, at least a BSN is required, especially in the ivy league schools. The same likely applies for hospitals connected to universities.

One other thing... if you are "older" and are not going to work for more than a few more years, the cost of the BSN will never be recouped. So, figuring just dollars, it would probably not be worthwhile.

On the other hand, if you are hired as an ADN RN and the facility provides some financial assistance for the BSN, MSN, etc., and plan to stick around for a while, you would be nuts to not go for it.

[DisneyNurseGal, BSN, RN]

My BSN program had the following classes (I already had my ADN)

Transcultural Nursing, Geriatric Nursing, Professional Nursing Roles, Management and Leadership, Community Health Nursing, Advanced Health Assessment, Policy and Ethics, Research and Informatics.

No additional A&P, picked up some additional skills in the health assessment class.

For me, the BSN was all theoretical. It built upon what I already learned, and what I was doing in my workplace. As far as being worth it. Nurses in general are tying to be taken more seriously as a profession. Even the American Nurses Association has said that they would support eliminating any nursing degree less than the BSN, and they want to do this by 2020. For me, I saw the writing on the wall, I think some day it will be the gold standard, and I do not want to miss the opportunity for a great job just because I didn't have my BSN.

There are plenty of amazing ADN nurses and horrible BSN and vice versa, I do not think it makes you a better nurse per se, in theory, it gives you the tools to be a leader and to think in broader strokes. I do not regret getting mine, I was in a 12 month RN to BSN online program and it was great.

Good luck

[tyvin, BSN, RN]

Associate degree people always say their concentrated more on this and that...in my BSN school a year of chem, Bio had to be taken before micro (some say bio isn't required in their programs). They are even saying now that many BSN programs are dropping a lot of stuff my cohorts and I did. Everyone takes the same amount of AnP I&II.

I went to college at the nice age of 33 so none of my credits from school could be used. I had to do the Algebra and the English Composition. If I hadn't taken a year of English Comp I would have never been able to pass the nursing courses because I didn't really know how to write.

My nutrition class started with 46 people and ended with 15 finishing the class. My favorite is all the clinical we got each year. In our senior year we chose which specialty we wanted to study and were matched with a manger of such a unit for a quarter. I chose psych and they loved I was there; I earned my keep, helped the manger with it all. He showed it all to me and gave me duties to complete each day that was fantastic.

One of our school's requirements was to write a policy for the unit that the unit manager would accept and found helpful to his team. Than there was the Senior Capstone and the formal presentation; mine was 256 pages with 46 sources. I chose to present it in slide format to discuss the theories we were required to make up concerning with what we were attempting to achieve with our capstone thesis with complimenting data to prove the thesis (that's the reason states and prob are required).

From the start of our program all papers were to be written formal essay style, sources cited APA style..no sources over 5 years old and at least 1 source for any paper no matter how small (from reputable juried sources of course).

Theory was introduced first day and wow did I learn. The thing with theory is that you really got to understand why there is theory and that's where most people don't get it. All the disciplines have theory and teach it...it's just not a nursing thing.

After the managerial quarter we got a quarter of evening shift; now that was irreplaceable as far as experience was. I got a nurse who let me do it all; cath em all, IV. extubate a man who was brain dead with no family, admissions,discharges on the

The one part I really loved was the extra courses to actually earn the Bachelor degree. You got to choose under required subjects which class you wanted to take. I took History of Art, Anthropology, genres of music and film, intro to business, world lit, economics 1 &2, non-verbal communication (wasn't required), I couldn't help myself) advanced psych courses, World Civ 1 & 2 (would have loved to take 3 but wasn't required); and my absolute favorite was voice.

In order to do that I had to take music 101 to be able to make sense of the notes and language but than I got chosen to be able to do voice (only so many slots for non-music majors). I had the privilege to be taught by a PHd music professional how to sing for 3 years...it literally changed my life: I can read music now and sing all the time.

This is/was the main complaint from the Associate who come in to get their BSNs or people looking at the BSN program; why do we have to take all those courses unrelated to nursing? The thing is, it's all related in ways you will never understand unless you do your BSN. Everything's connected and it was World Civ that centered and had me think outside the status quo for many of my best ideas at work as an RN.

Yes, we're not just twiddling our thumbs talking about coping skills...

[Palliative Care, DNP]

In my area if you want to work in hospital setting then you need a BSN. There is no shortage in my area with over 5 schools pumping out nurses. You need to know the market where you live.

[Ladybug993]

I, too, started as an LPN. Monetarily, the RN licensure and BSN degree have been very much worth it for me because I've almost doubled my annual income.

Furthermore, the enhanced knowledge base has been empowering.

How was it going from lpn to RN

[mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN]

I do believe in the coming years that a majority of Adn educated Rn's will be employed in the non acute care setting.

where I work, the RNs, whether they are ADN or BSN are being replaced by CMA which make slightly more than the aides. BSN is definitely worth it. As I am in my job longer, we are expected to contribute by being on committees etc and you need to understand literature and EBP and perhaps do your own. Nursing is fluid and the more you know, the better off you are going to be.

To another PP, it is not B** and M**. Education is the key to advancement. Unless you want to be a bedside nurse for 30 years (depending your age). I started nursing in my late 40s and I KNOW I can't do bedside forever, but I love nursing so I am broadening my education so I can keep doing it.

[rnnluvnit2006]

Congratulations on your decision and dedication to further your education!

The level of education you choose will be based on what you intend to use it for...

If you are asking for an opinion.... well

If you can do something to make yourself more marketable, why wouldn't you? That does not just mean aiming for the higher education level...but other field related certifications and credentials. I get so fed up working with nurses that are ADN/s by choice...and more power to them...but they refuse to go back to school and elevate themselves, and the complain that the BSNs are passing them up...and my other favorite...nurses that have been on the floor for a million years and refuse to obtain their certification, citing every reason in the book why they cant, instead of realizing that they can, and they should.

If you choose to stagnate at the bedside and refuse to advance yourself for the greater good, then you deserve to stay there...those that aim higher and choose to become something more earn it...

But back to your question...YES get your BSN....

[Kathy H]

The profession is moving toward the BSN as the standard of education for RN entry into practice. Why not get ahead of the game and do it sooner especially if you're young, rather than later. In this economy you need a leg up because it is getting more and more competitive. Good Luck!

[MedChica]

I don't care about "the hospital" and what it requires. I choose to obtain a BSN and MSN for the betterment of, well... me? (laugh) I'd encourage you to be as self-serving. Stay ahead of the curve. A degree, at the very least, keeps you marketable.

A BSN is useful to me for 3 reasons:

1. I like to learn.

2. It's a notch on the achievement bedpost.

3. You need a degree to cross certain salary/wage lines in nonclinical areas.

I'll explain: Longtime friend of mine is the director of a large health insurance company. Work at home position. She double-checks claims for accuracy, double-checks contracts for accuracy, puts contracts together, argues with people on outlook, argues with people on the phone, does 2 hour briefings with her boss, visits various facilities to check up on them and takes business trips to Miami every 2 weeks. She's not a nurse, by the way.

I want her life! Anyway, she's trying to bring me on, has offered to train me and hired an RN with the dual objective of him serving as my mentor when I do get on. I just need my RN and she's on my tail to get that. I'm looking into the position.

Earning potential is pretty high for a nurse in this realm BUT you need a degree to realize it. In clinical nursing world, there's virtually no pay diff between diplomas, ADNs and BSNs (unless you push hard for it, I'm sure). "Corporate nursing" is different from what I've seen. Experience and an RN designation will grant you the opportunity that you seek but you usually can't approach or top 6 figures without that piece of paper, no matter how much of a rockstar you are at the duty.

I've been frustrated with the floor nursing environment (what I've seen of it) for much of my career. In addition to helping myself and giving myself the wiggle room to control my destiny, I think this would be an excellent way to better understand the nature of things. Regular nurses going toe-to-toe with management isn't going to cut it. Not everyone can afford to take a stand.

Can't change a situation if you don't understand how the machine works. My friend, her main job is to recoup money. Facilities tend to bill incorrectly. Fail to follow contracts(seems purposeful). Do their claims the wrong way.

Goodness knows where the extra money is going but it seems like a serious and wasteful problem. Waste, itself, seems like a chronic problem in healthcare.

You'd think, with so many players working in direct opposition to each other, things would right themselves in the end. It isn't, though. There are clear losers in this game: Pts, staff, etc... I just don't know why, at this time.

[Thunderwolf, MSN, RN]

The BSN will become, and already is in many cities, THE entry point into acute care/hospital nursing.

Many, if not most, hospitals in my city will only hire BSN nurses.

Also, many of our own non-BSN nurses are going back to school for their BSN. The writing is on the wall.

Get your BSN sooner, than later, if all possible.