Is it hard to get a job with an Associates degree in Nursing?

plasmatix · Dec 5, 2011

I'd never seen this, but I declare it awesome.

I concur with your assessment, but will further opine that Donster is awesome-er for having actually read (and comprehended) the Terms of Service.

By the way, Donster, thanks for posting that information. I like to think that improvement in the area of post literacy will follow, but my age and firmly-rooted cynicism short-circuit any thoughts of an optimistic nature.

bailee4 · Dec 5, 2011

Thank you. To be honest, I was unaware due to the fact that I didn't read the terms verbatim. I've learned an important lesson already - Read everything verbatim before you jump on board. Glad you "nipped me in the bud" as this is my first time on this site and I would like to continue because I already received great information and advice in response to my original thread. :)

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Dec 5, 2011

Thank you. To be honest, I was unaware due to the fact that I didn't read the terms verbatim. I've learned an important lesson already - Read everything verbatim before you jump on board. Glad you "nipped me in the bud" as this is my first time on this site and I would like to continue because I already received great information and advice in response to my original thread. :)

NUrses are sticklers for details......a patients life depends on it....

Career#24me · Dec 5, 2011

The Associates degree has value in the job market. It is less expensive for the student and you learn what you need to get started. If you want to continue for a BSN, then the entire cost of your education will be substantially less. Many times the employer will pay for the BSN after an Associates. Consider you financial situation and do not overburden yourself with school debt.

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN · Dec 5, 2011

this is one of the most contentious issues in nursing: the level of education needed for a profession. as many of the an'rs know, i come down squarely on the side of a bs in nursing or bsn (not a ba) as entry-level educational preparation. when i had smaller kids and they asked me a question, i always asked them, "do you want the short answer or the long one?" since i can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times they ever said, "short" and still have enough left over for the boy scout salute, here it is again.

(disclaimer: have worked as a staff nurse, inservice/staff development, instructor, nclex prep course instructor, case manager in multiple settings, and other stuff too numerous to mention. in short, been around, seen that, done that.)

what's a profession? is nursing a profession? what's the basic educational prep for people you think of as professionals? would you want your chemistry research done by someone with an associate degree? your child taught high school math or english? your income tax advising? sure, there are good people with lower level education who succeed in life, but don't let that "we all have the same license and sit for the same exam" fool you. better education makes you better at what you do. there are any number of people who can give you examples of bsns or mns who don't know how to take a rectal temp (why does everyone focus on that and bedpans when they think of nursing, anyway?) and marvelous crusty old lpns who saved the resident's butt one dark and stormy night, but for every single one of those i will see your anecdote and raise you half a dozen godawful errors made by nurses who didn't take the coursework and didn't get exposed to the idea of autonomy in school.

time: the bachelor's degree takes four years. the associate's degree (as or asn) takes ... three and a half, once you count all the prerequisites you're going to have to take before they admit you into the nursing program. and those who say you can work on your bsn while you are working as an rn with an as don't tell you (and maybe don't know, to be charitable) that many of your course hours from the as program are not transferrable, so it won't just be a matter of a semester or two or three. and working as a nurse is hard, almost as hard as nursing school ... think you'll have the mental, physical, social, and financial energy for more education at the same time? oh, and in most jurisdictions you can't sit for the lpn exam and work as one while partway thru a as or bsn program anymore, either.

job opportunities: although the old a-nurse-is-a-nurse-is-a-nurse attitude is fortunately fading away, at entry level for new grads, about the same, and i realize that people who are just starting out have a very incomplete idea of what it means to be a nurse. however, look around the place and see who's working. are you planning to be older some day? do you see older nurses working in those entry-level staff or charge positions? if not, where did they all go? why do you care? well, suppose you work on a general medical floor and get entranced by cardiac rehabilitation after following a patient who did it. a job comes up in the department, hooray! oops, bsn only. or you find your heart drawn to helping underserved women in a public health clinic for high-risk pregnancy. sorry, bsn only in public health. after five or six years as a staff nurse you have become a resource to new hires and your peers and you realize you have a gift for teaching. you see that a position in staff development has come open, and you are first in line at hr to apply. you got it.... bsn is the minimum. school nursing? bsn. hurt your back and want to go for a job in case management? bsn. you discover you have a gift for asking, "why do we do it this way?" and are amazed to find you want to look into jobs in management or nursing research.....bsn minimum. you are starting to get the picture now. also, many, many practice settings give you a differential for bsn. no, i know, not all, but hey. one more factor.

growth: the questions in the licensure exams (nclex) are developed from errors made in the first year of practice by new grads, and regardless of pass rates from different level programs, anyone in practice can confirm the research: in the first year of work all new grads perform at about the same level as they get their feet under them and get used to the idea of working as an rn. but after that year, the bsns pull ahead in ways that are related to their higher level of education. why? because what we call in the ed biz "psychomotor skills," the things you do with your hands, can be done by anyone with enough practice. he**, we teach lay people how to do peritoneal dialysis at home or suction tracheostomies. but the understanding of why some things are as they are is something you get in better education: more science, more sociology, more psychology, more history, a basic statistics class, exposure to more clinical settings (i doubt if you'll get a full semester in peds, psych, ob, or any public health at all in almost any as program) give you the insight to ask better questions and make better decisions.

i hear you about the challenges of getting into and staying in nursing school. but if you really want to be a nurse, don't you want to find yourself in the camp of folks who are grateful they learned more, rather than the ones who find they had to for advancement or competence and wish they'd done it in the first place? my answer is clear.

Bortaz, MSN, RN · Dec 5, 2011

Can we have the short answer?

Just kidding.

tootsieny · Dec 5, 2011

Thanks guyz - My plan is 2 get my associates which I start in Jan 2012 & then get a job & go bk 4 my BSN. I just want to make sure I'm not wasting my time. I just want to know that I can get a job with an Associates.

You are wasting your time.

SweetsRN522 · Dec 5, 2011

From what I have noticed it really depends on the facility and the location where you are applying at. I know in the Chicagoland area (where I am from) that many hospitals list BSN preferred on their application and some say BSN as a requirement. Others say ADN, so it really depends. I weighed out this decision based on what I wanted to do in the future. I knew I wanted to continue my education and eventually work my way up in nursing so I went for my BSN, I am now a 150 hours short of my MSN!! I would weigh the pros and cons of the situation. First off an ADN program is usually shorter, and cheaper however with all the waiting lists the amount of time it takes to get into an ADN program, it may be longer. BSN programs provide you with a wider array of classes such as professionalism, research, advanced concepts and other specialty classes. I was able to take elective nursing classes such as Alternative therapies, Forensic nursing, and Critical Care to name a few.

These classes taught me to look at nursing from a different view point, how to present myself as a nurse, and they increased my knowledge base and critical thinking abilities. I usually tell people if there is a waiting list and it will take 4 years to get through the ADN, then they may as well go for a 4 1/2 to 5 year BSN program. If they have their prerequisites already then the program will only take 2-3 years depending on the program length. There has been talk about having all nurses get their BSN from the ANA, but nothing has been implemented yet. In my opinion they both will get you to be a nurse, however the BSN appears to open more doors for growth in the future and many hospitals are looking at BSN canidates as favorable to ADN canidates.:hpygrp: GOOD LUCK!!

applewhitern, BSN, RN · Dec 5, 2011

My DON only has an associates. It really depends on the area and that particular hospital. If you want to progress, then yes, a minimum BSN matters. But from what I have seen lately, experience counts much more right now, in this economy.

fltnrse2, ASN, RN · Dec 5, 2011

I was an LPN for 20 years, then went ADN 1990, and ended up a flight nurse. However, the landscape of nursing is and has been for the past 40 years, if you are youngish or want to have an office someday etc, get the BSN. As for me I have never lost out on a job that I have went for with my ADN. FLTNRSE2

BuckyBadgerRN, ASN, RN · Dec 5, 2011

Thanks guyz - My plan is 2 get my associates which I start in Jan 2012 & then get a job & go bk 4 my BSN. I just want to make sure I'm not wasting my time. I just want to know that I can get a job with an Associates.

To go along with the "selling yourself". IMO, lose the "text speak" when you type. It will serve you well in the long run. Not a jab, just a fact.

BuckyBadgerRN, ASN, RN · Dec 5, 2011

You are wasting your time.

Wow. I think you will find here on AN as well as in real life that MANY ADN's will tell you that their degree was NOT a waste of time. I'm sorry that your experience seemed to be so...