Is the RN--->BSN push a clever way to get older nurses out of the way

[Nola009]

As in certain "Baby Boomers" who wont retire? Wont we NEED a faster RN producing mechanism (hello again, ADN programs!) in order to provide enough nurses to care for this huge group of people due to retire soon?? Just wondering...

[PMFB-RN, RN]

The decision to move toward an 80% BSN-prepared nursing profession by 2020 was based on research data and not a hidden agenda of kicking nurses out of the profession. There is a plethora of peer reviewed studies that show the data supports the fact that higher education among nursing staff improves patient outcomes. If the data supports having a BSN or higher results in better patient outcomes, then why should the nursing profession not move toward this goal? Remember our profession is about the patients that we care for and not our personal needs or wants. Advancing the nursing profession is not only a "best practice", but moreover, it is the right thing to do.

I don't buy it. Here is why. If moving towards an all BSN nursing workforce was REALLY about better outcomes then nursing would have done what every other healthy profession did when they increased their degree requirements. That is setting a date after which a BSN will be required and grandfathering in all the diploma and ADN RN's. This is what pharmacy and physical therapy did when they moved to a doctorate degree. Those professions did not threated existing professionals with unemployment if they didn't return for a doctorate.

The way nursing is going about it guarantees maximum resistance to a BSN only work force and creates the maximum number of enemies to the concept of an all BSN workforce, thus greatly delaying the day when all RNs have at least a BSN.

Nursing's method has been hell bent on punishment of diploma and ADN nurses.

[GadgetRN71, ASN, RN]

A BSN does not guarantee higher pay. In my facility, BSNs do not make more money than ASNs or diploma nurses. This is in a major teaching hospital in Boston, BTW. As a matter of fact, there are a couple of MSN prepared nurses in my department that get the same pay as me, a lowly ASN. If there are a lack of applicants, then they go to travel nurses. They like travelers, because they don't have to pay their benefits, which is pricey. I was a traveler and worked places that had more travel nurses than permanent staff.

Trust me, the powers that be know that nurses will remain satisfied with trinkets, ice cream socials and pizza parties instead of higher pay because of the martyr/Mother Theresa mindset that pervades nursing. They can decide someday that an MSN should be the entry level for practice, at the same bracket of income, and many nurses will fall in line. As for me, that's when I leave.[/quote

I thought Chrissy Chica meant that nurses would be on more scarce if BSN's were required, and hence pay scales would have to rise to attract a more valuable commodity. Thus is not the same argument you are making. If we continue to crank'em out every semester, we'll never be able to make as much as others in the field who control their numbers.

Pay scales wouldn"t rise though. They would just expect the existing nurses to pick up more slack. I have seen it happen time and time again. My point is, we aren"t like other professions. We have this tendency to tolerate a lot and not advocate for ourselves. Trust me, even if there were a true shortage, administrators would figure out how to keep the pay scale the same, even with hiring BSNs. They could offer these newly minted BSNs $20.00 an hour and most would gladly take it. This is because as nurses, we aren't supposed to care about money or even discuss money, lest we get accused of being money hungry and not caring about patients.

[pdxljb]

I completely agree with you gypsyd8!

Good lord what an obnoxious comment. You do realize people cannot take care of others without taking care of themselves first, right?

[she244]

The position I am currently in was posted with a BSN graduate in mind. But they also need a lot of experience and the ability to be autonomous in performing skills. After working 11 years in the ER, 5 years as a school nurse at a small academically gifted school. I was the nurse chosen for this position. Soon I will be the only Nurse without a BSN degree at my present facility. I have thought about going for my BSN degree, but it would be for personal satisfaction only as my pay is slightly more than the recent BSN graduates hired. I am at retirement age and may not be able to find a nursing position once I retire in a few years. I have worked with excellent ADN and Diploma nurses. Not sure how I feel that a higher degree would have made them a more proficient nurse as their patients received top notch care. So my future may not be clear once I retire, but I will find a way. Good Luck to Everyone!

[twinsmom788]

(shrug) Who gives a darn about what physicians prefer? Do you think that physicians would care AT ALL if there was a statistical preference for physicans with the DO or BSBM degrees vs MD degrees among nurses? Do you think physicans would use nurse's preference when making their case about which medical degree is superior?

Physicians, in my experience, don't know the difference between an RN and a LPN. Much less the myriad of avenues to become one or the other. Throw medical assistants in the mix and mostly all are referred to as "nurse" .