Is shortening nursing schools a good idea?

[Mickeyii]

I just read an article about the shortest ADN programs available.  Is this really what we want?  I think it's scary.  I first went to an LPN program that was 18 months long.  Then I got a BA in business and graduated with honors.  Then I went to a diploma school to get my RN and tested out of the first year.  I thought with my experience I would sail through getting my RN.  I couldn't believe how hard it was!   And I saw an ADN program that was 12 months long!  What kind of nurses are they cranking out?  What kind of horror are these nurses going to experience once they are thrown out into the real world.  What kind of horror are their co-workers going to experience?  Yikes!  Time to get back to the idea that nurses need to have a BSN to take their boards.  That's what I was hearing when I started nursing in 1975 and it still hasn't happened because all hospitals care about is that you're a warm body and you fulfill their staffing guidelines, assuming they have guidelines. 

[orrndavid]

Nurses do NOT need a BSN to pass their boards.  When I was in school, ADNs outsurpassed BSNs on their pass rate.  All the time.  Because they had more clinical time and the ability to critically think.  BSN programs teach you not too much more about nursing, but are more interested in your overall education.  When you get to the floor, a job, an assignment it doesn't mean ****.  I was with a BSN who didn't know how to start an IV, who didn't know how to insert a foley, who didn't know how to start an antibiotic piggyback.  When asked about gtts per minute, she didn't have a clue.  Would you want someone like that taking care of you?

[Mickeyii]

That's not been my experience in my area of the country.  Just the opposite in fact.  How can a one year RN program produce a good nurse?   I just don't believe it's possible.  Nursing is long overdue to require a four year degree as well as state licensure to be considered a "professional" as teachers and lawyers, etc.  Many healthcare disciplines are already requiring masters or doctorate degrees and nursing is resisting even a baccalaureate. 

[FiremedicMike, BSN, RN, EMT-P]

Mickeyii said:

That's not been my experience in my area of the country.  Just the opposite in fact.  How can a one year RN program produce a good nurse?   I just don't believe it's possible.  Nursing is long overdue to require a four year degree as well as state licensure to be considered a "professional" as teachers and lawyers, etc.  Many healthcare disciplines are already requiring masters or doctorate degrees and nursing is resisting even a baccalaureate. 

Well, as usual, because there's little to no standardization in nursing education across the nation, it's nearly impossible to compare apples to apples.  Some BSN programs incorporate 4 full years of clinical on top of the additional BSN didactics (research, EBP, etc), others are essentially paper-mills that offer nothing to clinical practice.  I earned my ADN as a hybrid student at a brick and mortar program then my RN to BSN online from a different brick and mortar program.  My BSN was truly 1.5 years of mindless busywork and did NOTHING to improve my clinical practice. 

My wife has been an LPN for 15 years and is currently halfway done with a 1 year LPN to RN diploma program.  When she gets done, she'll run circles around 95% of new BSN nurses and will probably even be a better nurse than me.  It's more about the individual than the program and curriculum. 

 

Of course, lets not ignore the elephant in the room - modern healthcare and modern nursing is nothing like it was even 25 years ago, yet the education remains the same.  Like many, my ADN was very broad with little meat and almost none of it has been applicable to my job in the ED.  Between computerized charting, protocol-based medicine, immediate access to providers/pharmacists, self-programming IV pumps, and a myriad of other "improvements", it seems so silly to me now that I was expected to regurgitate the appropriate age when a child should be able to perform a pincer grip, or that rifampin interacts poorly with nearly every drug, or that if "grapefruit juice" is one of your multiple choice answers - pick it. 

[FullGlass, BSN, MSN, NP]

I'm not sure what the OP means by "shortening nursing school."  Does this refer to leaving stuff out of the curriculum or does this refer to Accelerated BSN programs?

State BONs require certain subjects, along with clinical rotations, for accreditation and licensing, so I'm not sure a nursing school could just cut short their curriculum.

LVN - generally requires 1 year full time nursing school, usually through a community college

RN - may be earned by graduating from a 2 year ADN program, usually through a community college, or by earning a 4-year BSN 

Accelerated BSN (ABSN) programs are for people who already have a Bachelor's degree in a non-nursing field.  These programs only teach nursing, so yes, they can be accelerated.  This vary in length for FT students from 12 to 24 months.  I did a 16 mo program and it was intense, but quite doable.  Some students at the school were in a 13 month program, and that seemed insane to me.  They described it as "drinking from a firehose," hectic, and they really looked tired, but they were satisfied with the program.  An ABSN is a good option for someone who already has a college degree and wants to become an RN as soon as possible.  It does require a lot of commitment and to pretty much do nothing else but nursing school for 12 to 24 months, but can be a good choice for some.  I am happy I did an ABSN.

[FiremedicMike, BSN, RN, EMT-P]

FullGlass said:

I'm not sure what the OP means by "shortening nursing school."  Does this refer to leaving stuff out of the curriculum or does this refer to Accelerated BSN programs?

State BONs require certain subjects, along with clinical rotations, for accreditation and licensing, so I'm not sure a nursing school could just cut short their curriculum.

LVN - generally requires 1 year full time nursing school, usually through a community college

RN - may be earned by graduating from a 2 year ADN program, usually through a community college, or by earning a 4-year BSN 

Accelerated BSN (ABSN) programs are for people who already have a Bachelor's degree in a non-nursing field.  These programs only teach nursing, so yes, they can be accelerated.  This vary in length for FT students from 12 to 24 months.  I did a 16 mo program and it was intense, but quite doable.  Some students at the school were in a 13 month program, and that seemed insane to me.  They described it as "drinking from a firehose," hectic, and they really looked tired, but they were satisfied with the program.  An ABSN is a good option for someone who already has a college degree and wants to become an RN as soon as possible.  It does require a lot of commitment and to pretty much do nothing else but nursing school for 12 to 24 months, but can be a good choice for some.  I am happy I did an ABSN.

Just as an FYI, RN diploma programs are still out there.  They're not very well advertised or known about, and the ones in my area all require an active LPN license, but they do exist and can be beneficial for LPNs

[FullGlass, BSN, MSN, NP]

FiremedicMike said:

Just as an FYI, RN diploma programs are still out there.  They're not very well advertised or known about, and the ones in my area all require an active LPN license, but they do exist and can be beneficial for LPNs

Thank you for this additional information.  I am glad RN diploma programs still exist.