Is it true that a BSN will be mandatory soon?

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An instructor of mine (I'm in another state) stated that she recently went to a national educators conference and that they were saying that within the next several years in NY it would be mandatory to have your BSN. Does anyone know anything about this? Thanks

Ahhh. Now I understand. Thanks for clearing things up.

sorry - i dont always make myself clear - thank you for asking me to clarify and not just thinking i was weird lol. everyone has thier niche - mine isn't research lol. i do know several nurses that LOVE researching. and god bless them cause we do need them - i KNOW research is important - it can find new ways to help me help my residents and it can find ways to save time on procedures to give me more personal time with my residents - however i just dont see me doing it. its like someone else pointed out- we need all kinds in our field and not everyone fits everywhere. i am thankful for ALL nurses wherever they work and am so happy for those that find thier niche as i did. it makes the nasty stuff we go through at a somewhat tolerable level if we can enjoy where we are. thanks again for asking. have a blessed week.

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I personally would much rather seek for msyelf than to trust the potential propoganda or biased or overlooked absent-minded ness of whomever is doing the "seeking" it for you or me.

Would you not research if it were your own diagnosis, your family or loved ones? Would you "really" only read what someone else tells you too?

Gen

reading about diagnosis - which is researching it according to you here, is not what i consider research - of course i look up and learn about diagnosis and "research" as you claim it to be - to me research is not just looking up about a diagnosis - i think of research as sitting in a clinic researching viruses - doing clinical trials on diseases and meds - that sort of thing - if you consider furthering education by reading up on diagnosis etc - yes i guess then i do research - didnt think of it that way - to me that is furthering y education and a big difference from research to me. i'm just not into sitting in a lab to do the actual research to find out how it works . and learning or furthering education as i myself see it as you say " trust the potential propaganda or biased or overlooked absent-mindedness of whomever is doing the "seeking" it for you or me." though i really dont think researchers on the whole, though there may be some - are biased or overlook or do it for the propaganda.

do you mean to say you actually learn someone has cancer and go about researching for a cure for everyone or worry and research exactly how it happened so maybe you can find a cure. That to me is research. sorry if i misunderstood what was meant by research- guess i dont see research as you do.

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first off, WOW. I'm so impressed that you were able to make it work despite the tremendous challenges you were faced with. you should be proud of what you were able to do, and I hope your kids are proud of you, too.

we had several women in my graduating class in a situation similar to yours. some made it through, some didn't. It was hard- especially when it came to dealing with childcare issues. It's hard to expect an instructor to make an allowance for someone dealing with taking care of a sick kid, because once you open the door a crack, even for a legitimate reason that can't be avoided, there will be people left and right trying to get accommodations for a million different reasons. I had to take an exam early one semester because I needed to have surgery- which ticked off a girl who wanted to take hers early so she could go on vacation to mexico earlier. know what I mean?

anyway, sorry about the tangent, everybody.

thank you - yes i do now think i did ok - i used to wonder - but I've come a long way - when my daughter had open heart surgery if it hadn't been for caring understanding instructors id never had made it through a very hard summer lab - i was blessed with many great instructors. i wish the ones who ruined it for others to get the little bit of help i did get, hadn't ruined it for everyone, cause i know many who are stuck in dead end minimum wage jobs cause they just cant do it all.

as for my kids- well - lol - maybe someday . my daughter hates my job ( traumatized at 10 seeing dementia resident abuse dad when he came to get her LOLOL - my son doesnt get why i do it either ( hates to see me bruised and battered doesnt get why it doesnt bother me lol) but recently my grandmother who for 13 yrs has voiced how she thinks i could not be a good nurse etc ( though she never seen me in action) saw me in "action" taking care of my grandfather while he died and i now know i made the right choice - sad to get the acknowledgement on my grandfathers deathbed but grateful for it none the less :)

thanks again - it wasn't easy and i look back i should be proud.

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I am currently a nursing student on L.I. - I am changing careers at 42. I have a B.A. in social sciences and several MBA credits too. What really irks me is the lack of reasonable programs for those who already have a bachelor's degree in a different subject and want to change to nursing. The Accelerated BSN programs specially designed for us are all full-time day programs where I live - who is going to pay my mortgage and bills while I am in school full-time (is part-time work even feasible?) for twelve solid months? So I am going for my ADN part time and then part-time distance learning for my RN-to-MSN program - it will probably take me 7 years to finish.

While I was already planning on going beyond my ADN, it's not realistic to make the BSN mandatory given the existing shortage of nurses PLUS the shortage of slots in nursing programs. This law would make it worse by suddenly creating a large pool of applicants for BSN programs, which are already highly competitive here on L.I. Even ADN programs here are difficult to get into. I had to get a 4.0 to ensure my acceptance!

In order to get the education, you need the educational facilities and faculty. Programs that are affordable and are designed for people who are changing careers or have families/jobs are key to attracting people to the nursing profession. Let's fix this problem before we start threatening to pull licenses.

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Specializes in Nursing Ed, Ob/GYN, AD, LTC, Rehab.

I think if all Nurses had a BSN not only will other professionals opinions about us change but as well as the publics. We need public support and need to change our image of a doctors assistant to a well educated individual. Also im sick and tired of MA's and the other sorts calling themselfs RNs when they arent, lets start demanding the respect we deserve.

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I read an article about it. I believe that the powers that be are pushing for it. The plan is to grandfather in current RNs without their BSNs and new ADN grads will have 10 years to complete their BSN.

I think it is a wonderful idea. We need to empower ourselves.

Do we empower ourselves or do we just make universities more money. I have a Diploma in nursing, been a nurse almost 30 years, going back for my BSN just because my daughters are off to college, and it's time for mom now. However, I find that the classes are simply a waist of time. I really resent instructors that teach that have no or little experince in nursing. They have no idea what they are talking about. I just laugh to my self most of the time. The classes I took for my Diploma were from an Ivy league college. These classes are a joke. Can't see how we are empowering ourselves if the education is a joke. And by-the way this is a major 4 year university. I find this at work as well. There are so many new grads that know book work but have difficulty thinking and working at the same time. (not all but most )

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'There are so many new grads that know book work but have difficulty thinking and working at the same time. (not all but most )"

This is true of ADN's as well as BSN's. The issue is not whether you have adequate education to practice. The issue is whether the profession with the lowest educational requirement, nurses, receive professional treatment/ respect from their colleagues. Is it any wonder that some MD's act poorly toward nurses when the nurse's education is so much less and frequently lacking. Example: I am horrified by the lack of science education in nursing. Many ADN programs don't require chemistry in their program. Please don't tell me they get enough in their nursing programs. Not important you say? Please don't tell me that? Understanding acid base dissociation for instance. Specifically the relationship between carbon dioxide and carbonic acid is the key to understanding acidosis, Kusmaull's respirations, and why bicarbonate is given to patients in metabolic acidosis. There are many other examples but the point is if you are going to be held responsible for the care and monitoring of an ill patient as well as consultation with other healthcare disciplines you should have the knowledge base to support that. And, I believe unfortunately that the field of nursing could do much better. Healthcare and the technology and knowledge supporting it is progressing in leaps and bounds but we are marking time arguing that the minimum is still enough.

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Specializes in Home Health Care.
I totally agree with your post.

Nursing is not taking seriously because there are so many ways to become a nurse. It only takes 1 year to say that you are a nurse. :crying2:

Name one other job where you can go to a vocation/technical school for one year and become a PROFESSIONAL and be treated with the utmost dignity and respect?

I can't name a one. That's why nurses don't get the respect or the money that we deserve. That's why there is no difference in pay between a diploma grad and a BSN.Denise RN, BSN, CCRN

I can name at least one: I am a PROFESSIONAL Cosmetologist with 2100 hours in (equivalent to 1yr). It is printed in bold on my license and diploma that I'm a "Professional," according to state laws. Don't you worry, all my clients treated me with the utmost dignity and respect. I realize this thread is a couple years old, but I had to reply!

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Specializes in Home Health Care.

I just read through this entire thread. I am in a ADN program and if all of you BSN prepared nurses don't think ADN students of today do case management papers , think again! These papers are aweful and time consuming. They consist of research, journaling, patho/disease, pt. comparrisons, care planning, concept maps, labs,meds, treatments, teaching, discharge planning, diagnostics, APA format with footnotes, evaluations, physical assessments, references and so on. These papers are no less than 50 pages. We have 12 papers to turn in a year (depending on the instructor.) They absolutely suck ! I hate doing them so much that I am considering NOT getting my BSN.

Our ADN program is not a fufu program at all.

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Once again the point is missed. The issue is not whether you work hard in your ADN/BSN program. I am sure the great majority do. The point is whether or not you have sufficient training and knowledge base to communicate with your colleagues in healthcare. (ie. Physical Therapists with a masters orPhD, MD's, etc...)

And as for being a professional. If your license and/or clients make you a "professional" then carpenters, masons, plumbers...... are also professionals. However, if education and the ability to understand and collaborate with other colleagues makes you a professional then then minimum education is not enough.

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Specializes in Critical Care.
Once again the point is missed. The issue is not whether you work hard in your ADN/BSN program. I am sure the great majority do. The point is whether or not you have sufficient training and knowledge base to communicate with your colleagues in healthcare. (ie. Physical Therapists with a masters orPhD, MD's, etc...)

And as for being a professional. If your license and/or clients make you a "professional" then carpenters, masons, plumbers...... are also professionals. However, if education and the ability to understand and collaborate with other colleagues makes you a professional then then minimum education is not enough.

If you think that 'minimum entry' at any level grants you the ability to understand and collaborate with your colleagues as true peers, then you seriously underestimate experience.

No nursing program adequately prepares students to be independent nurses out of the starting block. THAT is why that first year is such a steep learning curve. And THAT is why there is a skills mix to protect you from yourself.

Learning comes from much more than a classroom and limited clinical experiences.

Your profile says you are a student. This take on 'minimum entry' proves it. Work a year as a nurse and you'll find out two things: 1. Experience is invaluable and a great equalizer, and 2. This 'debate' carries little resonance in the trenches.

All three types of programs put out excellent nurses, fully capable (with experience) of collaborating with their peers, and all three programs put out complete idiots (and everywhere in between). With experience, you'll tell them apart but don't be surprise if the initials after the initials after their name has little to do with it. In fact, don't be too surprised if you don't even know which of your peers hold which degree.

~faith,

Timothy.

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If my entire profile is important here it is. My profile BS Biology with a minor in biochem. with graduate work in Biochemistry, retired officer USN, 10 years teaching experience in public schools in Chemistry and currently a career changer.

Yes I am a BSN student and will graduate this summer. You have also missed the point. Experience gains an individual competence and respect of your peers. I agree. However, to elevate the profession in the eyes of our colleagues we must elevate the standards to enter into the profession.

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