Is it true that a BSN will be mandatory soon?

shodobe · Mar 29, 2008

Someone out there trying to stir the old ADN vs BSN pot again. Just someone's sick joke to try to get everyone to start butting heads again. Not going to happen no matter what the "BSNs are better nurses click" try to do. OK, everybody back to work!

barefootlady, ADN, RN · Mar 29, 2008

So I guess from this statement, ADN nurses will just go to school, not take boards, and just go to work as nurses????? Right. LOL! This is just a new spin on an old rumor. Over 25 years ago LPN's around here were supposed to be phased out in 3 years. Today there are ads for them a local paper for jobs.

Rumors like this get the focus off some of the real problems in nursing, like a nation wide nurse/patient ratio. Safe harbor laws in every state. Lifting policies that are realistic. So many more issues I could name.

But thanks for the chuckle. Blessing.

richardjboro1 · Mar 29, 2008

... not as grand pontificators for the health care system).

let's take myself.. with my pitiful adn... i'm making 42 an hour, my overtime rate is 63 an hour, and i'm banging out huge hours. if a new bsn comes to work with me, he/she is just a rank beginner with many months of learning before she can come up to speed.

...

Let me say WOW, where are you getting 42/hr? Only place I've heard/seen rates like that is CA.

pagandeva2000, LPN · Mar 29, 2008

They said the same for LPNs...they are phasing us out...yeah, sure. I know that they are pushing and advocating to hire more BSNs, but, that usually doesn't last for long and many ADNs and BSNs see the conditions and run from the bedside, causing the shortage to remain. I wouldn't worry much.

P_RN, ADN, RN · Mar 29, 2008

Dear hearts we are never going to solve this on our own here. I guess somebody forgot to tell me I should have stayed at the bedside.......oh the blisters and headaches that could have been avoided.

supafly · Mar 29, 2008

sounds unlikely in the midst of a nursing shortage unless there is other major industry-wide restructuring that would allow there to be a decreased supply of RN labor.

however, i have heard that one of the local hospitals is now only hiring BSNs.

traumahawk99 · Mar 29, 2008

... not as grand pontificators for the health care system).
let's take myself.. with my pitiful adn... i'm making 42 an hour, my overtime rate is 63 an hour, and i'm banging out huge hours. if a new bsn comes to work with me, he/she is just a rank beginner with many months of learning before she can come up to speed.
...
Let me say WOW, where are you getting 42/hr? Only place I've heard/seen rates like that is CA.

i think you can get that in almost any major u.s. city. at the moment, i'm in tampa bay. first, you've got to work nights, and second, you've got to be willing to be flexible and float around the hospital. i keep my cell phone with me, and if they call me, i'm there in 30 mins. after a bit, management will realize that you are their staffing ace in the hole. and they may grumble at first about the big $$ you're making... then they'll be calling you virtuallly every night. it is nothing for me to get in 5 or 6 12 hour shifts per week. you may even have a really good run where you can get 20 or 30 days in a row.

no, it's not for everyone. but if you can make a plug of cash, you can take several weeks off.

keep in mind that means no benefits. you've got to provide your own insurance, etc..

but when i make 63 * 12 = 756 in one night... and i can do that 3 times a week (after i've done 40 hours at 42 an hour)... it's worth it to me.

TimSRNA2b · Mar 31, 2008

Thank you SOOOOO much everyone for
1) Contributing to this thread and
2) Giving me the encouragement to continue onward in my nursing studies!
I heard this very same rumor TODAY in class. Since I prabaly will not be through with my ADN by 2010 I felt very discouraged!
Your responses to this thread gave me a clear picture of how very long this discussion (RN = BSN) has been going on!
Thanks again, folks!

RN=RN BSN=BSN and RN/BSN=additional two years of college, more advanced nursing courses, opportunities for managerial and administrative positions, the option to obtain your masters/PhD, and overall more money and respect!!

ZASHAGALKA, RN · Mar 31, 2008

RN=RN BSN=BSN and RN/BSN=additional two years of college, more advanced nursing courses, opportunities for managerial and administrative positions, the option to obtain your masters/PhD, and overall more money and respect!!

Except that I have made more than my last four BSN managers. Indeed, I now make more than the MSN instructors that trained me, many moons ago.

If you want to move this debate along, "We're so much better because we have a BSN and you don't" isn't going to do it. You must show how this benefits all RN shareholders.

And, it does.

I don't fault you goal. I fault your faulty method to get there. That method has been tried, unsuccessfully for 43 yrs. It will be a failure for 43 more. Maybe it's time for a new approach. Maybe it's time to reach out to the ADNs that make up a majority of RNs.

Instead of just denigrating them. . .

Maybe it's time for the ANA to apologize for its 43 year old slur at ADNs. Maybe its time to argue what BSN could do for ALL OF US instead of arguing how much better YOU are. The problem with that argument is that, through a combination of education and experience, that just isn't true for any RN with more than 2 yrs experience. That's most of us.

We repudiate your argument. I'm the best possible nurse anybody could have. Bar none. That has nothing to do with the initials behind the initials behind my name. Or, lack thereof. Any argument to the contrary is utterly wasted on me.

I'm not trying to pick on you but your whole answer is a comparison: BSN vs. ADN: why BSN is better THAN ADN. It's the wrong argument. Instead, a better argument is why BSN would be better, for all of us.

~faith,

Timothy, RN, CCRN, BA-Biology.

forrester · Apr 1, 2008

I have met with numerous politicians and when this topic came up, they shook their heads in disbelief.

"Let's see if I have this straight. You want us to pass legisltaion to limit the practice of nursing by requiring a BSN degree...in the midst of a (perceived) nursing shortage....when 4 year Universities are completely incapable of meeting the increasing demand for RN's...and cut out a major avenue for underprivileged and academically disadvantaged people who's only recourse to regroup may be the ADN. Hmmm, sounds GOOD!":nono:

Let's get off this dead horse, empower ourselves first so we control our own practice domains, and then sort out what we want to do about entry requirements.

This topic died in 1975, except maybe in North Dakota.:chuckle

GrumpyRN63, ADN, RN · Apr 1, 2008

This is one of those great urban myths, I've heard this for 20 years at various times, in my state there are more ADN programs than ever before, we need all the nurses we can get !!! I know this wont happen in my lifetime unless nurses were paid for what they're worth( and had ideal working conditions/respect), and there is no longer a shortage, not much chance of that happening !!!!!!!!!!!!!! :lol2:

jordangregory · Apr 1, 2008

Why must nurses shoot themselves in the foot. There is all this crying about those who want the mimimum education raised and how mean they are, how they degrade those without a BSN.

So big deal, ADN's are just as good at floor nursing as BSN's, and those with BSN's act like they are better than those with ADN's. Meanwhile, all the other healthcare professions are increasing their educational requirments. They are not worried about meeting the demand. In fact, if we want to make more money, it would be in our best interest not to pump out as many new nurses as possible. It would be in our best interest to increase our educational requriements and to not flood the market with nurses. Trust me, those who need nurses will find them.