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

Specializes in ICU/CCU/TRAUMA/ECMO/BURN/PACU/.
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!

Yeah, and to that I'd add: the "bosses" have a game plan; pit the workers against each other so they forget about organizing to protect and defend their common interest: the ability to advocate in the exclusive interests of patients. We have the same License: Registered Nurse. And, the same accountability under the law, whether our qualifying education was/is Hospital/Diploma school, ADN, BSN. :rolleyes:

It's been said that pride goeth before the fall. Beware the "bosses" who appeal to and feed the narcissist's selfish, hungry ego, by stirring the pot and brewing the "perfect storm." Only the paternalistic, corporate interests profit from the resultant chaos. They have an agenda to control, restrict, and redefine our practice to serve their corporate bottom line. The only remedy for the abuses heaped upon nurses and patients who fall prey to their covert "wolf in sheep's clothing" attack, is to organize and mobilize against it.

A house divided against itself will crumble and fall. Education is a good thing, with all due respect, but we have to be careful not to confuse the issues, and let the bosses hijack the debate. Just because someone has the opportunity and the ability to pursue additional education, doesn't make them a better person, or a better nurse. We have the same accountability under the law to provide competent nursing care, regardless of the path we took to licensure.:up:

Back to work, all right, with eyes wide open to the very real threats to our ability to advocate for our profession and our patients. Let's work on solutions:

http://www.calnurses.org/assets/pdf/ratios/ratios_patient_safety.pdf

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when pigs fly. Since it is the BON that determines this you should talk to them if you have doubts or concerns on this issue.

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Specializes in ICU/CCU/TRAUMA/ECMO/BURN/PACU/.
when pigs fly. Since it is the BON that determines this you should talk to them if you have doubts or concerns on this issue.

Hi Agnes,

I know the RN Boards have authority to confer licensure and they hold RNs responsible for maintaining licensure and standards of professional conduct and practice. Our CNA/NNOC Nursing Practice Department has studied the boards and the regulations in all the states; and I've had the benefit of taking classes with nurses in many of the states where we have members, so I think I have a pretty broad understanding and no doubts at this point. Laws governing and regulating nursing practice and standards of competent performance in each state are different and are usually determined by the legislature.

I reserve the right to become smarter, so I wanted to ask you to expand a little bit on your comment, "when pigs fly:confused:," if you would be so kind. It was my intent to address the concern we have for the differentiated practice model, where hospitals change the care delivery system/model, and then promote policies that have no basis in the law; they only serve to obfuscate scope of practice issues, and my assertion was that they do this in such a way that pits worker against worker. Instead of equal pay for equal work and responsibility, such schemes serve the bottom line interests of corporations, not direct care nurses and the patients they care for.

The license confers the legal authority to practice; the education programs must be approved by the Boards in order for the applicant to qualify for licensure. To my knowledge, there aren't any states that codify different legal accountabilities for the generic RN license, based on whether or not the RN's education was in a hospital/diploma school, ADN, or BSN program; do you know of any?

Thank you.:nurse:

(I'm not talking about NPs or APRNs, or CNSs, who posess additional qualifying certification beyond the RN license.)

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Specializes in ORTHOPAEDICS-CERTIFIED SINCE 89.

Names, I want NAMES of those who tell you this. I know several state board presidents and those on the boards. I want a big old chalk board to show them who's making up L I E S.

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Hi Agnes,

I reserve the right to become smarter, so I wanted to ask you to expand a little bit on your comment, "when pigs fly:confused:," if you would be so kind. It was my intent to address the concern we have for the differentiated practice model, where hospitals change the care delivery system/model, and then promote policies that have no basis in the law; they only serve to obfuscate scope of practice issues, and my assertion was that they do this in such a way that pits worker against worker. Instead of equal pay for equal work and responsibility, such schemes serve the bottom line interests of corporations, not direct care nurses and the patients they care for.

The license confers the legal authority to practice; the education programs must be approved by the Boards in order for the applicant to qualify for licensure. To my knowledge, there aren't any states that codify different legal accountabilities for the generic RN license, based on whether or not the RN's education was in a hospital/diploma school, ADN, or BSN program; do you know of any?

)

I would like to answer your question. Could you please state it in simpler terms?

I will take a stab at it here. These rumors have been flying since time immemorial. I just do not see it happening in my life time anyway. (ok so I'm 57) but I am willing to bet it will be a very very looong time before this can ever happen.

I believe the question was about NCLEX not a particular state. I believe there are some or one state in the midwest that now requires a BSN for new licensure. Those who held a license prior to that law passing were grandfathered in most likely as is the usual way these things happen.

As for NCLEX. To do away with it for all ADN nurses is absurd because again each state has it's own laws on licensure. This has yet to become federal licensing.

True nurses have pushed for federal license but as you can see this is a long hard road to get there and I doubt it ever will entirely be a truly federal license. (I hold a commercial driver license. They pushed for the same thing. Today we still have state licenses but that license is recognized in other states in ways that a regular driver license is not. However the difference is the standards are the same for every state and the exams are all the same.)

NCLEX is today the same exam every nurse takes in every state. You can take it in NY and then take the results back to your CA home and use it to get your license there.

It used to be you took a different version depending on where you are but that is no longer true.

The only way an applicant would be barred from the NCLEX for not having a BSN is if that particular state required a minimum of a BSN to be licensed in that particular state.

I think (sorry not sure here) you are saying that employers attempt to require higher minimum standards than the licensing boards. I have no doubts about this nor a problem with it. There are facilities that prefer or at time only hire BSN nurses and not diploma or ADN. That is there perogative. They are entitled to set their own standards. And I suppose from that some employer may suggest or even start a rumor that this will soon become the standard for licensure. However, that is like the employer who tells you that you are abandoning a patient if you refuse an assignment. IT just ain't so. It is a scare tactic used to intimidate a nurse.

Sometimes I think these employers begin to believe their own lies after telling them so often they forget that it was they themselves that originated them.

I am kind of guessing this might answer you but if not please clarify your question?

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I might add that with the shortage of nurses and the shortage of nursing instructors I just can not see making it any tougher or longer to get nurses through their educational requirements.

Common sense (at least to me) says that would be counter productive at this time.

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I believe there are some or one state in the midwest that now requires a BSN for new licensure. Those who held a license prior to that law passing were grandfathered in most likely as is the usual way these things happen.

No -- North Dakota did pass that legislation quite a few years ago, but repealed it a few years later because it proved to be unworkable (although I don't know any more detail than that, sorry). There is no US state that requires a BSN for licensure.

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Oh in case you are interested the state that I believe now requires a BSN as a minimum educations I don't remember which one for sure but I think it is Nebraska

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Specializes in ICU/CCU/TRAUMA/ECMO/BURN/PACU/.

I wasn't addressing the NCLEX issue at all; I...that just happens to be the title of the thread. But I can see how, in a round about way, that my response could be construed as off topic, if you just look at the thread title, and skip over the specific comment being replied to.

In this case, my reply was to "shodobe" specifically, and her comment: "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!"

I agreed with what she said, and offered my opinion about why that's happening. I wasn't aware that there was any movement underway to prevent ADNs from being able to qualify for the NCLEX in 2010. That doesn't make any practical sense to me either, if it's true. I've been to some restructuring seminars where 'industrial' engineers and some 'so-called' nurse leaders talk about scope of practice laws as being barriers to staffing, rather than important and transparent public safety regulations. I think we agree and have the same frame of reference, now that I've read your response. Not too far off topic; common sense is always appreciated. There's far too little of it going around these days. Thank you.:typing

elkpark, thanks too, for the info...it would be interesting to know who sponsored that change you mentioned in North Dakota. I like to judge an issue sometimes by studying who's proposing the change, and who's against it; and trying to make a determination about who really benefits.

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

Moved this thread to the appropriate forum and merged it with three other ongoing threads about the same topic. Seems the rumor refused to die.

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I wasn't addressing the NCLEX issue at all; I...that just happens to be the title of the thread. But I can see how, in a round about way, that my response could be construed as off topic, if you just look at the thread title, and skip over the specific comment being replied to.

In this case, my reply was to "shodobe" specifically, and her comment: "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!"

I agreed with what she said, and offered my opinion about why that's happening. I wasn't aware that there was any movement underway to prevent ADNs from being able to qualify for the NCLEX in 2010. That doesn't make any practical sense to me either, if it's true. I've been to some restructuring seminars where 'industrial' engineers and some 'so-called' nurse leaders talk about scope of practice laws as being barriers to staffing, rather than important and transparent public safety regulations. I think we agree and have the same frame of reference, now that I've read your response. Not too far off topic; common sense is always appreciated. There's far too little of it going around these days. Thank you.:typing

elkpark, thanks too, for the info...it would be interesting to know who sponsored that change you mentioned in North Dakota. I like to judge an issue sometimes by studying who's proposing the change, and who's against it; and trying to make a determination about who really benefits.

Ok now I know I am really in the twilight zone as you used my name and asked for clairfication about my remark "when pigs fly."

I will just go back to sleep now as I am totally not with you.

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No -- North Dakota did pass that legislation quite a few years ago, but repealed it a few years later because it proved to be unworkable (although I don't know any more detail than that, sorry). There is no US state that requires a BSN for licensure.

Thought it was one of the two "N" states in the mid west just had the wrong one. It is nice to know the up date that it was repealed. THanks

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