Just got my BSN, but I don't feel any smarter

[Le-Lee_FNP]

So i started out as a LPN, then went for my ASN and I just recently completed my BSN. I thought that I would feel so much more intelligent, accomplished and full of knowledge, but I really don't feel any different. I mean yea i learned a little bit more about how to do research and what community health nursing is all about, but neither of those pertain to my current job role or my future career goals. I just don't see the big deal about the whole BSN thing. I'm quite disappointed. People make such a big deal over level of education but I just don't see the difference that it makes when working at the bedside.

for anyone else who has started out with a LPN or ASN and went back to school, do you feel like it has made you a better nurse?

[silentRN]

All we are are orderlies that carry out orders day by day. We punch in we punch out. There's really nothing special about this job. I think if they are going to start requiring higher education than the hospitals need to start forking out the bucks to send us back to to school. I just don't see why it's worth adding an another 20K to your debt while it benefits you little. You don't receive more pay, your job duty doesn't change. Instead, now you have to fork out more money every month to pay back student loans. Hospitals won't fork the money over because of the "economy." There really is nothing great about being a nurse except for having 4 days off a week. That's just my opinion though.

[Mulan]

All we are are orderlies that carry out orders day by day. We punch in we punch out. There's really nothing special about this job. I think if they are going to start requiring higher education than the hospitals need to start forking out the bucks to send us back to to school. I just don't see why it's worth adding an another 20K to your debt while it benefits you little. You don't receive more pay, your job duty doesn't change. Instead, now you have to fork out more money every month to pay back student loans. Hospitals won't fork the money over because of the "economy." There really is nothing great about being a nurse except for having 4 days off a week. That's just my opinion though.

It's just a pink-collar (blue-collar) job.

[GreyGull]

Has anyone ever ventured to read the forums of other professions? That includes accountants, teachers, PTs, RTs, OTs and auto mechanics. Sometimes I wonder what others think when they stumble across some of the open forums for nurses. Other professionals are debating education also but they are past the Bachelors degree argument and are at the Masters vs Doctorate level.

Teachers don't get paid very much either when you consider their education and responsibility. But, they know the expectations of their profession and that it is changing to keep up the increasing demands of educating children.

I just wish one day would pass where we could get past this "don't need none of that book learnin'" attitude to see the future. Medicine has come a long way since the 1950s. Regardless of what classes your college offers for the Bachelors program, you need to take it as preparation for YOUR future as well as that for the whole profession. Use the education and make the most of it. If you truly believe you wasted your time and had a bad attitude about education to begin with, nothing will help you out. Life is about choices and nobody forced you to make the choices you did. You didn't have to go to an expensive college. You could have gotten grants, scholarships and employer assistance. But, you didn't and now you are blaming "education" for your financial problems. Education, as is life, is what you make it which can be to your advantage or not.

Almost every BSN program I can think up right now has at least the same number of clinical hours as the ADN. Enough with the bashing of those with a higher college degree. That degree does not make them any less smarter or less adequate than an ADN. There are many ADN programs that don't get the opportunity to have all their students graduate with proficiency in every skill. There are some who aren't any smarter (at least in attitude) regardless if they graduate from an ADN or BSN program. And, I doubt if it has anything to do with a genuine learning disability either.

When I want my taxes done professionally, I don't take them to someone who just has a few months of training. I want a professional who has at least a Bachelors and preferably a Masters with the appropriate certifications and education to match the "skills" to get me the best tax return.

The same if I want an attorney. I also am amazed at how many people with what once was technical certs only such as auto mechanic are also degreed with education to compliment their skills. Technology has changed just as medicine has.

Why shouldn't I expect that from my health care provider?

While some skills are the same regardless of the degree, the expectations for a profession are changing regardless of what that profession is. There was a time when an 8th grade education would be adequate and you may even have been able to get into any trade school to learn a few skills including those in the health care professions. Do you know how many OJTs there were in health care who did not even have a high school education?

But, things change and some have to ability to think about the future more than others or want a career rather than just a job. Even back when I was growing up a few decades ago, my parents had already decided I would attend a 4 year college because their thoughts were to prepare me for my future career regardless of what profession I decided on. I have a lot to be thankful for and it is because my parents taught me the value of a solid education to go with the skills I would need in life and my career. Let's not sell the next generation short by belittling education and their growth potential.

[llg, PhD, RN]

Maybe some of the people who feel they didn't learn anything in their BSN programs simply chose to go to schools that were not very challenging. Many of the RN's I know choose which BSN program to attend mostly on the basis of its convenience and price ... not on it's academic rigor, challenging requirements, and heavy demands on their time and effort.

Education is like a lot of other things in life ... the more you invest, the more you can get in return. If people choose to go to schools where all that is required of them is that they do a few "easy" projects that don't challenge them too much, then they can't reasonably expect to learn a whole lot.

You can buy a diploma with some money and a little time and effort -- but real learning usually takes a significant investment of time, energy, and mental effort.

[ObtundedRN, BSN, RN]

it seems as if every ADN I started with was much better prepared to work at the bedside. The BSN trained nurses would literally stand around and "theorize" instead of providing care!

LOL! I see the same thing where I work!

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

i didn't know a bsn was supposed to make you smarter. i thought it just made you more educated, more aware of how much you don't know and how much you need to learn.

neither my bachelor's or my masters gave me an additional iq points. i must have gotten ripped off!

[leslie :-D]

Let's not sell the next generation short by belittling education and their growth potential.

now, this is the bottom line, isn't it?

the bsn provides opportunity that a diploma/adn can never compete with.

even if some bsn folks don't feel "smarter", it sounds like you're taking an awful lot for granted.

education, no matter what form, is never, ever worthless.

i'll never understand this type of thinking.

leslie

[fromtheseaRN, BSN, RN]

well, i am almost finished with my bsn through a rn-bsn program too. also, like some of you, i started out as a second career person who already had other degrees. anyway, although my bsn did not teach me anything new about nursing, it has provided me with more opportunities to get the heck out of the rural town where i currently live!

in other words, i feel the same as the rest of you. i learned a lot of what i was exposed to in the bsn program from my adn program and working as a nurse. in fact, i think people who originally receive a bsn are very mislead about the preparation of a rn with an adn! they have no idea that rns with adns are exposed to the same information they were exposed but not in as much depth. yes, we were exposed to care plans, theories on genetics, theories on leadership,.. pathophysicology of the human response, pharmacology... and so on. we just did not have to take an entire class on those specific subjects... why not? the nclex is not that in-depth! however, i love my rn-bsn program a great deal!!!

i have much more respect for the nursing profession because of my rn-bsn program and professors. my adn professors were very unprofessional. they were disrespectful to students who performed well and bullies to those who performed poorly (struggled). you were left alone if you were average and tried not to stick out in any way, shape, or form (right, they were not preparing very good future leaders).

in contrast, my rn-bsn program does not like poor performance and pushes average students to be more! for instance, ambitious hard-working students are rewarded greatly! i have had more opportunities thrown at me then i have time or money to accept!!!! thus, i agree, that my bsn will not make a big change in how i perform by the bedside, but my bsn has made a difference in my future!

right now i am trying to apply to join the army and that organization only accepts bsns on active duty (which was my only original motivation to obtain a bsn). secondly, if i do not get into the army, i am qualified to work elsewhere (places that want work experience + a bsn). not to mention the opportunities i am given through the honor societies (yes multiple....) i was invited to join through my rn-bsn program that will allow me to move out of this backwards rural town to work elsewhere...

as someone else pointed out, the degree does not make the nurse. we have to use our degrees to create something for ourselves. such is the case for all professions. gl!

it's so nice to see a strong, positive post on an! thanks for this!

[PACNWNURSING]

Thank you for the honesty of your post, there are a number of articles being published regarding the push for all nurses to BSN's as an entry point. Research, Theory, community nursing, does not add to practical knowledge for hospital nurses. Nurses have no time for evidence based research, theory discussion while taking care of patients. Give us 3 to 1 Ratio with CNA support and then maybe we can critically think more, assess longer and more often and give safer care, but that is a pipe dream. The ADN v. BSN is an old debate.

[imintrouble, BSN, RN]

Knowledge doesn't necessarily make you smarter. It's how you implement that knowledge that makes you smarter.

[StephRN08]

I agree... I did not learn as much as I thought I would in my RN to BSN program. I took a physical assessment course and that was probably the most worthwhile one. I did learn about research, community health, and management, as well. But some of the content was stressed in my diploma program.

[Orange Tree]

More education is always better and always worth while. I can't wait to have my BSN, but so far I have only taken a community education class about how to tie dye socks! I wish I could get credit for that class, because I found it to be soooo much easier than chemistry.