LPN. or RN

allnurses Guide · Mar 2, 2012

Yes I agree! The IOM report correctly states that there needs to be some mechanism for merging current CC ADN programs into a workable way for them to transition before any mandates are handed down. I don't think the change will come as a result of all 50 state legislatures passing a "BSN in 10" law but rather employer preference resulting from the much larger pool of applicants we now have. Fasten your seatbelts!! :)

lifelearningrn, BSN, RN · Mar 3, 2012

I cant help but think that if people were dogging on ADNs the way people do are are with BNS nurses that there would be a massive uproar. But some how BSN students are fair game.

AJPV · Mar 3, 2012

mjmoon, I'm not "dogging" on BSN students. When I'm "dogging" on is the willfully dishonest and manipulative bullying from the "ivory tower" career academicians who are pushing their biased agenda. Most BSN students have never even met these people. The students are simply choosing their own academic and career path based on what the market dictates. It is the academicians who haven't been at the bedside for a decade or more who are publishing misleading "studies" and lobbying for the mandating of "BSN-only" requirements. The enactment of these mandates (whether officially by law or unofficially by employer bias and "magnet" requirements) that conveniently brings hundreds of millions of dollars of tuition to universities and threatens the existence of community colleges. That this sort of behavior is accepted in a field that is reknown for its honesty and integrity is most disturbing.

lifelearningrn, BSN, RN · Mar 3, 2012

This doesn't seem out of the norm for many professions though.. an asscociate's degree has lost it's value in almost every other field.. it seems to me that this is a normal progression. I remember a couple decades ago people with decades of experience getting passed over by a degree holder simply because of the degree. It seems to me this has reached nursing. (as it did with PT and is happening with RT as well, from what I understand. Yes, there are a lot of classes irrelevent to nursing one must take to get a B.S. degree- but there are also a lot of relevent classes you wont get on the ADN level.. ALL profressions above a trade level have education in areas outside of their specialty. Why is that a bad thing?

clodcat · Mar 5, 2012

I would go for the ADN to BSN. Going to school after you get your RN would be much easier than waiting for 4 years to get a decent check. The pay is not much different for a ADN than BSN. Sometimes it is not even a difference in pay. I did my LVN first and have now started to do my ADN. Many of them you can do online now. So nice when you have real life bills and responsibilities!

I recently relocated due to a nasty divorce, I have been trying to figure out which to do. LPN or BSN. I was waiting for the in-state tuition to kick in before I made a decision. (In Arkansas the wait is only 6 mo ) I really need the opinions of RN's and LPN's....which is better to have as far as pay and benefits? I have heard that Rns get paid almost the same as LPN's? I'm getting my CNA this summer so that I can get a job as well as go to school. I'm going crazy trying to figure out which road to go! Someone please give insight into each path. Do you regret the path you took? If so, why...I'm really interested.

Vocationofalifetime · Jul 30, 2012

Hello,

I've been in nursing over 20 years, first as CNA since I was 14 and in high school, and then as an LPN since 1993. I work in a home health company today (over ten years now) for pediatrics, although, my company does hire LPNs for adults as well. To make a long story short, I am now completing my BSN, after contemplating walking away from nursing altogether because of the limitations of my LPN diploma here on the East Coast.

In the Midwest, I have worked in facilities in both LTC and CD, and loved them both, however, I would not be even considered today because I don't have an RN license. Despite all of my experience, as a CNA and EMT prior to getting my LPN, and including LTC, CD, and Peds, I cannot even get a call back by a facility of any kind when submitting my resume. (Incidentally, after the recession hit, my hours were cut from 32 to only 4 a week, and I put out over 100 applications; I was called back for two positions and was hired by both. I called every hospital, rehab center, LTC facility and surgical center in the Philly area, to inquire about LPN positions, and only one individual called me back to inform me that the center did not hire LPNs.)

My opinion is to just get you BSN, and you will have some flexibility and opportunity in nursing that you will never be considered for as an LPN. As I get older in this profession, I'm also realizing that I may not have the physical strength to lift 80-100 pounds several times during a shift. Thus, I have to think about transitioning out of direct patient care to management. I cannot make this transition without a BSN.

Back in 1990, my nursing instructor told me to go directly to a BSN program after I graduated from my LPN program. I graduated top in my class and loved my profession. I wish I had done as she had suggested.

Thanks for posting your question! Good luck to you, and keep looking forward!

Leslie

student forever · Dec 5, 2012

If you factor in all the financial variables (ADN versus BSN tuition cost, 2 extra years of earning RN salary rather than still being unlicensed during your junior & senior years in a traditional 4-year BSN program, being able to capitalize on a hospital paying your BSN bridge tuition), you stand to come out ahead by well over $100k if you pursue your ADN first.

Additionally, if you are at one place all those years, factor in the seniority, medical benefits, retirement accrued, etc along with these other factors...

the tortise and the hare...

fireywoods1988 · Jul 10, 2013

do you guys know of any lpn to rn programs?