Lvn RN the same as BSN RN??

Nursing Students ADN/BSN

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This may be a silly question, but Is the scope of practice any different between a LVN-RN and a BSN-RN? Also, what is the purpose of going to school for the LVN, if the schooling doesn't include preparation for the RN role and you have to take a bridge program to become a LVN-RN? I am a BSN student and I've always wondered....

Specializes in critical care.
Where is the eyewash station ?

*sigh* whatevs. I'm fabulous. Although I could use some advice. I tried doing the drop twerk.

Basically, I twerked and I can't get up. Advice? What am I doing wrong?

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Specializes in critical care.

I've just been informed by my seven year old that I'm crazier than the first video I posted and compared to the second, she says we're "both on the same page, probably".

This is my signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine.

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Specializes in critical care.
But here's the difference: as an associate degree RN, it was personally easier for me to return to school to pursue the BSN degree now that I had a flexible work schedule, an income in the upper five figures, and no one around to spew negativity or plant the seeds of doubt.

When I was an 18-year-old with an inflexible minimum wage job, a weakened sense of self, and no parental support for attaining an education, pursuing a BSN degree would have been an uphill battle.

For me, I wouldn't have been able to get a BSN if I hadn't had the financial aid that having two kids and one household income got me. Life circumstances, local market needs, and ability to pay influence the decision between ADN and BSN completely, and it's why both remain available.

This is my signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine.

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Specializes in hospice.
I've just been informed by my seven year old that I'm crazier than the first video I posted and compared to the second, she says we're "both on the same page, probably".

This is my signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine.

Gosh I've missed you. Nice to see you back! :D

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Specializes in critical care.
Gosh I've missed you. Nice to see you back! :D

*blush* Why, thank you. :) A few weeks ago, I opened YouTube and there was a Thug Life video. Three weeks of clicking nonstop links later, I realized these people wouldn't stop calling me "mommy" and saying something about feeding them??????? Anyway, when my leg hair started to rival Gandalf's beard and I decided to braid it, I got this email saying Farawyn was sending a search and rescue crew for me. I figured I'd check in.

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It was starting to seem like no one really understood her question until now. I also took the long route due to finances, lack of support and lack of guidance. I came from a very small backwards town and the goals set out for me included marriage and kids. Luckily for me it was also a military town and it was my military friends that opened up the world of higher education. So I went from aide to LVN to ADN to BSN and added a variety of specializations to boot. Personal motivation, a good nursing instructor and the reason you went into nursing to begin with had usually demonstrated to me the type of nurse you were going to be. The route you took to get to that RN never seemed to have that much impact on the type of RN you turned out to be. Honestly, the longer route had more clinical time, required more dedication and usually was worked harder for hence more appreciated. I don't know if this supports my theory or not but I recently had a young BSN start our ICU internship. She admitted that she actually stripped to help pay bills through school. About six months later, I think less, she quit. She said nursing was too much work for not enough pay and returned to her former "profession" She was not a bad nurse, she simply told us she makes in one or two nights what we make in a week and she did not have to tolerate rude patients, bossy doctors and unsupportive coworkers. She said she went into nursing because she hears it paid well and wasn't that hard to do. I guess everyone has their story but my first question to my new intern will always be "so what made you pick nursing."

It has seldom let me down on what I had to work with.

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Not all of us can drop everything in our lives to pursue a BSN degree.

In 2004 I was a 23-year-old single female homeowner who worked a dead-end job at a paper products factory that paid $40,000 yearly. I wanted to switch to a more stable career, but had no prerequisite coursework completed, and I could not be out of school longer than one year.

I enrolled in a 12-month LVN program and had a new career in nursing about a year later. I have since earned an ASN degree, RN licensure, and BSN degree. Some of us must stairstep our way up the nursing career ladder due to circumstances, lack of support, or other issues that hindered our educational attainment in the past.

This is why it irritates me about the ASN being pushed aside for the BSN. There are people with limited resources in terms of time and money. There were lots of moms in their thirties, forty somethings who were finally pursuing their nursing dream (often after minimum wage or dead end jobs), and LPN's in my AAN program. As a recent high school grad, I was in the minority in our class. Our program took 3, not 2 years. The prereq's had to be done prior to entering the clinical portion. That extra year of time and money and courses at the 300/400 level with the cost of university tuition was prohibitive for many. It was a great struggle for many to complete the AA Nursing programs due to what went on in the rest of their lives.

I well aware of the IOM report and that the BSN is the way of the future. I just wonder what nursing will look like once it is the hard stop for the RN credential. I know it wasn't very diverse before. In the 1980's, when I entered the workforce, most nurses were white and female (I am too). Community colleges have traditionally served groups of students who may lacked the resources to attend universities. Many, many fine nurses have graduated from community college programs. Many have gone on to further education. Though the different levels of nursing have been a source of annoyance and confusion, they have also allowed for opportunities which may not be available in the future. We have so many people right now with huge college debt. As the commuter says, 4 years of full time study isn't possible for everyone. It is shame that we are pushing out the LPN and Associate degree RN's. . It makes me wonder if we will negatively impact diversity in nursing if we make the entry point something that it only those who are well resourced can attain. It isn't just about providing money for school. It is also about time constraints, convenience, and an atmosphere which supports non-traditional students.

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For me, I wouldn't have been able to get a BSN if I hadn't had the financial aid that having two kids and one household income got me. Life circumstances, local market needs, and ability to pay influence the decision between ADN and BSN completely, and it's why both remain available.

This is my signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine.

I cannot get any financial aid now because i make too much.

If i would have did it when i was 18 i would have had a full ride because i was very low income.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
I just wonder what nursing will look like once it is the hard stop for the RN credential. I know it wasn't very diverse before. In the 1980's, when I entered the workforce, most nurses were white and female (I am too). Community colleges have traditionally served groups of students who may lacked the resources to attend universities.
You brought up a salient, interesting point. I belong to a racial/ethnic minority (African-American) and never would have been able to enter nursing if it hadn't been for the presence of nontraditional educational pathways such as the LVN and ASN credentials.

I now have a BSN degree, but that was made possible due to an online RN-to-BSN completion program for nontraditional students.

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Specializes in critical care.
You brought up a salient, interesting point. I belong to a racial/ethnic minority (African-American) and never would have been able to enter nursing if it hadn't been for the presence of nontraditional educational pathways such as the LVN and ASN credentials.

I now have a BSN degree, but that was made possible due to an online RN-to-BSN completion program for nontraditional students.

My BSN cohort had one African American female and two Caucasian males. The other 50ish were white females. There is a somewhat nearby university that has a primarily African American student body, but no nursing program. Most of the non-white, non-female nursing students do go to community colleges or vocational schools. They are, however, usually not fresh out of high school, whereas the students fresh out of high schools tend to go to university. I strongly support encouraging higher degrees, but also hadn't thought about this part of the equation.

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