So, I have been accepted into TCU's nursing program and into El centro college of nursing in Dallas tx. I am having a hard time deciding which route will be better for me. TCU has been the school of my choice since day 1, i believe that it is a very competitive school and i was accepted as a transfer student ( which is really hard to get in nowadays since they first take their own students). I will earn a BSN with them and it will open me a lot of other doors. What i am not really looking for is the high private tuition they carry ( 14,000 per semester) i really have my heart in to this school, but im scared of the debt. On the other side i also got into el centro's program which leads to a ADN and its much cheaper. I've been doing some research that will give me strong conclusions and will help me decide which way to go, since I don't have that much time and i came across a lot of articles stating how many hospitals where switching to a magnet status, where they no longer hire new ADN, this makes me wonder if really there is such a shortage of nurses how is it that they are switching to this new reform, i mean if the shortage is real, they would hire an ADN without experience and train them their way. This leads me to think.. How real is this information? will ADN nurses really have a tough time finding a job, and if so, should that make an impact in my college decision, because i don't want to have to spend 4 semester and be unemployed for a while , while i go back for my BSN, while in TCU in 5 semesters i can graduate with my BSN and have absolutely no problem. Tough decision, please help me with your suggestions and opinions! it is greatly appreciated!!!
Okay people NEWFLASH.... BSN programs and ADN programs are exactly the SAME! Yes it is true if you don't want to work as a floor nurse your whole career and want to be in a management position one day then yes by all means get your BSN. But if you think you get paid more for a BSN degree your WRONG because you don't, you get paid just as much as the person who got their ADN degree and spent less time in school, so by the time you actually finish your BSN program they already have at least 2 years more experience than you. I personally think that an ADN program is better because with this program you get more hands on training rather than book training. You get to start your career earlier and when you get out of school most likely you wont be in debt.
Oh and here's another thing "Magnet Status" DOES NOT MEAN THEY ONLY HIRE BSN's, do your research RIGHT before you sit here and tell people that it does. Magnet Status just means that they support nursing practice, and focuses on a professional nursing environment. Research people, research! I mean seriously you really scare people by saying things you have no idea what your talking about. Now these "Magnet Status" hospital have a BSN prefered on there jobs but that does NOT mean they dont hire ADN's. If you have the right education and a great resume then you will have absolutely no problem getting a job at one of these hospitals. Yes you may have to work at a different hospital before applying to these kinds but they will hire ADN's if your a good fit for the job. ADN's are just a good as nurses as a BSN. Oh and to the person who said that a ADN degree is like getting your high school diploma then your CRAZY. And you obviously have not been in this program or you would know just how hard this program is, if not harder than the BSN program because they cram EVERYTHING into a 2 year program instead of the 4 year program.
And FYI every hospital around here accept anyone who has their RN license. Because if you all didnt know by now no matter what college you graduate from, or which degree you get BSN or ADN... YOU TAKE THE SAME NCLEX!
Uh, yeah....the end result is the same- RN.....but the education is different. Check out the new grad forum where the topic of clinical experience is discussed- or the lack of theory..... (I graduated with an ADN in 1985) It is possible to get management positions without a BSN- it depends on where you live- and type of facility.
BSNs do have different classes- that's why it takes 4 years- not because they're on the "spa schedule"
No blanket statements about anything are generally true :)
To Akeos: Yes there is a nursing shortage. Especially in the area I live in. And on top of that the shortage is expected to INCREASE by 2015 and future years. Do some research. There just isnt enough people graduating each year to keep up with the demand of RN's.
To xtxrn: I didnt mean that the BSN program is a breeze. lol By all means I absolutely know it's extremely difficult as well. And the ADN program is mostly about hands on training so I understand the lack of theory they have just starting out in the work force. But if you look at it this way... Say person A enters the ADN program and person B enters the BSN program, two years later person A is graduated and is working at Hospital X. Two more years later person B graduates and starts at Hosptial X too. But during those two years person B was still in school, person A has learned that Theory and has 2 more years of hands on training with more experience and knowledge about actually working within a hospital and patient care than person B with the BSN degree who just graduated. Hands on training is more real than just reading about it in a book. Yes I know that BSN's do clinicals but they can only do certain things during those clinicals in those 4 years. And ADN's are already doing more and are out of school.
tproph00- why don't you post where you're from because there are thousands of nurses in America that are unemployed, do YOUR research! I live in Colorado and there are 20 nursing schools with Denver-metro area alone pumping out new grads 2-3 times a year. don't try to tell me there's not enough people graduating, you defiantly need to do more research, because I've obviously already done mine, thank you very much
okay people newflash.... bsn programs and adn programs are exactly the same! yes it is true if you don't want to work as a floor nurse your whole career and want to be in a management position one day then yes by all means get your bsn. but if you think you get paid more for a bsn degree your wrong because you don't, you get paid just as much as the person who got their adn degree and spent less time in school, so by the time you actually finish your bsn program they already have at least 2 years more experience than you. i personally think that an adn program is better because with this program you get more hands on training rather than book training. you get to start your career earlier and when you get out of school most likely you wont be in debt.
okay, if they are "exactly the same" as you stated above, then how would the adn program get "more hands on training rather than book training."
there are some great adn programs in my city. they had the exact same amount of clinical training as my bsn program did, no more, no less.
oh and to the person who said that a adn degree is like getting your high school diploma then your crazy. and you obviously have not been in this program or you would know just how hard this program is, if not harder than the bsn program because they cram everything into a 2 year program instead of the 4 year program.
and fyi every hospital around here accept anyone who has their rn license. because if you all didnt know by now no matter what college you graduate from, or which degree you get bsn or adn... you take the same nclex!
this is patently false. if the adn program crammed the exact same curriculum into two years, it would be a fast track bsn program, not an adn program. the reason it takes two more years to get a bsn is because they take many additional courses not offered in an adn program. they take the general courses that all bachelors degree candidates take, in addition to other nursing classes which are not offered in an adn program.
it is true that both adn grads and bsn grads both take the nclex and that you will find fabulous nurses and horrible nurses among both groups.
i don't know where you live, but it is a fact that in certain areas, they are not hiring adns and are requiring their current adn nurses to get their bsns within a certain time frame. in one large city in my state, it is becoming next to impossible to get a hospital job without having a bsn or at least being currently enrolled in a bsn program of some kind while working.
i think it's great that you have pride in yourself as an rn who came from an adn program. however, you have made some false assertions in this little rant of yours.
I actually had a conversation w/ someone who though that ADN's got a special 'dumbed down' NCLEX examination to do and that BSN's were the 'real nurses'
Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
this is patently false. if the adn program crammed the exact same curriculum into two years, it would be a fast track bsn program, not an adn program.
*** in most states (not mine) an adn takes about three years, not two. the exact same amount of time a bsn takes in new zealand or australia. yes when those nurses come here they have bsn, not adn.
the reason it takes two more years to get a bsn is because they take many additional courses not offered in an adn program. they take the general courses that all bachelors degree candidates take, in addition to other nursing classes which are not offered in an adn program.
*** certainly true in regard to general classes. maybe true in regard to nursing classes. there is tremendous variability among nursing programs.
it is true that both adn grads and bsn grads both take the nclex and that you will find fabulous nurses and horrible nurses among both groups.
*** true that.
i don't know where you live, but it is a fact that in certain areas, they are not hiring adns and are requiring their current adn nurses to get their bsns within a certain time frame. in one large city in my state, it is becoming next to impossible to get a hospital job without having a bsn or at least being currently enrolled in a bsn program of some kind while working.
*** yes true. fwiw i know of at least two large teaching hospitals that will not accept applications from new bsn grads for their critical care nurse residency program for sicu. they accept adns only. certainly not a trend. just wanted to point out there are a few exceptions.
a little story. a couple years ago i went to place picc line on a patient down on a surgical unit. there were a bunch of students there from a local catholic private college bsn nursing program. i asked the clinical instructor if any of her students wanted to observe. a couple of them wanted to and the instructor wanted to as well since she had never observed the modified seldinger technique we use. during the procedure the students were asking pertinent questions. one of them asked where i had gone to nursing school. i said one of the local community colleges. the instructor asked "so you don't have a bsn?". i said nope. she didn't say anything else but i later found she had spoken the the nurse manager of that unit, a friend of mine, a fellow adn nurse, and not my boss, and told her how inappropriate it was to have adn nurses doing independent nursing practice like placing picc lines and that in her opinion if we were going to have adn rns at all they should be confined to nursing homes and med-surg only!
suffice to say while her students are still welcome when i place picc lines, respond to a rapid response call, recovering an emergent open heart, responding to the trauma bay or am running a code, she isn't.
In my area, hospitals only hire ADN's if they have experience. New grads need the BSN to even get in the door. I do think, however, that some are still hiring new graduate ADNs - depends on the impression you make, who you know, how pushy you are to get the job, etc. Nothing is in concrete...yet!
If I had it to do again, I would get the BSN right up front. I think it is going to be necessary anyway, esp. in the future, so why not just get it over with? Now, as far as my personal feelings about the BSN, and whether or not it makes better nurses - NO! While more education can't hurt, it's just a whole lot more BULL, and more about making managers, etc. All the things most nurses DON'T want to do anyway. But, we gotta play "the man's" game, and it is better to have it than to not, especially as a new grad.
Another good point-We are a profession made up primarily of women but trying to play by men's rules. Our union president (male, not a nurse) suggested at a meeting, that we let the board members know what is going on at our small hospital by "leaving them a note" "not in your handwriting". Makes me wonder if that is how he communicates with management!
The push for "professionalism" is lacking a key ingredient. Education and experience count for so much but we must also have INTEGRITY.
Adding to the poster above, nursing needs to utilize the second career BA/Masters nurses who do have experience in dealing with corporate executives/administration as a part of their previous careers. I mean real experience, not just the degree, but years experience working those previous degrees/careers. But I've heard nursing management is often fearful of (us) for those very reasons. That's too bad for them as well, because clearly they have not the experience to be seen as businessmen/women in the eyes of their administration with just a nursing degree. You gotta have those who CAN do it working in the ranks.
Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
Adding to the poster above, nursing needs to utilize the second career BA/Masters nurses who do have experience in dealing with corporate executives/administration as a part of their previous careers. I mean real experience, not just the degree, but years experience working those previous degrees/careers. But I've heard nursing management is often fearful of (us) for those very reasons. That's too bad for them as well, because clearly they have not the experience to be seen as businessmen/women in the eyes of their administration with just a nursing degree. You gotta have those who CAN do it working in the ranks.
*** Wow nurse manager with real experience and training in management and administration! What a great idea. I have continued to be shocked at the lack of professionalism and management skill among the nurse managers and administrators I have experienced since becoming an RN.
Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
Magnet will indeed require that hospitals will have a BSN rate of 80% by 2020. So yes, Magnet is indeed related to hospitals not wanting to hire ADN grads.
Magnet will indeed require that hospitals will have a BSN rate of 80% by 2020. So yes, Magnet is indeed related to hospitals not wanting to hire ADN grads.
I don't believe they have officially announced that ... but it is a goal that many nursing leaders are working towards. It wouldn't surprise me if that standard comes to pass, but we need to be careful about clarify what is definite policy/required and what is simply being discussed as a long-term goal.
xtxrn, ASN, RN
4,267 Posts
Uh, yeah....the end result is the same- RN.....but the education is different. Check out the new grad forum where the topic of clinical experience is discussed- or the lack of theory..... (I graduated with an ADN in 1985) It is possible to get management positions without a BSN- it depends on where you live- and type of facility.
BSNs do have different classes- that's why it takes 4 years- not because they're on the "spa schedule"
No blanket statements about anything are generally true :)