I just graduated in may from high school and i am going into nursing, however i am undecided if i want to get an associates or bachelors in nursing. i know that the salary is pretty much the same. My senior year of high school i attended college full time (post secondary) i took a lot of core classes for the nursing program (Anatomy I & II, statistics, multiple soc and psych classes, all my english). My gps is a 3.8. i thought i had it all planned out. i was going to go to a 4 year program (it would only take me three years to get a bsn). they changed the program up and now i have to take a Hesi a2 test which i am freaking out about it because if i do not do well then i may not get into the program, hence i would waste money and time! and then another one to get out of the program! i am not well with those kinds of tests, but im sure i would pass if i studied. im a little nervous about all these important tests! here are my reasons for wanting to do both...and cons
assosicates
pros:
close to home i could stay at home (save money)
a lot cheaper!!!
my boyfriend of three years will be here (he is in his final year of a bachelors for engineering)
my little brother is my world and i would miss him!
cons:
all my friends are going away
i can't stand to live in this boring town!!
bachelors:
pros:
take only three years if i get accepted
meet new people.
be away from home
could build off of an bachelors if i wanted
cons:
possibly losing my boyfriend
lots of money to pay back
i feel like i would be stressed more, i would have to find a job and get an apartment.
my future plans is i want to work 3-4 days a week, possibly only weekends, at a children's hospital, away from this town!!
can anyone see what the better choice for me would be? im freaking out! school starts in a few months i cannot decide and both sound like okay choices! thank you for any advice
As far as this WHOLE thread goes, WHY the ripping on ADN so much lately??
Mustlovepoodles, you have 34 years of experience, so you went to school quite some time ago, yes? You are saying you were told that employers were moving towards requiring BSN's THEN?
Perhaps some areas of the country are different, but in a hospital here, NO, a BSN is not required. For some higher level positions (like management), yes, it is, but that's always been that way. In other words, this has been talked about FOREVER.
I was 21 with an ADN and it in NO way relegated me to only being able to work in a nursing home. In fact, at that time, I got a 4k signing bonus from the hospital.
OP, I'm not saying you shouldn't go the BSN route. What sticks out to me, though, is the part about having to find a place and get a job if you. Would school be full time? Because in order to pay rent and other bills to support yourself, you'd have to work a good amount. I worked 32 hours a week and went about 3/4 time to school. I also was able to split the rent with my then-fiance. If I had needed to keep up a place to live on my own, it would have been extremely difficult. Don't put yourself in a position of having too much on your plate; that's setting yourself up to fail.
:smackingf Did you even read my post? I'm not hating on ADNs. I *am* one! When I graduated in 1977, most of the nurses I worked with had a diploma from the local hospital's nursing school. There were not a lot of us ADNs at that time and it was considered rather forward thinking because we had some college under our hats(diploma schools did not give any sort of college credit.) Some of the bigger universities had BSN programs, but for a girl like me who came from a poor, rural family, those programs were prohibitively expensive. I have worked over 25 years in pediatrics and *that* is what gets my foot in the door, not my degree.
I have a BS in elementary education too, but of course, that's not the same as a BSN. If i were in my 20s, or advising someone in their early college years, I would go for the BSN. It's relatively easily available now and in many communities it is the minimum requirement for hiring. When a hospital wants to hire new grads they have their pick of AAAAALLLLL the grads that just graduated. Those with a BSN often go to the head of the pack, simply because that is how the recruiters separate it out. It's no offense to ADN grads. It's strictly business. I daresay, if you want to work for a professional organization you would run into the same thing, a preference for the bachelors degree over a certificate or 2yr degree. If I were graduating now, when it's so hard for nurses to get good positions, i would be doing everything possible to make myself as marketable as i could.
Specializes in Critical Care & Medical-Surgical floor.
I am an ADN RN. If I had to do it again, at this moment, I would get a BSN instead. It just gives you more options. Yes, you can always go back to school and get your BSN later, if you decide to go the ADN route, however it is difficult to go back to school because life constantly changes, marriage, kids, other obligations. There are so many opportunities in nursing and as you get older you may want to change your career toward management, education ect. Get your BSN while you're young and your obligations are limited. It will empower you in this difficult job market and later in life it can only be an asset while job hunting.
i cannot decide and both sound like okay choices! thank you for any advice
mustlovepoodles, RN
1,041 Posts
:smackingf Did you even read my post? I'm not hating on ADNs. I *am* one! When I graduated in 1977, most of the nurses I worked with had a diploma from the local hospital's nursing school. There were not a lot of us ADNs at that time and it was considered rather forward thinking because we had some college under our hats(diploma schools did not give any sort of college credit.) Some of the bigger universities had BSN programs, but for a girl like me who came from a poor, rural family, those programs were prohibitively expensive. I have worked over 25 years in pediatrics and *that* is what gets my foot in the door, not my degree.
I have a BS in elementary education too, but of course, that's not the same as a BSN. If i were in my 20s, or advising someone in their early college years, I would go for the BSN. It's relatively easily available now and in many communities it is the minimum requirement for hiring. When a hospital wants to hire new grads they have their pick of AAAAALLLLL the grads that just graduated. Those with a BSN often go to the head of the pack, simply because that is how the recruiters separate it out. It's no offense to ADN grads. It's strictly business. I daresay, if you want to work for a professional organization you would run into the same thing, a preference for the bachelors degree over a certificate or 2yr degree. If I were graduating now, when it's so hard for nurses to get good positions, i would be doing everything possible to make myself as marketable as i could.