Newbie

You need to research the area where you are in. What do the hospice's hire? I am doing an ADN program right now. I am getting a divorce and will have enough money to get me through the next few years while I go to school and get my associate's. Then I will get a job at a hospital in my town because they still hire ADN's. I live in a rural area about 45 minutes from the big city. My ultimate goal is to work in pediatric oncology at a large children's hospital in the city. You need a BSN to work there so I will get my BSN online while working as an ADN. Those are my career goals.

That is GREAT that you are volunteering in the specialty that you want to go into. It will look good on your resume. I would ask some of the nurses who work for the place that you volunteer for. And like Heather said, research it. :)

I could very well be wrong, but my instinct is that a hospice would almost prefer to hire someone that doesn't have a BSN. Reason: people with more expensive education expect more expensive wages, and places like hospices, nursing homes, and other types of homes don't have big budgets.

My personal opinion would be to do the two year program and work for a while and then get the bachelors if you find it would be useful. You will probably want it eventually, but that work experience as a nurse will be invaluable as well. BSNs become more common in leadership positions, which of course you need experience for anyway.

A good friend of my family is a nurse and the director of a hospice company. She told me that in order to become a hospice nurse, for her company at least, they require 2 years' experience in an acute care setting, minimum. Depending on your area, this could likely mean a BSN requirement.

Go ahead and call your local hospice companies first and ask them what they prefer. If you plan on being a hospice nurse for the rest of your career (which is an incredible calling) and the local hospice companies don't really have a preference, go with the two year program and get to work! But if you know you'll want to eventually move up the ranks, you'll need the BSN in order to reach your MSN and DNP, should you choose to go that far.

There's a lot of job satisfaction to be had as an ADN. However, the possibilities for career advancement and salary increases are dependant on education, which all starts with the BSN.