Nursing care of ADN vs BSN

Nursing Students ADN/BSN

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Hi everyone! This is my first post and I have question I need help with. I am currently obtaining my BSN, however, have been working as a home care nurse and don't have a lot of experience with the following scenario. Your experiences are greatly appreciated!

Identify a patient care situation in which you describe how nursing care or approaches to decision-making may differ based upon the educational preparation of the nurse (BSN versus a diploma or ADN degree).

Thanks much!

Very much appreciated, thank you! I am currently an RN and have just started classes to obtain my BSN.

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Last I checked I was an ADN working in acute care. Some people on this board are weirdos.

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Specializes in Oncology/Haemetology/HIV.

Bluntly, their degree has little to nothing to do with their decision making ability - their intelligence and critical thinking ability does. And that has little to nothing to do with their degree.

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Specializes in Neuro ICU and Med Surg.
Last I checked I was an ADN working in acute care. Some people on this board are weirdos.

I agree. I'm an ADN going for my BSN and working in acute care. I am a rapid response nurse.

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Specializes in Oncology/Haemetology/HIV.
The ADN works in a nursing home, and the BSN works in acute care.

I never realized Johns Hopkins Hospital and the Clinical Center at the National Institutes of Health, were nursing homes. And to think that I had surgery in a nursing home.

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Specializes in Medical Oncology, Alzheimer/dementia.

The response that an "ADN works in a nursing home and a BSN works in acute care" is a prime example why students should not expect to get correct responses to their homework questions on a message board.

OP, I remember this same type of question in one of my first classes in my RN-BSN program. It wasn't just a question either, it resulted in a 5 page paper.

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Specializes in SICU, trauma, neuro.
I never realized Johns Hopkins Hospital and the Clinical Center at the National Institutes of Health, were nursing homes. And to think that I had surgery in a nursing home.

And my level 1 trauma patients have been getting their critical care in a nursing home. ;) Hopefully that previous answer was not a serious one...sometimes sarcasm is used and doesn't translate to text very well.

Honestly, the only difference I can think of in care delivery is the BSN RN might apply more theory (I figure that's too vague to have done your homework. If you choose to use it, you'll have to do plenty of research and thinking to explain more and make it an acceptable answer.) I'm a couple of weeks from finishing my BSN, and that's really the only difference I can tell. But really, I've never been able to tell an ADN RN from a BSN RN in practice. I haven't changed my practice at all; my school has one favorite nursing theory, and it's very impractical for the critical care setting. It's helped me understand families' reactions a bit better is all, not that I was clueless about why families act the way they do before taking that class. Both RNs have the same nursing classes, same core nursing knowledge, same types of clinicals, same licensing exam, need the same critical thinking skills., etc.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
Thank you for responding. I am not looking for anyone to "do" my homework. I just have no personal experience with this. Being a home care nurse, I work alone and have to make my own decisions most of the time. I was just hoping to get some insight from those of you who know more than I do and work with a range of educated nurses on a daily basis. I've done my research on this topic, but we all know real life is different than what the books and articles say. :) It would seem to me that most of the difference comes from experience and having a deeper understanding of theory. Time will tell. Again, thank you for your response.

What has your research said?

Because in real life, both an ADN and a BSN nurse with experience, have the same critical thinking and at least some form of mastery level set, if they succeeded in moving from novice nurse to experienced/expert, at least in my experience and what I have learned-Google Patricia Benner for more info. :yes:

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The ADN works in a nursing home, and the BSN works in acute care.

I hope you're being sarcastic.

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I agree with you! It's a shame we're not all united in our front. :) Here's a link to share some of the statistics: American Association of Colleges of Nursing | Creating a More Highly Qualified Nursing Workforce.

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I agree with you! It's a shame we're not all united in our front. :) Here's a link to share some of the statistics: American Association of Colleges of Nursing | Creating a More Highly Qualified Nursing Workforce.

Which front should we be united on? Hmm, you joined yesterday. Right around the same time that Pitt2Philly was being blasted on another post for linking similar "statistics." As an ADN(presumably) home care nurse, what is your opinion?

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You asked what my research said...I provided a link. What does my joining this forum yesterday have to do with any of this? Our united front is that we're all nurses. It's a shame this continues to be a heated/debated topic. I agreed with you..."Because in real life, both an ADN and a BSN nurse with experience, have the same critical thinking and at least some form of mastery level set, if they succeeded in moving from novice nurse to experienced/expert".

The OP was to gain insight, not to provoke.

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