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!

Specializes in Medical-Surgical/Float Pool/Stepdown.
There is a difference. While it's not a huge difference, BSN programs prepare nurses to be managers of care. ADN programs DO NOT go too far in-depth on role development of the nurse or quality improvement; and yes, quality improvement can positively affect patient care. I am not saying associate level nurses are inferior, because they're not. But there is a difference.

The issue with your post happens to be the huge difference between each schools curriculum and focus, not with which degree will be the end result. Hence, it's really not the degree, it's the school...my ASN did clinicals and a specific class for both resource nurse and management, including clinicals with a CNO! We also had quality improvement EBP assignments that tied into the statistics class we had to take for gen eds. I had zero clinical in the entirety of my bridge to BSN (very reputable brick and mortar school). Plenty of APA papers on it though!

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Specializes in SICU, trauma, neuro.
In my ADN program we were strongly taught ebp. We were also taught to know why we were doing an intervention, no just because the doctor ordered one.

Oh yes, our instructors failed students for not knowing why! They were crystal clear that "just following orders" a la mililtary is never acceptable. It's that patient's life and it's our license.

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Specializes in HH, Peds, Rehab, Clinical.

Wow. One of the most I don't even know how to say it without the TOS violation PTB reigning down upon my head. Wow.

The ADN works in a nursing home, and the BSN works in acute care.
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Wow. One of the most I don't even know how to say it without the TOS violation PTB reigning down upon my head. Wow.

I'm going to give Not A Hat Person the benefit of the doubt and assume they meant to say "where I live, ADNs work in nursing homes and BSNs in hospitals". Or that they were just being facetious.

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Specializes in Mental Health Nursing.

This was written so beautifully:

The fact that passing rates for the NCLEX-RN©, the national licensing exam for RNs, are essentially the same for all three types of graduates is not proof that there are no differences among graduates. The NCLEX-RN© is a multiple-choice test that measures the minimum technical competency for safe entry into basic nursing practice. Passing rates should be high across all programs preparing new nurses. This exam does not test for differences between graduates of different entry-level programs. The NCLEX-RN© is only one indicator of competency, and it does not measure performance over time or test for all of the knowledge and skills developed through a BSN program.

Rosseter, R. J. (2014). The Impact of Education on Nursing Practice. Retrieved 4/24/15 from http://www.aacn.nche.edu/media-relations/EdImpact.pdf

Those who claim ADN and BSN nurses are the same, please read this website to enlighten yourselves.

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This was written so beautifully:

Rosseter, R. J. (2014). The Impact of Education on Nursing Practice. Retrieved 4/24/15 from http://www.aacn.nche.edu/media-relations/EdImpact.pdf

Those who claim ADN and BSN nurses are the same, please read this website to enlighten yourselves.

I'm sure the website says many wonderful things about how superior BSN education is to ADN education. It is written by the professional group that represents BSN programs. What would you expect them to say?

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Specializes in Mental Health Nursing.
I'm sure the website says many wonderful things about how superior BSN education is to ADN education. It is written by the professional group that represents BSN programs. What would you expect them to say?

So whenever evidence is presented, it's biased? This topic has been researched. There may not be much, but the research is. The "But we take the same NCLEX" argument has never been a solid one. And your argument isn't solid either.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.

I don't mean to like newboy's post. :rolleyes:

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So whenever evidence is presented, it's biased? This topic has been researched. There may not be much, but the research is there and it demonstrates that BSN nurses perform better clinically than ADN nurses. The "But we take the same NCLEX" argument has never been a solid one. And your argument isn't solid either.

I didn't make an "argument," I just pointed out that the website content you linked is provided by the organization that advocates for BSN education in nursing. Are you suggesting that the AACN is unbiased on this issue? I'm aware of the research, and I'm aware of the criticisms of that research. I don't really have strong feelings one way or the other on this question.

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This was written so beautifully:

Rosseter, R. J. (2014). The Impact of Education on Nursing Practice. Retrieved 4/24/15 from http://www.aacn.nche.edu/media-relations/EdImpact.pdf

Those who claim ADN and BSN nurses are the same, please read this website to enlighten yourselves.

Countries around the world are moving to create a more highly educated nursing workforce. Canada,Sweden, Portugal, Brazil, Iceland, Korea, Greece and the Philippines are just some of the countriesthat require a four-year undergraduate degree to practice as a registered nurse.

I cut and pasted the above excerpt from the article because I wish to point out that while this is true, what this article fails to mention is that in most of these countries, the model for nursing care heavily utilizes what we would call "technical nurses" in their nursing care models. In Canada, LPNs are used far more extensively in acute care than they are in the USA. In most of Europe, their equivalent of our BSN RN preside over teams of "auxiliary nurses" who provide the lions share of bedside nursing care. In Australia, the equivalent of LPN is the "Enrolled Nurse", and these ENs are used extensively in acute care at the bedside, with RNs functioning in a largely supervisory role.

Yes, in most countries, the educational requirement for the actual designation of "registered nurse" has become a four year degree. But this does not necessarily mean that the amount of care patients receive from such degreed individuals has increased, or is higher than currently in the U.S. Whenever the minimum educational requirement for RN becomes a BSN (or equivalent), hospitals eventually adjust by relinquishing duties formerly provided solely by nurses to unlicensed personnel (think: the increased role of "techs" in the US), or by increasing the scope of practice of lesser educated "basic nurses" (think: the expanded scope of LPNs in Canada after the BSN-only became law there).

In other words, what I am trying to say, is that making the BSN the sole entry to practice may not have the results its supporters intend. It may just push the RN role further away from bedside care, and fill the vacuum with unlicensed techs and/or with some sort of practical nurse equivalent.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
So whenever evidence is presented, it's biased? This topic has been researched. There may not be much, but the research is there and it demonstrates that BSN nurses perform better clinically than ADN nurses. The "But we take the same NCLEX" argument has never been a solid one. And your argument isn't solid either.

But how many of those nurses were former ADNs or diploma nurses or LPNs for that matter?

My hope is that someday I can quantify how novice to expert helps with outcomes, and how that correlates to whether that started before during or after obtaining a BSN...If someone can help me run a study like that, that would be a rather interesting study... :cool:

I know for me, that obtaining a BSN did help; however I was an LPN in a state with a broad scope with minimal differences and had worked in facilities that allowed for said broad scope; the transition still was like a novice; however, my previous experience and methodology along with my additional experience probably produce better outcomes-but is it from the application of additional coursework, experience or both?

If could very much be the latter.

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I don't mean to like newboy's post. :rolleyes:

You can click 'unlike' whenever you accidentally 'like' a post.

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