NY and NJ to become BSN only?

RunnerNurse09, BSN, RN · Feb 26, 2010

I have heard of this before, and I think it is a good idea. I just got my RN(ADN), and just applied to a BSN program. As the article states, nursing is pretty much the only profession that doesnt require a BS as entry level. It should. They are already phasing out LPN's in my area, and I really think they need to stop enrollment into LPN schools. I started out as an LPN, although my plan was to get my RN from the beginning. In LPN school they told us that we would be able to get jobs anywhere, even in hospitals. I was he** bent against working in LTC. Guess where I had to work as an LPN? LTC, because no hospital was hiring LPN's.

Bottom line, experience does matter, but so does education.

emtb2rn, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Feb 26, 2010

There is an entire forum dedicated to this topic.

Don't expect this to pass. It's been intermittently proposed every few years for a long time.

I have mixed feelings on the subject. While I believe in education, I have a BS in another field as well as 20 years of managent experience. What does a BSN do for me?

RunnerNurse09, BSN, RN · Feb 27, 2010

There is an entire forum dedicated to this topic.
Don't expect this to pass. It's been intermittently proposed every few years for a long time.
I have mixed feelings on the subject. While I believe in education, I have a BS in another field as well as 20 years of managent experience. What does a BSN do for me?

At the very least, it will help improve your assessment skills(BSN programs have assessment/pathophysiology courses) as well as pharmacology courses. Nursing management differs at least somewhat from other management, I'm sure.

lee1 · Mar 9, 2010

the bill did NOT go to the legislature. So no time soon is my guess.

elkpark · Mar 9, 2010

At the very least, it will help improve your assessment skills(BSN programs have assessment/pathophysiology courses) as well as pharmacology courses.

Guess what? ADN programs have assessment, pathophys, and pharm courses, too. BSN completion programs, for ADN and diploma RNs, do not have any additional clinical nursing content beyond what folks already learned in their ADN or diploma program. They have management/leadership and public/community health nursing content, some intro to statistics & research content, and maybe some other "frills" that vary from school to school. It's highly unlikely that a BSN completion program has ever improved anyone's assessment skills (the program I attended certainly didn't do anything to make me a better nurse -- just enabled me to be able to apply for grad school).

At any given moment, some state or another is talking about doing something like this, but it never gets beyond talk. The only state in the US that has ever made the BSN mandatory for licensure is North Dakota (quite a few years ago), and they rescinded the requirement several years later after it proved unworkable. Whether some of us are happy about it or not, the ADN-prepared RN is the backbone of American healthcare; the majority of US RNs are ADN-prepared and never pursue any further formal education; and that's not going to change any time soon. The healthcare employers don't see any need for it, and the community college systems have a lot of clout with state legislatures.

RunnerNurse09, BSN, RN · Mar 9, 2010

Guess what? ADN programs have assessment, pathophys, and pharm courses, too. BSN completion programs, for ADN and diploma RNs, do not have any additional clinical nursing content beyond what folks already learned in their ADN or diploma program. They have management/leadership and public/community health nursing content, some intro to statistics & research content, and maybe some other "frills" that vary from school to school. It's highly unlikely that a BSN completion program has ever improved anyone's assessment skills (the program I attended certainly didn't do anything to make me a better nurse -- just enabled me to be able to apply for grad school).
At any given moment, some state or another is talking about doing something like this, but it never gets beyond talk. The only state in the US that has ever made the BSN mandatory for licensure is North Dakota (quite a few years ago), and they rescinded the requirement several years later after it proved unworkable. Whether some of us are happy about it or not, the ADN-prepared RN is the backbone of American healthcare; the majority of US RNs are ADN-prepared and never pursue any further formal education; and that's not going to change any time soon. The healthcare employers don't see any need for it, and the community college systems have a lot of clout with state legislatures.

BSN programs that I have applied for and researched do have assessment courses, as well as pathophysiology courses. I really dont know how these couldnt help.

To each their own.

SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN · Mar 9, 2010

Good luck with that. Here in rural NY we can't find nurses, period, be they LPNs or RNs.

Rednights · Mar 9, 2010

Good luck with that. Here in rural NY we can't find nurses, period, be they LPNs or RNs.

My brain just exploded .. wait what?

SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN · Mar 9, 2010

My brain just exploded .. wait what?

What? We have a nursing shortage here.

Edede · Mar 10, 2010

What? We have a nursing shortage here.

Where? would they hire new grads? willing and able and dark?

elkpark · Mar 10, 2010

BSN programs that I have applied for and researched do have assessment courses, as well as pathophysiology courses. I really dont know how these couldnt help.
To each their own.

BSN completion programs for people who are already licensed RNs?? I've been in and out of nursing education for some 15 years, and that's the first time I've ever heard of that. I would be interested in knowing what schools those are.