From what I hear, it seems that many nursing program explicitly and implicitly teach different interpretations of the different kinds of nurses, worsening contentions between nurses.
For example, RNs may be taught that LPNs have a very limited scope of practice and limited education on physio, pathophys, etc, that RNs need to closely supervise the LPNs they are working with, and that LPNs weren't trained in critical thinking or the "whys" of nursing care. LPNs, on the other hands, may be taught that their role is almost identical to RNs, that their training is almost identical, and that they shouldn't let RNs dictate their practice. So when these two types of nurses start working together, they quickly step on each other's toes. RNs
BSNs may be taught that a BSN education is ADN education *plus* research, professional issues, and other mind-broadening bachelors' content, and that it's their responsibility to bring these other angles and broader views to their colleagues who may not have been exposed to these issues in depth. ADNs may be taught that academically the only difference between the programs is that BSNs take management classes, that meanwhile BSN programs don't prepare their students for clinical work. Again, when these two type of nurses start working together, misuderstandings and assumptions can easily cause problems.
It seems like those with less training/coursework requirements perpetuate the "we're just as good as them, if not better" ideas while those with more training/coursework requirements perpetuate the "our education should be the minimum requirement for (fill-in-the-blank) work." Such feelings and opinions are understandable, and different groups will always disagree, but the fact that many nursing programs actually perpetuate such strains between groups doesn't help.
The reality, however, is less than clear cut. LPN roles vary so much from facility to facility and state to state, that it can be unclear what the professional differences are between the two roles. ADN and BSN programs also vary a lot in content so that one can't make consistent comparisons between the two different types of programs.
So it seems that students are also taught in the politics of protecting and expanding one's professional turf (as LPNs, ADN-RNs, BSN-RNs), as opposed to clearly defining the legal and practical (day-to-day) definitions of one's professional practice.
