Like you, I have been a nurse for a long time and also like you, my employer mandated that all staff RNs attain their BSNs within five years. I did it, graduating at age 50 and when all was said and done, I had spent about $25,000 out of pocket for an online RN-BSN program, not to mention the many hours of study and frustration. Although I graduated with honors from a well respected program, I went right back to doing the same job I had done pre-BSN for all these years and for the exact same pay. Yes, perhaps a BSN may someday open up a career opportunity that I wouldn't have had otherwise, but my experience has been that many hospitals' compensation for this additional credential is negligible. Lastly, I honestly feel like my BSN added very little to my clinical practice; no new skill sets, no real 'must have' information, just a lot of fluff and filler that I could have just read on the side. It's also just laughable to me that the content of those many Blackboard posts and papers didn't matter at all as long as perfect APA formatting was used-unbelievable!
