Questions about nursing.

[mcfox]

Hi, i am going to be a junior in college this fall and i really want to be a nurse that just works in the hospital on the floors with sick patients. Would an RN be what i need? I'm not so famillar with the degrees so sorry if i sound a little slow, haha. What more can you do with a BSN? Thanks.

[westieluv]

You would want to be an RN, because for the most part, LPNs have been phased out of hospital nursing. If you can get your BSN so much the better, because more and more hospitals are showing a preference for BSN nurses, although I can see this relaxing a bit as the enormous baby boomer generation continues to age and develop geriatric issues and the need for bedside nurses grows exponentially.

If you ever want to leave bedside nursing and get into management, a BSN would help you there too, because those positions almost always require a BSN.

I don't personally have my BSN. I graduated 23 years ago with an RN diploma and accrued about 80 credit hours towards a BSN when I was younger, but anymore, I am content to just work out my remaining years in nursing doing hands on nursing (I would HATE to be in any kind of a management role!) and have no problem with job opportunities, due to my many years of experience. I get phone calls, emails, and postcards pretty much weekly from travel nursing agencies, local agencies, a national hemodialysis company, etc. expressing an interest in hiring me. If the day ever comes that I need my BSN to find work, I would probably finish it, but right now I am doing fine without it.

Hope this helps!