"Don't waste your time getting your BSN..."

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People are always trying to tell me that I am going to waste my time by not stopping after getting my ASN. They say that getting your BSN just gets you management positions and that it does not pay more. I am going for my masters so I can be a CNM, so I have to have my BSN anyway but, how could it be true that a person with a BSN gets the same as a person with a ASN? (Aside from the fact that working in different dept can make a difference)

Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
Why don't you just do a RN to MSN program? Takes same amount of time and you get to your goal quicker. I have a diploma with MANY years of experience and I am unable to move upward because I don't have "BSN" after my name. I am looking into a local university program here and I just want to cut through the crap and get to my goal. Good Luck!!!

I love how people say "why don't you just do this". Like it's that simple, no big deal, etc.

I'm out of here.

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Specializes in PeriOp, ICU, PICU, NICU.

education is never wasted!-need not say more :rolleyes: do what you have to do to get where you want to be. to many an adn is not where they'd like to stop to some it is (either way it is fine, and it should be what you want). forget what others say and about the entire battle of the degrees, stop wasting useful energy. end of post :p

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an ADN is Associate Degree in Nursing which is a two year program to become an RN.

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Specializes in Oncology/Haemetology/HIV.
an ADN is Associate Degree in Nursing which is a two year program to become an RN.

Actually, in most places, it is a three year program.

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Ok let me put my 2 cents in here.

As far as ASN/BSN both degrees usually take 4 years to finish. Two years of pre-reqs and 2 years of nursing classes. The only difference I see in the programs is BSN students have to take a foreign language, art classes, music classes, history classes and more electives. There is not hardly ANY difference in the nursing portion of the program. There is possibly a bit more focus on management and research in a BSN program.

I am in in the process of taking my prereqs for an ASN program. I would love to transfer from my CC to a University and get my BSN but the only reason I am considering it is because when I'm 50 or 60 I may not be able to handle bedside nursing anymore and BSN is prefered if not required for everything else. I have no desire to go into management, Adm etc... at this time. But I may somewhere down the road.

Its to bad that we(nurses in general) all spend so much time and money on our education and still believe that so and so is better than me because they have this degree and I don't.

I most likely will stick to an ASN program right now and go for a BSN or MSN program later, because honestly I just flat out don't want to take all the extra general edu classes at this time. It would probably take me atleast 2 more semesters to finish all the language and history classes. I have no desire to ever learn another language and lets just say history and world civ are not much of a intrest to me either.

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I believe that 2 years is a Master's degree, however.

This was in reference to P.A. programs. Believe it or not, there are still a few associate degree programs out there,(tho a bach, or "near bach degree is required for admission) some bach., most have moved to masters level. All sit for the same exam for lisc., according to published info, pass rate is much higher (first time) for the higher ed. programs. (at least the last I reviewed, a few yrs ago.)

However, the entire profession is moving to standardize to a master's level for education - in order for the PA profession to enhance its image and keep up w/ the times (more sophisticated medical field, etc.). I applaud their ability to "raise the bar" for their profession. Also, the students attending the programs are far different than the original PA students - originally the program was for those leaving the military w/ extensive medical experience. Today's PA students are often new grads (BA/BS) w/ a minimum of medical experience (varies school to school for requirements.) So, the profession is changing w/ the times.

I wanted to attend PA school for yrs, but did not want to put all the time into the prereqs, then school, for another bach degree. The year I learned the local PA school upgraded to a master's, I started working on prereqs. (In all fairness, was looking at career options, and was orig considering master's in ed. to teach. But then realized local PA program changed, and prereqs to teach science/math would have been about the same for PA prereqs - so opted to fulfill longtime dream.)

After attending for a semester, decided this was not what I wanted, so decided to go the nursing route - and am so happy I did! How I want to work in the medical field is more in line w/ the nursing philosophy.

So, here I am, working on another bach degree - but then I will have the option to further my education as time permits.

SJ

sorry for typos, grammer errors - fighting hugh headache.

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Specializes in Med-Surg.
Ok let me put my 2 cents in here.

As far as ASN/BSN both degrees usually take 4 years to finish. Two years of pre-reqs and 2 years of nursing classes. The only difference I see in the programs is BSN students have to take a foreign language, art classes, music classes, history classes and more electives. There is not hardly ANY difference in the nursing portion of the program. There is possibly a bit more focus on management and research in a BSN program.

I am in in the process of taking my prereqs for an ASN program. I would love to transfer from my CC to a University and get my BSN but the only reason I am considering it is because when I'm 50 or 60 I may not be able to handle bedside nursing anymore and BSN is prefered if not required for everything else. I have no desire to go into management, Adm etc... at this time. But I may somewhere down the road.

Its to bad that we(nurses in general) all spend so much time and money on our education and still believe that so and so is better than me because they have this degree and I don't.

I most likely will stick to an ASN program right now and go for a BSN or MSN program later, because honestly I just flat out don't want to take all the extra general edu classes at this time. It would probably take me atleast 2 more semesters to finish all the language and history classes. I have no desire to ever learn another language and lets just say history and world civ are not much of a intrest to me either.

Not all people have to take two years of pre-reqs. Especially those who have high school level chemistry, biology, and algerbra and test well on entrance exams. I could have done my ADN program in two years had I chose. It's interesting though that with the advent of long waiting lists the ADN program has added a year of pre-reqs to turn the degree into a three year program instead of the two it originally was intended to be.

Besides the two years that include liberal arts courses the difference in the BSN program here and ADN program is a separate course in community health, a more in-depth course in pharmacology, a separate course in pathophysiology, leadership, etc.

To say there isn't much difference in the degrees other than a few liberal arts coures is a bit misleading. However, it may be different where you are and if it were me, I'd bite the bullet for two semesters and get the BSN if it truly is only a matter of a few liberal arts courses.

The core nursing courses that prepare you for the beside and NCLEX are the same however.

Please don't get me wrong. I'm an ADN graduate and I believe ADN schools to be tough, rigorous, thorough and that they produce top notch nurses ready for the bedside the same as a BSN program does. I'm only saying BSN programs and ADN programs are not the same here in this area.

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Not all people have to take two years of pre-reqs. Especially those who have high school level chemistry, biology, and algerbra and test well on entrance exams. I could have done my ADN program in two years had I chose. It's interesting though that with the advent of long waiting lists the ADN program has added a year of pre-reqs to turn the degree into a three year program instead of the two it originally was intended to be.

Besides the two years that include liberal arts courses the difference in the BSN program here and ADN program is a separate course in community health, a more in-depth course in pharmacology, a separate course in pathophysiology, leadership, etc.

To say there isn't much difference in the degrees other than a few liberal arts coures is a bit misleading. However, it may be different where you are and if it were me, I'd bite the bullet for two semesters and get the BSN if it truly is only a matter of a few liberal arts courses.

The core nursing courses that prepare you for the beside and NCLEX are the same however.

I completely agree! Our local cc, w/ a 2 yr waitlist for the nursing program, only requires 3 prereqs, no pharmacology, 2 hours patho and basic chem.

Even the (local) four yr programs differ in what is required to graduate for a BSN, w/ one almost identical to the cc program except for the liberal arts courses (but it has to be THEIR liberal arts courses). The other has higher math and science requirements, plus nursing theory.

All have equivalent clinical time.

All in all, they prepare us for the boards, tho.

SJ

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Would someone tell me what ADN is?

associate degree in nursing your RN without the bachlor degree

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...anyone who tells me that ANY education is a waste of time needs to take a good hard look in the mirror. You do what your heart tells you to do and that's all you need to listen to! :rolleyes:

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
...anyone who tells me that ANY education is a waste of time needs to take a good hard look in the mirror. You do what your heart tells you to do and that's all you need to listen to! :rolleyes:

Most reasonable advice i've read on this subject ever.

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Specializes in ICU, PICC Nurse, Nursing Supervisor.

you can go to school untill your teeth and hair fall out and that does not guarentee you will be a good competent nurse. diploma nurse are some of the best nurses i have ever seen. the diploma programs in my state are at least 3 years and sometimes longer. the difference is they are trained in the hospital on the floor, clinical generally outweighs theory. i wanted to be a diploma nurse for the experience ,but could not make the drive. my second choice was a adn program but the competition was way to stiff. i got into a very respectable bsn program and i am glad i got in somewhere. however, i am not sure i would have applied to the bsn program if i didn'thave my lvn skills to back me up. now i know that the scope of practice is diferent in all that blah blah, but i have ran into to many bsn grads that scare the hell out of me. like the bsn student that walked up to my teacher (who was a known icu nurse ) and ask her.. no kidding..."i have this ampule ,now after i break the lid off how do i keep the patient from cutting his lip"... i'll tell you what i personally think (if the teachers and resources where present) ... flame if you want.... i think everyone wanting to be a nurse should have to climb the ladder, cna,lvn,diploma or adn then bsn. if a bsn was the minimum degree there still no guarentee of respect as a whole. just think if all nurses were bsn's (min requir) your either going to be respected or not respected as a whole. most of the bsn nurses i know call me to hook up oxygen... you dont want that senerio universal, you will never get the respect you say the bsn's deserve. if i was in the hospital and had a choice between an diploma nurse\adn or a bsn, it's the diploma nurse/adn hands down. now , having said all that i hope all this makes sense because i am so very tired.

let me first start out by saying i am an asn rn plannining on going onto at least my bsn. my feeling is that if we want to be taken seriously as a profession, a bsn should be the entry level. all other professionals recieve 4 year degrees. by only requiring 2 years or worse dimploma nurses- we are lumped into all the other technical fields- mechanics, electricians, hairdressers. not to knock anyone at all...but, we are medical professionals who take people's lives into our hands everyday and i would personally feel better if all nurses had 4 years of college. you need four years to be a teacher, an accountant, or a biologist...why not nurse? i know this is a huge debate with many contributing factors- the nursing shortage, the lack of nursing intructors, ect...but i wanted to open it up to debate! i think this requirement would earn us more respect and maybe more wage. i know my program lacked some basic science, health promotion and maintainance, assessment and pharmacology classes that would have better prepared me as a nurse. my whole class felt lacking in pharmacology and demanded the class be added only to be told there was no room in our 2 year program. this is just one school, but; i'm sure there are others out there with the same problem. what ever you decide...education is never a waste of time and money!
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