"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 1 day correctional and military nursing.

crabs in a bucket always try to pull each other to the bottom

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You are smart starting your education now, I am looking into a program That will

goright from RN ADN to an MSN in 3.5 years and I can do it online. I will betalking to them this coming Monday.:redpinkhe

Getting a Masters in Nursing online???

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I think it also depends on how much time you want to invest, everyone is different. Where I live BSN nurses make more than ADN nurses. Some hospitals in NYC will not take nurses unless they have a BSN.

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ADN is Associate Degree in Nursing; with that being said the difference between ADN vs BSN is that the BSN graduated nurse will have full clinical rotations in Adult Med-Surg, PEDs/OB, Mental Health Nursing, Community Nursing, and Nursing Management; Nursing Research and the clinical component will be comprised of working one on one with a preceptor to help the student transition into a nursing role. The ADN will have these classes combined in a semester; basically like cliff notes towards a registered nursing degree and they will not have the research, community, and management component. It is the same amount of time to either the ADN or BSN, most ADN programs want the core out of the way before they even consider the applicant entrance into the program.

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Specializes in Surgical/Ortho.

Associates degree in Nursing

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ADN is Associate Degree in Nursing; with that being said the difference between ADN vs BSN is that the BSN graduated nurse will have full clinical rotations in Adult Med-Surg, PEDs/OB, Mental Health Nursing, Community Nursing, and Nursing Management; Nursing Research and the clinical component will be comprised of working one on one with a preceptor to help the student transition into a nursing role. The ADN will have these classes combined in a semester; basically like cliff notes towards a registered nursing degree and they will not have the research, community, and management component. It is the same amount of time to either the ADN or BSN, most ADN programs want the core out of the way before they even consider the applicant entrance into the program.

I don't know where you are getting your information from, but my ADN program had full clinical rotations in the areas mentioned above except for the management and research components. We had more clinical hours than a number of the BSN programs in our area. We did not have these clinicals combined in one semester and they were hardly comparable to CliffsNotes (the correct spelling of the brand name).

ADN and BSN programs do not automatically translate into the same amount of time.

The advantage in going the ADN route is that it can be done on a part-time basis, making it a more flexible and realistic option for those who have to juggle families, jobs, and other responsibilities. For many students, the full-time four-year push is not a practical choice. If it were the only way to become a nurse, more than half of today's nurses would not have entered the field, including many BSN's who started out as ADNs.

The nice thing is that many ADN schools have worked with four-year institutions to make sure that the credits will transfer and the programs are compatible and will allow the ADN grad to continue toward a BSN if she chooses.

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my plan and decision has become that if the ADN is cheaper and faster, do that then get the BSN or MSN while working as a RN and let the hospital you work for pay for it.

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Most hospitals pay more for a RN with a Bachelors, at least the hospitals that I know of, not much, but a little more. Achieving a Bachelors of Science in nursing is not a waste of time, it is more education to make you a better nurse. More education is never a waste of time. You can go into many other fields besides management, such as education positions in a hospital or college, or work at a pharmaceutical company. Plus, you can achieve a masters in many different fields, and be fortunate enough not to work in a hospital when you become old, tired and cranky.

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Specializes in Management, Emergency, Psych, Med Surg.

As I see it, the advantage to having an advanced degree is if your career plans lean toward teaching or management. Most management positions (head nurse or above) require a minimum of a BSN. If you are interested in director or upper management positions, a Masters degree will be preferred or required. JCAHO requires that nurses in the position of chief nursing officer have at least a Masters or be working toward one. My BSN allowed me to have management positions that I would not have ordinarily have been qualified for. In my time, in the BSN program we have a management course/rotation during our last year of school.

By the way, an ADN is an Associate Degree in Nursing.

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Specializes in Emergency.
ADN is Associate Degree in Nursing; with that being said the difference between ADN vs BSN is that the BSN graduated nurse will have full clinical rotations in Adult Med-Surg, PEDs/OB, Mental Health Nursing, Community Nursing, and Nursing Management; Nursing Research and the clinical component will be comprised of working one on one with a preceptor to help the student transition into a nursing role. The ADN will have these classes combined in a semester; basically like cliff notes towards a registered nursing degree and they will not have the research, community, and management component. It is the same amount of time to either the ADN or BSN, most ADN programs want the core out of the way before they even consider the applicant entrance into the program.

Hmmm, I have a "mere" diploma and we had full clinical rotations (7-12 weeks each) in adult med-surg, peds (including PICU & NICU), OB (including L&D), ICU, mental health (secured unit) and the ER ("only" 2 weeks). We also did a shift or 2 (day in the life kind of thing) in hospice, burn unit & PACU. We also had a preceptor for 1:1 preparation on the student to working RN transistion.

So, we'll have to agree to disagree on the difference in clinical experience between the different degrees....

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Specializes in Med-Surg.
Hmmm, I have a "mere" diploma and we had full clinical rotations (7-12 weeks each) in adult med-surg, peds (including PICU & NICU), OB (including L&D), ICU, mental health (secured unit) and the ER ("only" 2 weeks). We also did a shift or 2 (day in the life kind of thing) in hospice, burn unit & PACU. We also had a preceptor for 1:1 preparation on the student to working RN transistion.

So, we'll have to agree to disagree on the difference in clinical experience between the different degrees....

The post you quoted was primarily speaking of ADN vs. BSN and I didn't see mention of Diploma. Many people don't know Diploma programs exists, but those who do know very well that with that extra year of clinicals Diploma grads get the most clinicals of all, and they rock as new grads because of that.

Around here there are no diploma programs and for the most part, the required clinical times for the ADNs is the same as the BSNs, without some of the community health clinicals that BSN nurses get. The management clinical is a bit different as the ADNs spend time with a charge nurse, and the BSNs spend time with a manager.

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Specializes in Emergency.
The post you quoted was primarily speaking of ADN vs. BSN and I didn't see mention of Diploma. Many people don't know Diploma programs exists, but those who do know very well that with that extra year of clinicals Diploma grads get the most clinicals of all, and they rock as new grads because of that.

Around here there are no diploma programs and for the most part, the required clinical times for the ADNs is the same as the BSNs, without some of the community health clinicals that BSN nurses get. The management clinical is a bit different as the ADNs spend time with a charge nurse, and the BSNs spend time with a manager.

Ahh, diploma programs, the red-headed stepchildren of nursing. And you are correct sir, no mention of diploma programs, I just couldn't help butting into the conversation. :twocents: :chuckle

Yeah, our management portion of clinical was with the charge nurse, not the nurse manager. But that was OK cause I'm much happier tactically than administratively.

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