RN-BSN bridge vs straight BSN, is it the same education?

Nurses General Nursing

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It seems to me that RN-BSN bridge programs are primarily focused on interpersonal and managerial skills along with some history and theory and whatever gen ed classes the student needs. That has always made sense to me. However, the more I dig into college websites, specifically general information about the school's nursing department, their course lists and course descriptions, it seems that straight BSN has more than an associates RN plus an RN-BSN bridge. Is this so?

Or if not "more", than different. Straight BSN courses seems to put much more time into basic topics like assessment and pathophysiology than RN courses and less time into managerial skills than bridge programs. Is this so?

Specializes in adult ICU.
i did mountains of research prior to picking texas tech and never run into a program that did not require me to have ridiculous amounts of liberal arts ...am i missing something here

i don't think so. this might not be true for all schools and areas, but in the public university system in my state, there is a core liberal arts curriculum that needs to be fulfilled for anyone to graduate with any ba/bs degree including nursing. there is also a minimum credit requirement for a ba/bs, including nursing. i think most public universities operate this way. i can't speak for private or online programs, however. the nursing curricula at my former school was also exactly the same as the lpn-bsn students and the absn students (they took more of the basic nursing courses required for boards, obviously. there is no straight bsn program at my old former school.) we all came out with exactly the same amount and type of bsn coursework.

i think the big difference is with online rn-bsn programs that don't have health assessment (because an online program can't run a lab component online) and any clinical coursework in public health (because an online program can't do clinicals.) these schools i feel short their bsn students, but it usually isn't in the liberal arts, it's in the core bsn curriculum.

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txspadequeen: "am i missing something here" yes and no.

yes, the rn-bsn requires the same liberal arts credits that the bsn does (at the schools i'm looking at).

no, that is not what i'm asking about. i'm asking about the nursing classes only.

the community college has these nursing classes:

fundamentals, 9 credits

adult, 9 credits

childbearing family, 5 credits

children, 5 credits

care management, 9 credits

the state university has these nursing classes in their bsn program:

intro to nursing, 2 credits

drug calculations, 1 credit

issues of aging, 2 credits

fundamentals, 6 credits

health assessment, 3 credits

law and ethics, 2 credits

patho, 3 credits

pharm, 3 credits

adult, 3 credits

childbearing family, 4 credits

children, 4 credits

mental health, 4 credits

adult, 5 credits

community health, 4 credits

critical and emergent care, 5 credits

managing in complex health systems, 5 credits

clinical internship, 5 credits

the same state university has these nursing classes in their rn-bsn program:

patho, 3

health assessment, 3

tools for personal effectiveness, 6 credits

tools for interpersonal effectiveness, 6 credits

effectiveness in human health, 6 credits

effectiveness in complex health systems, 6 credits

clinicals, 5 credits

if i add the community college rn to the state universty rn-bsn, would i get the same nursing education as going for the bsn in the first place?

i know the community college incorporates drug calculations, assessment, pharm, and so on into their classes. i'm sure the bsn classes incorporate tools for personal and interpersonal effectiveness into their classes even if they don't have a specific class for them. the paths still seem to end up in different places. i think if i were interested in climbing the management ladder, the bridge program would suit better. if i were interested in bedside care, the bsn would be better than the rn-bsn bridge.

i've looked at several community colleges and several universities but put only two here for clarity. it seems to be a pattern in all the combinations, not just these two.

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thank you, everyone, for the excellent input so far. i agree both paths are good choices, each has advantages and disadvantages. and either could be better depending on the individual.

kcochrane, i wasn't sure if your questions were just for me to think about or if you meant for me to answer them here.

do you want the "college" experience? no.

do you need to get in the workforce quicker? no. either will take me two and a half years. the bsn would cost three times as much in dollars and about twice as much in time committment (due to more credits per term and a longer commute). i am able to do that if makes enough difference in the long run.

how long are wait lists and what is the job situation in your area? no waitlists for any of the colleges i'm looking at. the nursing jobs have been drying up over the last two years but there are still some.

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thank you, everyone, for the excellent input so far. i agree both paths are good choices, each has advantages and disadvantages. and either could be better depending on the individual.

kcochrane, i wasn't sure if your questions were just for me to think about or if you meant for me to answer them here.

do you want the "college" experience? no.

do you need to get in the workforce quicker? no. either will take me two and a half years. the bsn would cost three times as much in dollars and about twice as much in time committment (due to more credits per term and a longer commute). i am able to do that if makes enough difference in the long run.

how long are wait lists and what is the job situation in your area? no waitlists for any of the colleges i'm looking at. the nursing jobs have been drying up over the last two years but there are still some.

thanks...i see from your posts after that the concern if you are getting the same "nursing" education with both. it is probably hard to compare. like someone else mentioned, i think they are assuming some experience from already being in the workforce. one of the requirements is that i am working before i can get in to the program. i think you will be happy with either route - good luck whatever you decide to do. :)

forgot to add: as far as bedside nursing ready. it just really depends on the program. the local community college here has a far better reputation for their students being ready to fly on the floor than the 4 year colleges.

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I looked heavily into the difference between the offered BSN program in my area vs the communtiy college RN program and then RN-BSN at the university. The main difference was, at the time, the only nearby uni offering BSN also had a teaching hospital, which in my min obviously offers a better learning experience. However, I couldn't justify the money difference between the two. Overall, the education is about the same, and when I go the RN-to-BSN track I'll end up taking most of the same classes, save for a few basic englishes and maths that I've already taken with my RN classes.

I don't agree that they aren't comparable. I find them to be very comparable. If you have to choose one over the other, you have to compare them. I spent quite a while doing that before I made my choice. I personally found that the MAJOR differences (teaching hospital asside) were lifestyle choices and budget.

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@ Saysfaa - I graduated from an ADN program this past May 2010 and am in the process of applying to a RN-BSN program that starts January 2011. I am halfway through my 18 week ICU residency/internship at a major hospital in my city. Many of my co-workers as well as my preceptor have completed their RN-BSN. Every single one of them stated that they did not feel any different or "better" nurses after finishing their RN-BSN program and how it was just a "bunch of paperwork." Many of my co-workers have completed the RN-BSN because it is a stepping stone to get the MSN of their choice.

In your post above you felt that you would be missing something if you were to go the ADN & RN-BSN route rather than just the BSN program. You cannot simply compare to the two routes based on the nomenclature/naming of the classes & number of courses you have to take because of the design of the program. ADN programs typically are of integrated design. An integrated-design program in which both classroom and clinical content are organized around a series of concepts that progress from simple to complex issues. So in each semester, we're learning about OB, geriatric, pediatric, nutrition, etc all at once.

In a traditional BSN program, they have a blocked semester design. In a blocked nursing curriculum, learning experiences are divided by content area such as Care of Children and Families and Adult Health. So like in one semester, you're either learning about Geriatric patients or OB patients for example.

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Specializes in rehab, med-surg, critical care, telemetr.

This really depends on the college and state. A lot of BSN programs only have two years pre-reqs and two years school.

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Im just wondering if anyone can help me out with this...im just trying to figure out whether or not its really going to make a difference in getting a job as a new grad with an ADN vs a BSN..

I have a B.S in Health Administration and will also have an ADN from a 2 year community college. I have looked into RN-BSN completion programs because i have been hearing SOOO MUCH about hospitals only hiring BSN's. In my case...WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?! I have completed enough coursework to get a bachelors degree in a health care related degree, and will have a license as an RN. I will have had 6 years of education...do you think this will really effect me? I looked into an RN-BSN program from the University I got my bachelors from and I literally will have FOUR classes to take to get a BSN. Do you think in my case this is really going to increase my chances of employment? Any input/explanations would be greatly appreciated:) thanks!

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