Should you put RN or BSN after name on resume?

[FLancaster11]

Hi, I am new to allnurses and have a question about resumes. I am trying to apply to a graduate nurse residency program and one of their requirements is that you get your RN by the time you start their program. I have graduated with a BSN and have passed boards making me an RN. (SO relieved!:)) I am wondering which title is the most important to list after my name on my resume? I want them to know that I have my license (hoping this will make me a attractive candidate for the program) but that I am also a BSN as they prefer that degree. I was thinking that I would put RN and then assume they will get the BSN info from my education section.....but wasn't sure! Any ideas? I would appreciate your thoughts!

[TheSquire, DNP, APRN, NP]

llltapp said:

I and most everyone I know do RN, BSN Not sure that is correct ?

I'm very sure - nursing likes to live in ignorance of the rules of precedence for post-nominal letters, but they do exist. My thought is that since most nurses in the US still come from ADN programs and then go on to higher degrees in nursing, they think that they should just tack their letters on in the order they are earned. This is a by-product of nursing as a Profession™ having a low academic bar for entry.

[CT Pixie, BSN, RN]

List your degrees starting with the highest first, followed by titles (RN etc) and that by your certifications.

"How do I use these credentials?

When you are signing your name, you should follow it with the credentials that can least be taken away from you, in descending order, with awards or honors last. Your highest academic degree should be placed immediately after your name, before the professional designation and certification credentials.

If you hold more than one certification the first one earned should be the first one listed. They should be listed in the order in which you received them."

http://www.napnap.org/PNPResources/Practice/PracticeFAQ/ListingCredentials.aspx

[PsychNurseWannaBe, BSN, RN]

That just looks weird to me. BSN,RN... I'm trying to think how my name tag reads. It's either RN, BSN, WCC or RN, WCC, BSN... either way I am wrong according to the article. But when I sign, I don't put the BSN.

[TheSquire, DNP, APRN, NP]

PsychNurseWannaBe said:

But when I sign, I don't put the BSN.

Correct - when you sign on the floor, you're signing on the authority of the RN and nothing else. When you're pulling out all the stops and listing everything you can, the order of precedence is BSN, RN. You just think it's weird 'cos so many in nursing don't know/understand the rules.

[Reese0608]

great thread..I am getting ready to prepare my resume & this helps!

[Gingerbell, BSN, RN]

WOW, this entire thread was extremely helpful to me as well! Thanks to the OP for posting it!

~GB

[Buckaroo93]

What if you have a degree other than BSN?

What about [name], BBA, RN?

Or [name], BBA, ADN, RN?

[swiftshelley]

what if you have multiple degrees? i double majored, had a career, then returned to school for a career into nursing (bsn).

bachelor ofscience, economics

bachelor ofscience, international business, concentration in asia

bachelor of science, nursing

which should i included????

[TheSquire, DNP, APRN, NP]

...if you have a degree, you shouldn't be able to have more than one of that type. (i.e. you can have a BA and a BS but not two BS's) You could conceivably have a BS and BSN, and list yourself as "switschelley, BS, BSN, RN" but that looks a bit weird.

Additionally, if you have both a Masters and Bachelors of the same type (i.e. a BS and an MS) only the highest degree is listed...unless you're being super pretentious and listing the schools at which they were earned, in which case they are listed in ascending order.

[TheSquire, DNP, APRN, NP]

Buckaroo93 said:

What if you have a degree other than BSN?

What about [name], BBA, RN?

Or [name], BBA, ADN, RN?

Associates degrees generally aren't listed, so it would be BBA, RN.

[elkpark]

swiftshelley said:

what if you have multiple degrees? I double majored, had a career, then returned to school for a career into nursing (BSN).

bachelor of science, economics

bachelor of science, international business, concentration in asia

I realize this was posted quite a while ago. However --

In healthcare, it is customary to only list degrees directly related to your healthcare discipline/role. As a nurse, it doesn't really matter that you have degrees in economics or international business; the only one that matters is the BSN, so that is the only one you would use with your name (Still Nancy Nurse, BSN, RN). (Of course, you would include all of your degrees in the education section of your CV/resume'.)

[Black Bird]

The correct way is "Nursie Nurse BSN, RN, CCRN". You will see it written the other way "RN, BSN" all the time, this is not correct and frankly it drives me NUTS. Read any scholarly article and its "Smart Nurse MSN, RN, CCRN". I once saw a girl with "Jane Doe, RN, CCRN, BSN, MHI" and all I could think was "this girl went to grad school and she still doesn't know how to write her own name".