In my estimation there are many differences. When I used to ask this question, some would say "nothing really, just management stuff". Wow was I in for a learning curve in the BSN program.
I don't understand why there aren't real, substantive answers as to why it seems that more hospitals and nursing in general are moving to all BSN status as a minimum.
First, allow me to just say that there are some really GREAT ASNs out there. Their experience, caring and thoughtful nursing skill sets are invaluable. I know of quite a few myself whom I would have care for me or any of my loved ones, due to the fact I know they care and are extremely good at what they do. Secondly, the field of nursing is a great, well respected career path. Any degree in Nursing is indeed a good choice, but why not make a great choice? There are many career paths within the field of nursing and different areas of nursing one can follow or get into. The major two types are the ASN and the BSN. How does it differ from a nurse who has an associate degree in nursing? Are there any differences other than being in school a little longer? Is the pay different? Is it only for a "managers job?".
The associate degree nurse is commonly called the "associate of science in nursing" or ASN degree nurse. An associate degree nurse has commonly completed approximately two years of nursing school training. However before entering any nursing program the student must have completed the prerequisites in order to be accepted into that program. Many times this entails having completed one to two years of education in order to meet the requirements for nursing school. Many students finish much more quickly but not without, arguably, hard work and a lot of time and energy. The latter being true for nursing education in general. ASN nurses take courses in, most obviously, nursing. However, the curriculum includes many other facets of learning. ASNs take courses in psychology, nutrition, microbiology, chemistry, physiology as well as social and behavioral sciences. One thing all nursing schools and curriculums have in common are hours of supervised clinical experience. While the course is technically only two years long, many students, young and old alike say it's one of the toughest programs they have ever encountered.
The baccalaureate in nursing program adds to the educational development of the registered nurse by including several other aspects of nursing. Baccalaureate or commonly called "bachelor" nursing programs contain all of the course work taught in ASN and diploma programs plus a more in-depth treatment of the physical and social sciences, research in the field of nursing, public and community health, nursing management and supervising, as well as the humanities. The additional coursework can continue to enhance the nursing student's professional development It also prepares the new nurse for a broader scope of practice, and provides the nursing student, whether already an ASN or not with a better understanding of the economic, political, cultural, and social issues that affect a patient and influence health care delivery. Throughout the last decade, policymakers and nursing practice leaders have recognized that education makes a difference. One of the major differences is in the area of "people". That is to say, BSNs' learn more on how to deal with people and the dynamics of the people in the workplace as well as effective management and productivity of those people. Also, registered nurses with a BSN possess a substantial chance for advancing their careers. As an example, a bachelor's in nursing degree is needed for acceptance into a master's nursing program, which could result in a career in healthcare administration, health services, or on to specialty nursing roles like nurse anesthetist, nurse practitioner or clinical nurse leader. A BSN is also favored and frequently necessitated for military and public health nursing and other more specialized jobs.
Now, with that said. Education is a great way to become enlightened on even more nursing information and for creation of change in the profession. All one has to do is look up Linda Aiken, RN and the information from her years of research on nursing will enlighten and brighten ones' thoughts on this matter -of magnet hospitals and/or facilities. Dr. Aiken and colleagues found (in over a decade of research) that hospitals that employed a higher percentile of BSNs had lower surgical patient mortality rates than hospitals that staffed with fewer BSNs (Hanink, 2014). The study was done in 2003 and other studies are continuing even now. All point to a need in a BSN. The study in 2003 was done on 168 hospitals. In addition, hospitals with RNs holding a bachelor's degree or higher ranged from 0% to 77% across the hospitals. a 10% increase in the proportion of nurses holding a bachelor's degree was associated with a 5% decrease in both the likelihood of patients dying within 30 days of admission and the odds of failure to rescue (JAMA, 2003). I would strongly recommend that any and all nurses read Dr. Aikens' research paper on this. It can be found in the link below.
Everywhere nurses look, other professions are taking on additional responsibilities, given more credibility and even more respect (PTs, OTs, Pharmacists, RTs etc) while nurses are seen as the pill pushers, IV starters etc. We need to educate ourselves and be proactive in all areas of patient care. That would include management, and lobbying congress for better nurse ratios as well.
On a personal note, if you are someone in nursing school or are considering nursing. Consider going for the BSN. The ASN is good if you are considering working and THEN going for your BSN, however as most nurses will tell you. It's hard to stop then start again, and sometimes expensive. Just keep going. Don't stop.
I like to write as you can tell. So what do you think?
School did nothing more than provide the pieces of paper to the Board to cause me to be able to sit for the NCLEX, nothing more, nothing less.
At age 32 I would rather put a down payment on a nice home or go on a nice vacation but darn it i am going to have to shell out almost $10,000 for that piece of paper (BSN)
At age 32 I would rather put a down payment on a nice home or go on a nice vacation but darn it i am going to have to shell out almost $10,000 for that piece of paper (BSN)
$$$ i will never see again.
I am depressed
Which is why I'm glad I got my ADN and have zero debt from it. People can say what they want - but set yourself up right and you can have someone else oh for the BSN!
And what makes you think that associate degree nurses do not have those courses or skills. I have a full liberal arts education, for my first trip through the University, including the multiple literature, history, English, art and music classes. And far exceeded what was required for the BSN courses required.
Many associate degree nurses are second coursers and already have a college/university degree.
But thank you, for painting us as socially awkward, too poorly educated to speak and empathise with our patients, and unable to recognize our own learning, when we report that we are just learning the much same things over......and over....and over again, at 5 to 10 times the cost of the first time....and expected to be grateful for it. All to earn some initials after our name that validates to our employer that we are capable of doing the exact same work that we have been doing for years.
I never said nor thought that ADN's don't have those type of courses/skills or that they were socially awkward and poorly educated. I am simply giving another valid reason why hospitals may prefer BSN's, because they SHOULD have had courses that taught them to be more competent than the average joe at these skills. With ADN programs, it may be hit or miss as all schools are different and not all of them include these types of classes because they are not required to do so. BSN programs on the other hand are required to include them to get approved of educating students to have a Bachelor's in Science degree of Nursing, not a Bachelor's in some other field, not science or nursing. It's great that people have other degrees before completing an ADN program. Nothing wrong with that, but it isn't science.
And by insisting that ADN programs are more often than not as demanding and as long as BSN courses, why again did you opt for the ADN in the beginning? Of course older nurses may not have had a choice in the matter because ADN programs were all that was around, but that isn't the case for the newer nurses with ADN's.
Also, I think ADN's who have had some type of nursing career prior to hospitals hiring exclusively BSN's, should be able to opt for grandfathering in. Like you said, most nurses who have had their ADN for a couple of years know more than the new grad BSN. That isn't a secret and applies to everything. If a person has been doing something long enough, even without formal education, they are going to be more knowledgable about their job than someone who has never worked in that field.
But what I'm getting at is that I am not knocking your experience as an ADN in nursing and I'm actually on your side. However, a Bachelors degree in any field is looked upon as being more knowledgeable than an Associates on the basic level. Not even nursing experience per say, but you have more knowledge about real life situations, not just medical/nursing. If you can't agree with that then you might as well let any person who has not gone to school take the NCLEX and if they pass, they can be a nurse. After all, if they know just as much as any ADN or BSN about nursing, had education about nursing, what makes them not a nurse?
It would be to invalidate the extra learning it takes to get a Bachelors for everything to say that associate degrees are just as good. Obviously the world and hospitals, don't see it that way.
And by insisting that ADN programs are more often than not as demanding and as long as BSN courses, why again did you opt for the ADN in the beginning? Of course older nurses may not have had a choice in the matter because ADN programs were all that was around, but that isn't the case for the newer nurses with ADN's.
Perhaps it was the opportunity to get a comparable nursing education at a fraction of the cost of a BSN program ...
Do you use vocabulary like that in your real world speech?
Some people have good vocabularies. Is that some kind of crime now, to sound intelligent and well-read when you are? I'm merely a CNA and use words like that in everyday speech. Not all the time and not to show off that I can, but when appropriate.
Don't want to add fuel to the fire - but here is the Differentiated Essential Competencies for my state. Objective information about the actual curricular requirements for each type of program.
I'm going to use acrimonious and bombastic the next time I have a conversation with a nurse and see where it gets me in the discussion. Acrimonious and bombastic. Sounds like how my tummy feels when I have overindulged in some calorie-laden carbohydrates.
Funny, I was just going to suggest those as names for twins a friend of mine will be delivering in 2015! So far it looks like it's one boy, one girl, so....
I'm thinking Acrimonious for the girl, Bombastic for the boy. ?
Perhaps it was the opportunity to get a comparable nursing education at a fraction of the cost of a BSN program ...
I do understand that as well, however, it is known that hospitals are shifting to "only BSN need apply". So with the logic of saving money, how much are you really saving if you have to go back to get your BSN from an ADN? Suppose it takes 3 years for an ADN degree, perhaps more, then having to go back to school for your BSN for another year or two. You may be out of a job with an ADN because of the hospital choice to hire only BSN. This means that you are losing at least a year of wages by having to go to school for an extra year than straight BSN students because you could perhaps not get hired and on top of that you have to pay the extra two years of tuition to obtain your BSN.
I'm all for saving money but it doesn't seem as though doing ADN to BSN is saving a whole lot if you do not get hired as a ADN, which seems like a pretty big problem seeing as a lot of ADN graduates are having a hard time landing a job, thus the whole point of ADN's being upset because they are RN's who cannot get hired because they are without a BSN.
It is dumb, I agree, don't think I don't. It is not my choice to make ADN's go back, I'm just merely pointing out that with all the knowledge and history of ADN opportunities, what really are the benefits of choosing ADN over BSN?
At age 32 I would rather put a down payment on a nice home or go on a nice vacation but darn it i am going to have to shell out almost $10,000 for that piece of paper (BSN)
$$$ i will never see again.
I am depressed
smartnurse you would hate to hear how much money and time I have wasted on the education process throughout my lifetime in order to not reach my goal. I am the poster child for getting up and dusting oneself off only to be knocked down again while paying money for the privilege. I'm rapidly approaching retirement time and so, so depressed.
Funny, I was just going to suggest those as names for twins a friend of mine will be delivering in 2015! So far it looks like it's one boy, one girl, so....
I'm thinking Acrimonious for the girl, Bombastic for the boy. ?
This is just so unattractive. But I've been dealing with attitude like this since junior high, so you're not dishing out anything new or unique. Thankfully I've grown up enough to value the people who value me for who I am and tune out the unimportant feedback of others. Have fun looking down on people.
smartnurse1982
1,775 Posts
At age 32 I would rather put a down payment on a nice home or go on a nice vacation but darn it i am going to have to shell out almost $10,000 for that piece of paper (BSN)
$$$ i will never see again.
I am depressed