The Nursing School to Welfare Pipeline

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I am sure many people have heard of the social issue/ cause "school to prison pipeline" that many civic groups are trying to eradicate. I am here to draw attention to a similar related problem , the college to welfare pipeline.

Due to an intricate , intimate, and covert relationship between big government politicos, higher education, Bureau of Occupational affairs, and the Federal/ State Department of labor, we have a serious student debt problem in the nursing field that is only going to get worse. Nurses need to wake up and take note of the LPN to RN hoax, and the RN-BSN hoax. These are all well publicized , propaganda driven falsities that are crushing nurses into debt driven higher education requirements. These propaganda driven requirements brainwash nurses into believing that without the extra education, they will not be employed.

And to a certain degree, they are correct, but its important for nurses to see the pitfall, before taking the dive. There is little to no difference in responsibility or pay rate from LPN to RN, and most RNs are taking the lower wage, just to have a job. There is zero difference in job responsibility or pay from RN to BSN, but the dollars spent to get there are substantial. The RN to BSN pipeline is a grotesque narrative that is being sung, for the sole purpose of enriching nursing schools. The NCLEX exam is identical for RNs and BSNs, the scope of practice is identical, and so are all the pay rates. A staff nurse is a staff nurse, is a staff nurse, too.

So why go for your BSN? Its because the hospitals and other various 24/ 7 institutional care providers say so. They have all built a united wall against the ADN RN. We are becoming an extinct species, because no one will hire us. Is the BSN a job guarantee? Of course not. Is any higher education a job guarantee? Nope. Big government politicos want student debt to skyrocket , so that they can fly in and save everyone with free bailouts, loan forgiveness, and thousands of more votes on election day.

May the buyer beware, until that utopia comes to fruition. In the meantime, take a serious look inward into the pitfalls, tricks and traps of higher education in the nursing field. The powers that be want you to keep jumping hurdles , spending more and more money, hoping to get hired, and falling deeper and deeper into debt, during the process. The higher you jump, the more you spend, and the less you earn. For many nurses who fell for these schemes, the financial devastation has been both swift and severe.

Specializes in Corrections, neurology, dialysis.
55 minutes ago, klone said:

I was given a sign-on bonus as a new grad. This was in 2006. My husband was given a sign-on bonus AND relocation bonus as a new grad.

I was a new grad in 2008 and couldn’t find a job let alone a sign on bonus. Those must have evaporated quickly.

Specializes in Corrections, neurology, dialysis.

Oh boy is this a relevant topic. I got a travel position at a hospital that said they would hire me permanently if I got a BSN within 2 years. I did and they provided financial assistance. They encouraged me to get a master’s degree and it is the most worthless thing I’ve ever done. I would love to have those two years of my life and $18,000 back. They didn’t provide assistance for anything past a BSN.

Meanwhile I sacrificed a lot of quality family time and personal growth and got nothing in return. A couple of weeks ago I registered for a career fair at the local community college to try for an adjunct teaching position in the LVN program. They emailed me and said I shouldn’t bother to show up because I don’t qualify for anything.

Seriously. My masters degree does not even qualify me to work as an adjunct LVN instructor. I can’t get a job in a doctors office. I even applied for a job answering the phone.

Oh. I found an unpaid internship and was thinking that would lead somewhere. I showed up week after week in my days off and they never gave me anything to do. I just sat in on their care plan meetings and helped the volunteer coordinator make a scrapbook. Finally I said “call me when you have something for me to do”. I never heard from them again.

Let this be a warning to anyone considering more education. Don’t waste the time or money. The nice job where you get to sit down all day are obtained by knowing somebody.

Don't feel bad. I have a BS, and an MA in skill tranfserable industries , in addition to my ADN. I'm a 2nd career RN (was wiped out of the other career due to automation). Went into debt for nursing school, and never made enough money consistently to pay it off, so now Uncle Sam takes my refund each year, and at this rate, I will be paid off at age 102. I applied for a job at a Community College to teach CNA class, and I wasn't qualified. Then I applied for a secretarial position within the nursing department, and I was deemed unqualified for that too. I have been on countless interviews, offered the job, then ghosted, or just flat out ghosted with no feedback. I am looking to get back into my old field, 1st career which is seeming to be impossible. Nursing is dried up, and not worth it, unless you need no income to rely on.

Specializes in Pediatric Specialty RN.

I’ll be the dissenter here...where I live, diploma schools are still very much alive and well and graduates are doing great. I’m one of those later in life graduates who just graduated at age 47. No debt so you don’t have to ‘scream’ at my decision. This has been a lifelong goal. I have two other bachelors degrees but the time was right for me now.

I graduated in April with a 3.9 GPA, passed my NCLEX a week later and will start a job in june that I was hired for 6 months ago. Everyone I graduated with from the diploma program has jobs. I will start my MSN program in Sept (also no debt) and plan to eventually teach building on my previous career.

It probably depends where you live, but in my neck of the woods, diploma and ADN grads have absolutely no problem finding jobs. My education was well worth it.

2 minutes ago, Jenbripsu said:

I’ll be the dissenter here...where I live, diploma schools are still very much alive and well and graduates are doing great. I’m one of those later in life graduates who just graduated at age 47. No debt so you don’t have to ‘scream’ at my decision. This has been a lifelong goal. I have two other bachelors degrees but the time was right for me now.

I graduated in April with a 3.9 GPA, passed my NCLEX a week later and will start a job in june that I was hired for 6 months ago. Everyone I graduated with from the diploma program has jobs. I will start my MSN program in Sept (also no debt) and plan to eventually teach building on my previous career.

It probably depends where you live, but in my neck of the woods, diploma and ADN grads have absolutely no problem finding jobs. My education was well worth it.

Nice to see that you will be a brand new nurse working full time, and adjusting to an extremely physical and demanding career, while simultaneously be pursuing an MSN in addition to being a second career nurse at this stage in life. I'm not sure where your lair is, but I have not heard of any school, BSN , RN, or LPN, where the grads are employed upon graduation, unless they have a personal connection somewhere. I remember my 1st year in nursing. I was sick as a dog, because my system had to build the immunities up, to being exposed to bugs, viruses and infections every day. It was the most exhausting year of my life.

Specializes in Pediatric Specialty RN.
2 minutes ago, panurse9999 said:

Nice to see that you will be a brand new nurse working full time, and adjusting to an extremely physical and demanding career, while simultaneously be pursuing an MSN in addition to being a second career nurse at this stage in life. I'm not sure where your lair is, but I have not heard of any school, BSN , RN, or LPN, where the grads are employed upon graduation, unless they have a personal connection somewhere. I remember my 1st year in nursing. I was sick as a dog, because my system had to build the immunities up, to being exposed to bugs, viruses and infections every day. It was the most exhausting year of my life.

Why exactly do you seem annoyed by MY path? My education plan is mine to worry about but I’m glad you are happy for me. I was just sharing that it’s not all doom and gloom.

Come to Western PA....we all had jobs upon graduation. No contacts for me. Just a good gpa and hard work and a great interview. I was hired in December for an April graduation. In a specialty to boot....

4 minutes ago, Jenbripsu said:

Why exactly do you seem annoyed by MY path? My education plan is mine to worry about but I’m glad you are happy for me. I was just sharing that it’s not all doom and gloom.

Come to Western PA....we all had jobs upon graduation. No contacts for me. Just a good gpa and hard work and a great interview. I was hired in December for an April graduation. In a specialty to boot....

Um, sweetie, you have not even had your first day of work yet, and you are on here giving us all career advice. BTW, I used to live out in the Pittsburgh area...by far the most saturated area of the state, next to Philly. My friends live their, and I hear the stories of complete market saturation for nurses. So either you are a bot trying to silence the truth, or your a fluke. Good luck.

Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.
46 minutes ago, Natkat said:

Oh boy is this a relevant topic. I got a travel position at a hospital that said they would hire me permanently if I got a BSN within 2 years. I did and they provided financial assistance. They encouraged me to get a master’s degree and it is the most worthless thing I’ve ever done. I would love to have those two years of my life and $18,000 back. They didn’t provide assistance for anything past a BSN.

Meanwhile I sacrificed a lot of quality family time and personal growth and got nothing in return. A couple of weeks ago I registered for a career fair at the local community college to try for an adjunct teaching position in the LVN program. They emailed me and said I shouldn’t bother to show up because I don’t qualify for anything.

Seriously. My masters degree does not even qualify me to work as an adjunct LVN instructor. I can’t get a job in a doctors office. I even applied for a job answering the phone.

Oh. I found an unpaid internship and was thinking that would lead somewhere. I showed up week after week in my days off and they never gave me anything to do. I just sat in on their care plan meetings and helped the volunteer coordinator make a scrapbook. Finally I said “call me when you have something for me to do”. I never heard from them again.

Let this be a warning to anyone considering more education. Don’t waste the time or money. The nice job where you get to sit down all day are obtained by knowing somebody.

My master's degree opened many doors for me, allowing me to advance to a department manager, and then a director. Both positions, I moved to a different state, at a hospital I've never been to before, so it definitely wasn't due to nepotism or connections.

Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.
29 minutes ago, panurse9999 said:

Um, sweetie,

No need to be patronizing. In many areas of the country, there IS a nursing shortage, and ADN grads have no difficulties finding a job in an acute care hospital. I know, because I just moved from one such area. Your experiences are not everyone's, and I don't understand why you're getting snarky at people who have not encountered the obstacles you apparently did in your career.

We snatched up every new grad that applied to our hospital.

Specializes in Pediatric Specialty RN.
15 minutes ago, panurse9999 said:

Um, sweetie, you have not even had your first day of work yet, and you are on here giving us all career advice. BTW, I used to live out in the Pittsburgh area...by far the most saturated area of the state, next to Philly. My friends live their, and I hear the stories of complete market saturation for nurses. So either you are a bot trying to silence the truth, or your a fluke. Good luck.

I am not sure why you are acting like this...or so annoyed by any other experiences. I’m not giving you career advice, I’m giving you an example of where you don’t need the BSN to get a job. The post was about pushing higher education. I’m no bot, nor a fluke. And don’t call me sweetie. I’ve earned my education and my job. 78 of us graduated, a full 80% had jobs waiting. Be mad if you want(clearly), be bitter if you want (also clearly), but don’t call me a liar. I’ve lived here for 47 years. My mother was a Nurse here for 50 years. Your anecdotal “evidence” is lacking in facts. Also it’s “there”, not “their”.

Other places may be different, but in Pittsburgh, new grads find jobs quickly, even as ADN or Diploma. Those are the facts. I’m done engaging this nonsense. I gave information from my part of the country and you, who don’t live here, are telling me I’m lying. I can’t reason with nonsense.

Was the point of this thread to dissuade people from getting a BSN or from going into nursing at all?

Specializes in Psych, Corrections, Med-Surg, Ambulatory.
2 hours ago, Jenbripsu said:

It probably depends where you live, but in my neck of the woods, diploma and ADN grads have absolutely no problem finding jobs. My education was well worth it.

That's one of the points of this thread. ADN programs have not been eliminated. They're economical and their grads are still getting hired. Many nurses are finding that the push for ever more education is not paying off. People are complaining of enormous student loans that they'll barely pay off in their lifetime.

The takeaway for anyone considering an education, nursing or otherwise: how much of an investment will it require and what are the chances of recouping at some point?

And like it or not, the older you are when you start out, the fewer years you have to make your money back. Just something to factor in the decision-making process. And it is good to hear that people can make good careers for themselves at any age. And make a master's degree pay off. Nothing beats sensible planning.

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