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 NICU/Mother-Baby/Peds/Mgmt.

Part of the problem (imo) is that people aren't willing to move for a job. My father moved 3 times for jobs (twice transfer in the company, once a new job) and I was in the military and did the same. My last preceptor moved from FL to Houston because nurses weren't paid much where she was and she had school loans. If you aren't willing/able to move from a place where there's too many nurses to a place where they're hiring all the time, whose fault is it?

10 Votes
Specializes in Neonatal Nursing.
2 hours ago, Elaine M said:

Part of the problem (imo) is that people aren't willing to move for a job. My father moved 3 times for jobs (twice transfer in the company, once a new job) and I was in the military and did the same. My last preceptor moved from FL to Houston because nurses weren't paid much where she was and she had school loans. If you aren't willing/able to move from a place where there's too many nurses to a place where they're hiring all the time, whose fault is it?

I was actually surprised nobody mentioned moving/relocating sooner. There are obviously many factors that will influence a person's employment and ability to relocate, but we have to look at the situation and make a decision based on what's available to us. If you can relocate to get a better paying position or better quality of life, then do it. If you cannot relocate, then adapt and overcome.

Here in Florida, there doesn't appear to be a shortage of RN opportunities at hospitals and although they advertise that they prefer applicants with a BSN, they do hire ADNs. Some hospitals also offer sign-on bonuses for two-year commitments. Now, is a BSN the best option for everyone from the get go? No, obviously not. It is going to depend on your individual situation. However, if you can manage to advance your education without taking on massive debt and you want to, then do it. Why not try to advance our profession by raising the standard of education? Why not try to open a few more doors for yourself?

I know many of the hospitals here offer tuition reimbursement. It doesn't cover 100% of tuition (especially for grad programs), but something is better than nothing.

Of course there are programs out there that will try to take advantage of the push for BSNs. But that type of predatory behavior is not exclusive to nursing.

And is the education system flawed? Absolutely. But I feel that is a societal issue. Not just a nursing issue. There are plenty of people out there who have gone to college, paid butt loads of money or taken on massive debt, got their Bachelors in various fields of study, and still work minimum wage jobs. I think there needs to be a shift in how society views and approaches education. But that is a completely different topic.

At the end of the day, you have to do what you feel is best for you (and your family). And if you don't like the situation you're in, then do something about it.

That's my 2 cents.

5 Votes
Specializes in Critical Care.
16 hours ago, panurse9999 said:

That's the point of the article. There is no prize. I have 3 degrees and do not want or need more. Its just more debt. If I caved into the demands of the workforce demanding a new education for every single job available, I'd be a full time student, in a never ending array of higher education classes and certifications. That is what they want. This is why you need a license in PA to braid hair. Not joking.

So I'm curious what are you doing now to pay the bills? I thought you said you received interviews and offers and then were ghosted. If you got that far into the process I think something else besides the lack of a BSN is holding you back. Do you think you are having issues with bad references from past employers or even your own personal references? I've heard others mention there is a way to pay a third party company to check references on yourself, but I don't know what company that is. Does anybody know?

I agree that it makes no financial sense to go back to school when you already have a job with your present ADN degree. But it sounds like you and others are being held hostage to get your BSN or be fired. If my back was against the wall and I had to get my BSN I would go for the cheapest, quickest route such as . My understanding though is you need to be actually working in the nursing field to go thru .

I understand your frustration and agree that in many cases education is too expensive and overblown. The American dream that everyone should get a bachelors and then we would all be able to get good paying jobs and have a great life is a myth. The reality is 50% of college grads are working in jobs that don't require a degree.

The real problem is the lack of good paying jobs out there and the government's idea to increase job opportunity by pushing a college education which is only increasing student loan debt and competition for the few remaining decent paying jobs in this country. So many jobs have been outsourced to third world countries. This is why there is a push for welfare to nurse programs or job retraining into nursing because this is a job that can't be outsourced, but hospitals, etc are finding a workaround with medical assistants and techs to replace nurses and hire cheaper workers in their place.

I think we need to change the system to encourage technical training including small business creation training, mandatory personal finance classes in high school and college, and restore bankruptcy options for student loan debt.

I wish you the best and hope you are able to find a job soon.

1 Votes
8 hours ago, Elaine M said:

Part of the problem (imo) is that people aren't willing to move for a job. My father moved 3 times for jobs (twice transfer in the company, once a new job) and I was in the military and did the same. My last preceptor moved from FL to Houston because nurses weren't paid much where she was and she had school loans. If you aren't willing/able to move from a place where there's too many nurses to a place where they're hiring all the time, whose fault is it?

If we had sanity in the portability of nursing licenses from State to State, I would agree. We don't. I passed a national NCLEX exam. My license should be good anywhere. But it is not. I have to apply for reciprocity, and that is all dependent on how fast the State Board will approve it. Not to mention the $$$, which is hard to come up with when unemployed. If I do not live in that State , it will take longer. As an example, its taking PA on average 9 months to approve reciprocity, and people are pouring into an already saturated market. Like I said before, its impossible to find work as an ADN, because of complete market saturation.

0 Votes
10 hours ago, JKL33 said:

IMO, all of this is the main reason why the BSN has steadfastly remained a point of contention - - - it hasn't tangibly changed anything for a lot of people who enjoy taking care of sick patients, yet it is being increasingly "desired"/demanded in those very roles.

Exactly. For a lot of us, its an incredibly expensive piece of paper, with nothing behind it. Not even a job. Not even the promise of a job. The ADN RNs who are being threatened to do it or get fired, already see the handwriting on the wall, and one specifically, was fired in the middle of her coursework. I have 2 degrees from other professions, so its even more annoying. I like analogies, so here is one:

A person has degrees and certifications in lawn maintenance, but due to technology, his profession became automated through machinery. So he goes back to school and gets certified as a lifeguard. Then he gets hired, and works in the field 10 years, sitting on a high chair above a pool at a pool club, getting sunburned, jumping in when there is an emergency, and tending to injured kids. Suddenly, he is told there is a new qualification required if he wants to remain in the lifeguard profession. He has to demonstrate that he can still swim after diving off the Golden Gate bridge. He has to buy some special equipment, pay some steep fees, and do all the required drills before he is allowed to dive. He completes the dive, and returns to the lifeguard chair, in the same pool complex, for the same pay, still getting sunburned.

3 Votes
Specializes in Cardiology.
On 5/16/2019 at 7:16 PM, 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.

I had a job lined up before I graduated nursing school. It was dependent on me passing my NCLEX. A lot of my classmates also had jobs lined up prior to graduation.

0 Votes
5 minutes ago, OUxPhys said:

I had a job lined up before I graduated nursing school. It was dependent on me passing my NCLEX. A lot of my classmates also had jobs lined up prior to graduation.

And plenty do not. A lifelong friend of mine was speaking to a Dean of Nursing at one of the most prestigious universities in the area, who graduates about 40 BSN prepared nurses each year. She was lamenting about market saturation, because not even one had a job upon graduation.

2 Votes
Specializes in Cardiology.

I get both sides of the argument. I know plenty of great nurses who have their ADN. I also know plenty of bad nurses with their MSN. Do I think nurses need a BSN? No, I do not. However, requirements are changing and not just in the field of nursing. PT's and OTs never needed a "doctorate"....now they do. Pharmacists never needed a pharmacy doctorate....now they do. CRNA's never needed a doctorate...now some schools are extending grad school an extra 6 months so CRNAs can get their doctorate. I do agree to a certain extent that it is a racket.

BTW....some hospitals will still hire ADNs with a stipulation that they get their BSN in 5 years. These hospitals will also pay for it.

0 Votes
Specializes in Cardiology.
1 minute ago, panurse9999 said:

And plenty do not. A lifelong friend of mine was speaking to a Dean of Nursing at one of the most prestigious universities in the area, who graduates about 40 BSN prepared nurses each year. She was lamenting about market saturation, because not even one had a job upon graduation.

Ok.....so just because in your area it doesn't happen doesn't mean its happening across the country. Every single graduate of my class has a job as a RN. Maybe people in your area should consider re-locating.

2 Votes
2 minutes ago, OUxPhys said:

I get both sides of the argument. I know plenty of great nurses who have their ADN. I also know plenty of bad nurses with their MSN. Do I think nurses need a BSN? No, I do not. However, requirements are changing and not just in the field of nursing.

I have seen this too. The push for more and more education is a government racket designed to explode student debt, so that the politicians can swoon in , cancel the debt, give free tuition vouchers, and get re-elected on election day. ..and then print more money to pay for it all.

My biggest problem is the ADN schools who keep churning out new grads in epic proportions when they know that they will not even be considered for a hospital job, without the BSN...then conjuring more $$$ spent to cajole them into RN-BSN expensive mail order degrees, also knowing there are no jobs available due to market saturation. I am speaking from experience and knowledge in my neck of the woods. ..with story, after story of misplaced/ displaced nurses.

0 Votes
Specializes in Cardiology.
1 minute ago, panurse9999 said:

I have seen this too. The push for more and more education is a government racket designed to explode student debt, so that the politicians can swoon in , cancel the debt, give free tuition vouchers, and get re-elected on election day. ..and then print more money to pay for it all.

My biggest problem is the ADN schools who keep churning out new grads in epic proportions when they know that they will not even be considered for a hospital job, without the BSN...then conjuring more $$$ spent to cajole them into RN-BSN expensive mail order degrees, also knowing there are no jobs available due to market saturation. I am speaking from experience and knowledge in my neck of the woods. ..with story, after story of misplaced/ displaced nurses.

Well I don't think it's just the government. Schools also make money off this racket. Then you have some professors and the textbook industry (now that is a legitimate racket right there).

Ive been having this conversation a lot recently regarding the cost of education and the low paying jobs available afterwards. School counselors, and sometimes parents, push college college college. They never mention the trades or the military as options. I hate school. I am not getting my MSN. If I had to do it all over again I would have stayed in the military a little longer and then went into a trade or just done a trade after graduating high school.

3 Votes
8 minutes ago, OUxPhys said:

Ok.....so just because in your area it doesn't happen doesn't mean its happening across the country. Every single graduate of my class has a job as a RN. Maybe people in your area should consider re-locating.

See my previous comment about re-locating. I'm not on here to argue, and shove my point of view down the throats of everyone dead bent on insisting I am wrong. I wrote the article based upon 20 years of displaced nurses in PA who have been hit hard by market saturation and endless education requirements of hospitals constantly moving the goal post to the right. PA was a manufacturing / coal mining state that was devastated by entire industries being shipped overseas, and consequently there are a horrifying number of people unemployed here. (Stats say differently , but that is a whole different ball of wax) Those seeking career placement were directed into nursing or teaching...2 professions which cannot be automated or shipped overseas. Now its market saturation for both.

1 Votes
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