To BSN or not...

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First I'd like to say hello to everyone, I'm new here, nice meeting you all. :)

I know that the topic has been talked about here and there are many threads on this subject, but I need help with this.

I've read a lot of the post on the subject but this is an individual thing, I guess.

I am an ADN RN, and I am seriously considering returning for a BSN....I had given this idea some thought in the past but never acted on it or even thought to do so until I worked as a supervisor/charge nurse in a LTC facility. It was never in my plans, they needed a charge nurse, I needed a job. Working as a floor nurse I felt I did the most for my patients as I was there at the bedside, where they needed me, as a charge nurse I delegated what need to be done and followed up to ensure that it was (micro-manage much? Yes)

Being a nurse in a supervisor role, I thought of the future and where I wanted to be, this was all new to me, and as I settled into my new role, I questioned myself and if this is where I want to be/stay, after all when I first started out, the ICU was where I thought I wanted to be/stay.

A year or so into it, as new nurses were hired I felt a little insecure in my job, as some were BSN prepared, but I've always heard " a nurse is a nurse".

So I registered here to talk to real nurses who are in the trenches and know what they are talking about. Please someone tell me, is this a good idea?

And no I'm not sure where I want to end up at in nursing, but I feel the need to do something. I've even considered a healthcare administration degree, perhaps a career change, I don't know what to do.

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If you are older and plan to retire in the next 5 years I would say skip it. If you plan to be working for longer than that I would say a BSN is pretty necessary. In my area, it's almost required to get a hospital job.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, LTACH, LTC, Home Health.

Well, what I get from your post is that you are definitely heading SOMEwhere, just not sure of the destination yet. I'm pursuing the BSN as a personal goal (not mandatory by my facilities yet) and because it appears to be trending across the country.

As you know, this is ultimately your decision to make. I would suggest beginning to take the common core/prereqs, if only one here and there, until you decide which avenue you plan to take. At least that way, you're not just spinning wheels or wasting time....you are actually paving the road to somewhere. But I will say this. I have witnessed first-hand where a new BSN grad replaced a manager after a certain amount of experience was gained by that new grad. It was of no fault of either of the two parties involved, but was due to the politics of upper management. ;)

Good luck with such an important decision!

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No, wont retire any time soon. So this seems like a wise thing to really be considering, reading all the random post that I've come across there seems to be a debate that turns into ADN vs BSN. The only issue I'm concerned with is: where is the profession going as a whole and do I need to upgrade, Its not mandatory in my area. I've been looking at some of the RN-BSN programs and can jump into a summer at my local community college if needed, I just didn't want to make this investment that I perceived to be needed due to my own thought process or if there was a general consensus among the nursing community.

If the trend is going toward having a BSN then now would be a good time for me to start working toward that. I remember in school the instructors were talking about having to get masters degrees and I figured they should have to in order to teach nurses. So I guess I should look more into this before making a decision.

Thanks

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Hi What Nurse? ! Welcome.

From what I have heard and seen, the trend is now going towards BSN or above. I'm graduating in May 2014 and a lot of the hospitals that are hiring require a BSN or if you currently have an ADN, they require you to obtain a BSN in the next # years. I have heard from some of the hospital managers in my area that they instantly throw out the applications that are ADNs. I also read that most of the management positions or anything above that require at least a BSN or an MSN.

These are the things I've seen and heard. Hope this helps! Good luck!

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Specializes in ICU.

Yes, you need to get the BSN. Even if you have years and years of experience, have a 4-year degree in another field, you will need the BSN. I have noticed in my area the trend now is "BSN required; MSN preferred," for a bedside nursing job, even in med-surg. I find it sad that tuition is so high. Not every area has a "community college" or somewhere cheaper to go. I was helping a co-worker figure out how much it would cost for him to get his BSN (from an ADN.) In this area, the pay is terrible, and the tuition is high, and it would cost him a ton of money to get that BSN. It is sad for people who have families to support, and need that money for other things. We pay a whopping 25 cents/hour extra for the BSN.

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The trend is going towards higher educated nurses. There have been studies which show that the more BSN's in a facility, the lower the mortality of patients. I am in a NP program right now, and I know that they are pushing for NP's to have a doctorate. I'll be pursuing the DNP after I get my Masters, but only because it's a personal goal. The fact that it will be mandated at some point just makes it that much more reasonable.

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Specializes in ER.

My biggest concern is what will happen if something were to happen at your job? Would you be able to find a new one locally? Would you want to try and remain in a supervisor position?

Unfortunately, trend is BSN in most areas.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Education.

I think we're beyond "trend" status in the movement to BSN in acute care. That ship has sailed - we're in transition right now, but BSN is the new standard for acute care direct care nurses. This is driven by irrefutable quality & safety evidence. Soon, hospitals will find it very difficult to meet quality standards &/or find insurers willing to offer them unless they have made the change. OTOH, I haven't seen the same type of evidence for non-acute, so ADN nurses should have plenty of employment opportunities in non-acute settings.

As you get old and crumbly, those 'supervisory' jobs will look better and better. Advancing your educational credentials will put you in a much better position to make the move when your knees give out.

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Things change. When I was in a BSN completion program >20 years ago, a big group of students in our program were nurse managers from the local large medical center; they had all been nurse managers for quite a while, were doing a good job, etc., but the hospital administration announced one day that the facility was going to BSN-minimum for all managers and all these individuals had until X date (fairly soon) to get a BSN or they would have to step down from their NM positions. They were all pretty much in shock; apparently they had little-to-no notice that this was coming (I wasn't there, so can't swear to that; but their sense of shock and surprise certainly seemed genuine). And that was a long time ago -- the trend is even more obvious now.

Better to go ahead, take the plunge, and be working on the degree now than to have to scramble around desperately later because you suddenly need to have one, I would think ...

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I think we're beyond "trend" status in the movement to BSN in acute care. That ship has sailed - we're in transition right now, but BSN is the new standard for acute care direct care nurses. This is driven by irrefutable quality & safety evidence.

On the 'Nursing News' forum there is currently a thread "New Study Shows Nurse Education, Caseload, Affect Patient Mortality." The claim that acute care facilities with a higher proportion of BSN prepared nurses results in lower patient mortality rates does not appear to be irrefutable, as it has been well refuted on that very thread by one single nurse. The 'evidence' has also been refuted on many other threads.

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
No, wont retire any time soon. So this seems like a wise thing to really be considering, reading all the random post that I've come across there seems to be a debate that turns into ADN vs BSN. The only issue I'm concerned with is: where is the profession going as a whole and do I need to upgrade, Its not mandatory in my area. I've been looking at some of the RN-BSN programs and can jump into a summer at my local community college if needed, I just didn't want to make this investment that I perceived to be needed due to my own thought process or if there was a general consensus among the nursing community.

If the trend is going toward having a BSN then now would be a good time for me to start working toward that. I remember in school the instructors were talking about having to get masters degrees and I figured they should have to in order to teach nurses. So I guess I should look more into this before making a decision.

Thanks

If you are looking at any time left working...it is going in that direction. It would be best for you if you did. I am not a huge proponent of the RN-BSN programs. I don't think they add much to your experience or capabilities but it WILL affect getting a job. The writing is on the wall.....In this current job climate it is increasingly more and more important to get the BSN. If you ever have to change jobs....you will need that BSN if you aren't close to retirement.
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