ADN or BSN...how much does it really matter?

U.S.A. Washington DC

Published

Hello everyone. I am not a nurse yet but rather applying to get in to a nursing program. My original plan was to just get my ADN, make contacts, and get a job upon graduation so I could start earning money sooner. Now I am worried I will have trouble getting a job without the BSN in this economy/job market. I am hoping to go into L&D, OB, PICU, NICU...you see the idea. I hope to go back for a BSN or RN-MS later on with the financial assistance of my employer. I'd appreciate any feedback from nurses who have taken different paths as well as those in charge of hiring.

Thanks so much!

Nikki

I'd second nearly everything that the previous posters have said.

Depending on your location, you may or may not be able to find employment as an ADN. In my area for example, 2 major health care chains are seeking magnet status for their hospitals. The practical effect is that ADNs are no longer considered for employment at about 8 local hospitals that are now "BSN required". Looks like you may be in the WDC metro area which may be different and if so, the ADN is perfectly adequate.

If getting a job when you complete the ADN is something you absolutely need to make part of your plan, I'd suggest you do a careful survey of your area. If at all possible, phone or better yet, visit the HR departments of local hospitals and ask if they hire ADNs. Ask your community college what the employment rate for RNs from their last class is (for reference, I'm in the Philly metro area and for my CC class of 2010, it's about 25%, for the 2009 class it's about 50%). Look at the BLS numbers for your area.

In my opinion, the long-term trend is toward the BSN as the entry-level credential. This shouldn't dissuade you from getting your ADN however -once you become an RN, you can complete a BSN in a number of ways. And this may be the less expensive route to the BSN, since your CC is likely to be the low cost alternative to get about 50% of your BSN work done.

My last bit of advice: Do your homework, double-check the info you get and develop a realistic plan based on objective data, not faith. Oh, and remember that this advice is worth every penny you paid for it.

Specializes in L&D.
My advice is to go straight for the BSN, not the ADN. This is coming from someone who just graduated with an ADN and already has a Bachelor's in a different subject. The Chicgoland area is flooded with nurses, nurses with experience, nurses with MSN's, and nurses with Bachelors and ADN nurses. Who would you hire for the same money? I am 44, and all I wanted to do was direct patient care on the floor. I did not aspire to go into Management etc. so I was told to go the ADN route. 3.5 years later (1.5 years of pre-req's) the area is flooded with nurses and no one will hire an ADN without several years experience. Had I gone the BSN route, I'd be finishing up at the same time. Now I need to continue with the RN-BSN degree, it will be at least 18 more months and around $19,000 for a state school. My advise to you would be go the BSN route, get a job as a CNA so you will have your foot in the door when you graduate.

I agree...I'm in Chicagoland as well, and as I apply for jobs I am noticing that a majority of institutions are requiring BSN and won't consider ADN. I have also been told directly that some hospitals aren't taking ADN anymore - generally the Magnet Hospitals.

Pop for the BSN - I know the loans stink, and the thought of my own causes me to sweat a bit...:uhoh3:...but you will be better off in the end. I just graduated with ABSN, and there are many opportunities for scholarships out there :heartbeat

Specializes in They know this too!.

There is an article that an ADN program is getting shut down. Which is another reason to consider.

https://allnurses.com/nursing-news/community-college-closes-566179.html

Including what everyone mentioned above.

Myself I started ADN. I always wanted to further my education, I apply every year, but life calls. Please this year please.

Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.
I saw one program for CNL but that was it. And I would still need to take these other prereqs. Otherwise, I'd be looking at the VERY expensive schools like Georgetown, Hopkins, etc.

The CNL has replaced the accelerated BSN program, largely from what I hear so they can charge graduate level tuition for what amounts to many BSN level classes. :down: My experience in the DC area and some of Baltimore is that the job market is still decent and while they might prefer BSN with your ADN you shouldn't have too much trouble finding work and being eligible for tuition assistance as you continue your education. FWIW I have even worked at a magnet facility that continued hiring ADN new grads so while like others have said the BSN might be a bit of a boost it isn't a necessity in this area in my experience.

Specializes in They know this too!.
The CNL has replaced the accelerated BSN program, largely from what I hear so they can charge graduate level tuition for what amounts to many BSN level classes. :down: My experience in the DC area and some of Baltimore is that the job market is still decent and while they might prefer BSN with your ADN you shouldn't have too much trouble finding work and being eligible for tuition assistance as you continue your education. FWIW I have even worked at a magnet facility that continued hiring ADN new grads so while like others have said the BSN might be a bit of a boost it isn't a necessity in this area in my experience.

On this note, don't some hospitals offer programs for nurses to get their BSN and they pay for it? Again this was like maybe 3 or 4 years ago and of course the economy has hit hard.

I got my RN and began working and then did my RN-BSN online part-time. I only got my BSN because when my kids are grown I plan to go back for my MSN and teach.

Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.
On this note, don't some hospitals offer programs for nurses to get their BSN and they pay for it? Again this was like maybe 3 or 4 years ago and of course the economy has hit hard.

The facilities I work for still offer some sort of tuition assistance for further education so that is another plus to getting ADN and starting to work, imo.

Love hearing this news ladies. I am so conflicted. I'm afraid I will make the wrong decision.

It is so nice to know that I am not alone in this conflict! I have my Bachelors in Human Services with specialization in Counseling Psychology. I have 4 children and seriously need to make more money asap. I would like to apply to a nursing program and don't know if it makes more sense to go the accelerated BSN route to be more marketable or the ADN route to speed up the process as well as slow down the student loan debt! However, I would like to eventually work in Psychiatric Nursing and I am not sure how best to get there from this starting point. Possible obstacles; I am 39 and have not found the fountain of youth or a pot of gold oh, and I have only taken 1 out of 6 pre-req's. :confused: Any advice or input greatly appreciated - Thanks!

Specializes in CVICU.

It's becoming more of an issue these days. Veterans Hospitals/clinics are advertising "BSN preferred". My current hospital is going with a "BSN in 10 (years)" approach with the goal being an all BSN staff. As I have glanced through job annoucements in other states (my husband is military and we'll be moving in the next year to 18months), I have seen a lot of "BSN preferred". My advice, look at the agencies in your area, see how they are advertising vacancies and make your decision based on that. Good luck to you!

$1,000,000.00 question: How many of you-- including me-- just memorized the material for short-term memory so we could pass the test? 100%? I thought so!

The truth is that knowledge-- and its acquisition-- is due to constant study and research, for the love of knowledge-- not to pass a test! THAT, MY FRIENDS, IS LONG-TERM MEMORY;NOT SHORT-TERM!

I challenge, personally, every BSN on here to a test of knowledge , regarding biology, genetics, history, pharmecology, geography, mathematics, anatomy & physiology, hell-- you name it! LOL

I knew more about OB/GYN raising Canadian Inuit Dogs for the Canadian Government in 1987-95, than 99% of you ob/gyn nurses put together. LOL

Why? PASSION! I made no wage.

A high school student has challenged Michelle Bachmann on her knowledge of the Constitution; my fellow nursing students and Tax Office co-workwers want me to challenge you!

There isn't a single one of you who can one-up me. What, pray tell, does that mean? It does mean you ain't all that! LOL

Magnet status my a**!

The BEST nursing education is the 1-year-long, half-wages, apprenticeship we had in the 1st half of the 20th Century. Make it the full year, and you become a nurse at FULL wages. Pretty simple.

I challenge ANYONE to a test of knowledge. You can flag-wave, and tea drink until you're silly; you can chant that you are the greatest country on Earth until even the toothless, homeless person at the Christian Center believes it. Guess what? Ignorance is bliss. Not a single one of you can take me in an intellectual contest. Not even one of you. You, who have jobs and health insurance, do not realize what is coming! The middle class is dying. In Libya, no one pays a utility bill, everyone gets a check for their percentage of Libyan oil sold, healthcare is free, an unemployed nurse gets paid a nurse's wages even if unemployed! Guess what? They are rebelling! You, Americans, sit around talking political affiliations. Where are your gonads?

What do we have to do to get Gaddafi over here?

um, okay tiger...

Anyway, OP.. I'm a 38 yr old BSN student with children. I'm so happy I went this route. I was on a waiting list for a local comm. college...I wanted to get my ADN and then let the hospital pay for the BSN. Well the wait list was so long that I just went for the BSN on my own.

The extra science classes I had to take have only helped me in understanding Pharm and Patho better.

I was also hired as a nurse extern (a great way to get your foot in the door at a hospital) because I'm in a BSN program. I've never done clinicals at this hospital....when I arrived for the interview the community college that I wanted to go to was there doing their clinicals, but no one was considered because of the ADN program they were in.

I have had excellent nurses in clinicals that were ADN, so the degree doesn't make a nurse. Several nurses have lamented that they do wish they had gone the BSN route...to go a little further in their career.

So my 2 cents would be go for an accelerated BSN (2nd degree)..you won't regret it.

Good luck.

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