What can ADN nurses achieve with a BSN other than accumulating more debts?

[elpnla]

I talked with a couple ADN nurses who have completed their BSN degrees.

They get a few dollars more in pay, but their debt is over their head. Amazing..

[klone, MSN, RN]

I paid for my BSN out of pocket. It was less than $10K. I got a significant promotion into a leadership role that has more than paid for the tuition.

[TiffyRN, BSN, PhD]

Around these parts an RN can achieve getting a job as opposed to staying un- or underemployed. That helps tremendously with that debt thing you mentioned. It's difficult to get hired into a highly sought specialty like mine without a BSN.

Getting my BSN got me interested in several projects at work that resulted in a superior yearly eval and superior raise.

[elpnla]

That's good. If you like your job and the money that you get from your job, why go back to school and look for another job? The important thing to remember is that we will all grow old. When we are old there are things, such as running around on the unit, lifting patients, squatting, etcetera that we can easily do when we are 25 years old, we can no longer do when we are old. I have a nurse friend who told me that when she has to squat down at work, she has difficulty getting up...

[TiffyRN, BSN, PhD]

Yes, staying at the bedside as one gets older can be difficult. That's another thing my BSN is helping me achieve. I'm enrolled now to continue on and become an educator & nurse researcher.

I've given (and continue to give for now) at the bedside but I can see the writing on the wall. . . Working these insane hours and running around is going to be increasingly difficult. Without the BSN I would be truly be stuck. True that the BSN by itself won't achieve that by itself but without it, there wouldn't be an option.

[elpnla]

The real need, as I see it, is for bedside nurses. With Obamacare, the demand for bedside nurses will be even greater. But RN-BSN schools refuse to see this urgent demand (reality). They want ADN nurses to believe that the future for nurses will be in the BSN, MSN, PhD nurses.

And they capitalize on the fears that many nurses have, and that is that one day they can no longer stand up after they squat down.. And they, Academic Advisors, are making big bucks for their schools and for themselves by requiring students to take courses that have nothing to do with nursing, or courses that nobody wants to take. They want AD nurses to pay for the salaries of their teachers who teach classes that have nothing mto do with nursing, or classes that nobody wants to take. These schools are unethical. They do not practice what they preach about Ethics.

Beware of these schools!

[medsurgrn95]

I'm a med surg nurse who has an ADN and a BA in a liberal arts area. I need twelve (I think) classes for a BSN. I am doing a couple classes where I got my ADN (community college & more reasonably priced) and then doing an online program which is where I got the BA. My hospital does tuition reimbursement & I plan to go slow enough to have it mostly paid by that. It's not required & I don't have a plan to leave my job but want to ensure a better future in my career in case I ever need it.

[BrandonLPN, LPN]

When an ADN goes back for their BSN, the financial investment isn't necessarily for the job they're currently in. The investment is more often for furthering their career. For moving to a higher acuity specialty, or as a stepping stone to advanced practice.

When two people work side by side doing the exact same job, there's really no reason the one with the higher education should make more money than the one with less. Imagine three RNs working on a med/surg floor, one diploma, one ADN and one BSN. Chances are the BSN's base pay rate is, maybe, $0.50 or $1.00 more per/hr than the other two. Which is fair, they all are doing the same job and have the same scope of practice. Whatever difference in pay between such nurses exists is more likely to be based on senority, experience and merit. If employers truly valued education over experience, wouldn't wages refelct that?

The investment of upgrading to BSN is for advancing your career, not staying in the same spot and expecting to get a raise just 'cause you now have a BSN.

[klone, MSN, RN]

That's good. If you like your job and the money that you get from your job, why go back to school and look for another job? The important thing to remember is that we will all grow old. When we are old there are things, such as running around on the unit, lifting patients, squatting, etcetera that we can easily do when we are 25 years old, we can no longer do when we are old. I have a nurse friend who told me that when she has to squat down at work, she has difficulty getting up...

What's your point?

[klone, MSN, RN]

We can't all be bedside nurses. Not everyone WANTS to be a bedside nurse. There will always be a need for managers, administrators, and educators.

If you don't want a BSN, don't get one. Don't disparage me because I've gone back to get mine, please.

[calivianya, BSN, RN]

The place I did my preceptorship was trying to go Magnet, and they had all of their new ADN nurses sign an agreement that they would go back for their BSN within the next five years or face termination, so... I think keeping your job is a pretty good motivator.

Besides, not everyone chooses to look for another job... what happens if you get really injured, use up all of your FMLA, come back to work, and end up getting fired for too many absences? What happens if your hospital lays off people and you're one of them? What happens if you make a med error and get terminated? If any of these things happen to you and you're in an area full of Magnet hospitals that don't like to hire ADNs, I imagine you could be in trouble. That's what the BSN is for - I kind of look at it like malpractice insurance in that it could get you out of a tight spot if something goes down in your current job.

[elpnla]

Liberal Arts is a good choice.