Why there is a debate re: ADN/BSN

Nurses General Nursing

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The government (military and VA) differentiate between nurses with an ADN and those with a BSN. The ANA differentiates between them, but the civilian industry does not. If the civilian hospitals ever decided that there isn't a nursing shortage and only show interest in hiring those with BSNs, all the junior colleges will dry up overnight.

I personally knew a captain in the Air Force a while back (I think it was a previous life :) ) who only had an ADN. But at that time the military really needed nurses, so they commissoned ADNs not on their eductaion but on their professional liscense of RN.

It all depends on how bad they need nurses. End the nursing shortage with a bad economy and you'll end the ADN as an entry-level degree to professional nursing.

Do you think this is true?

Originally posted by nursepru

..we all kick a$$ and save lives.

YOU GO NURSEPRU....well said!!!!

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Specializes in Emergency room, med/surg, UR/CSR.

Here! Here! Well said!!!!!

Pam:) :) :)

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Specializes in Hemodialysis, Home Health.
Originally posted by SmilingBluEyes

"divide and conquer"------------------------

this is why bean-counters get away with screwing the heck out of nursing, all over this great nation of ours.......

we can't even agree on respecting each other regardless of point of entry into nursing....

I too, am tired of :

"ADN's are better at clinical skills....BSN's think more critically" .....

Suzy is right; sweeping generalizations have NO place in real debate at all.......it's pure unadultrated....s....i mean.....

trash. so let's just keep digging at each other and go on and on round and round while the administrators/bean-counters sit back and laugh.....

I think it's high time we tackle REAL issues like:

*workplace violence

*on the job injury and lack of compensation

*fair pay for job done

*on the job safety/injury prevention

*our image in the public as nurses (yes it affects us and with the shortage of people coming in, we need to worry about it)

*developing and enforcing policies that disallow abuse of nurses/staff on the job by doctors, patients, families, adminstrators.

*finding ways to prevent/mitigate errors made on the job, such as med error and ending the "finger-pointing" that goes on when a mistake IS made. Let's FIX IT already!!!!!

I could go on and on...(as you all know).....

THESE are REAL issues in nursing that bother me much more than the level of entry for practice. THESE are the issues that hit me at home, anyhow!

Yeh. She SAID it, I applaud it and second it. You go, Deb !!! :D

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IMO, as long as BSN's and ADN's take the same State Boards, they are equal. I do think it's experience, not education, that makes a better nurse.

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I think what gets lost in these types of posts is the fact that no one is trying to determine which degree make a "better" nurse. As stated by others, it is the person who determines what type of a nurse he or she will be. However, I do agree that there should be a move to BSN as the standard. What the BSN brings to the profession is not only the research component (I believe that a strong working knowledge of research synthesis is invaluable in any profession), but also the exposure to other subjects and issues gained by fulfilling many of the reqirements of most colleges like political science and diversity courses. This is not to say that ADN nurses do not have these components as well, but for those who went to nursing school at a young age, these type of courses tend to expand your relm of thinking and only add to the well rounded nurse you will become.

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I currently have a BSc in Liberal Arts and will be starting an RN-BSN program next fall.(posted by Berkeley)

your reply sounds very much like what I came to know of nursing school instructors. The ones I had were very poor teachers, and they really lacked skill on the floor, as well. They hated their jobs and they hated the students and they were terrible examples for others to follow. (posted by Berkeley)

SO....which is it?? You are starting in the fall, or you already went???

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oh...nevermind, I see the troll was already banned!

my bad.....

Gator

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An RN-BSN program is usually for RNs with ADNs who want to get a BSN. So he is already a nurse, and is pursuing a BSN. One doesn't exclude the other.

I just don't see why all these threads turn into a "my program was better than your program" type debate. I think education of any kind can't hurt whether it be a BSN, certification in your specialty, or on the job learning.

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Specializes in CICu, ICU, med-surg.
Originally posted by Gator,SN

oh...nevermind, I see the troll was already banned!

my bad.....

Wow, getting banned after only 16 posts. Surely that must be some sort of record...

Sorry, for the going totally OT. Carry on...

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Specializes in L&D.

It seems to me that the only people get offended or are sensitive about the ADN VS BSN subject are the people who are ADNs or are working toward an ADN. People are genuinly curious about the differences between the two and the ADNs get in such an uproar when people inquire. Relax!!

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Okay, here's a dumb question. Why are ADN nurses supposedly better prepared clinically than BSN nurses? I'm not trying to stir the pot here, I'm just curious.

I am in a BSN program now. This is first quarter, and we spend one day a week on the hospital floor. 2nd quarter we also do 1 day a week, and then move up to 2 or 3 days a week clinicals.

In 9 weeks, I have changed beds, done bed baths, accompanied a patient to an endoscopy (and got to watch), changed dressing on venous ulcers, administered oxygen, done vitals, watched a humungous crater of a pressure sore being dressed. Other fellow students have suctioned trach tubes and flushed G-tubes. Next quarter we administer meds.

I have had patients with strokes, patients who are unresponsive, one patient who kept taking off his oxygen till his O2 sat was 70, and one patient with late stage AIDs, possible MAC TB, hepatitis C, and shingles, in a negative pressure room with contact and droplet precautions.

We also have 1 hour of lab lecture, 2 hours of lab (you know, put the foley in the dummy), and lab skill validations. Plus pathophysiology, nutrition, and foundations of nursing.

So, is this less than what ADNs do? Or does my program give us a lot of clinical experience? I dunno, but it seems like I have sure done a lot already.

Any feedback?

Thanks,

Beginning BSN student

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Specializes in L&D.
Originally posted by oldiebutgoodie

Okay, here's a dumb question. Why are ADN nurses supposedly better prepared clinically than BSN nurses? I'm not trying to stir the pot here, I'm just curious.

I am in a BSN program now. This is first quarter, and we spend one day a week on the hospital floor. 2nd quarter we also do 1 day a week, and then move up to 2 or 3 days a week clinicals.

In 9 weeks, I have changed beds, done bed baths, accompanied a patient to an endoscopy (and got to watch), changed dressing on venous ulcers, administered oxygen, done vitals, watched a humungous crater of a pressure sore being dressed. Other fellow students have suctioned trach tubes and flushed G-tubes. Next quarter we administer meds.

I have had patients with strokes, patients who are unresponsive, one patient who kept taking off his oxygen till his O2 sat was 70, and one patient with late stage AIDs, possible MAC TB, hepatitis C, and shingles, in a negative pressure room with contact and droplet precautions.

We also have 1 hour of lab lecture, 2 hours of lab (you know, put the foley in the dummy), and lab skill validations. Plus pathophysiology, nutrition, and foundations of nursing.

So, is this less than what ADNs do? Or does my program give us a lot of clinical experience? I dunno, but it seems like I have sure done a lot already.

Any feedback?

Thanks,

Beginning BSN student

All programs are different. I'm in BSN program too and we have 2 clinical rotations every week. Next semester will be the same I'm not sure about the last two semesters. I don't believe for a minute that ADN programs prepare their students more than BSN programs, it just depends on the school.

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