WHY do I need a BSN?

HeartRN13 · Jan 22, 2014

I do understand the hesitation and unhappiness regarding the requirements to return to school and/or obtain the BSN. However, it's a profession that emphasizes the need and obligation toward continuing education, staying up to date and practicing according to evidence based-practice, and many more things. It has long strived for recognition as a profession, and most professions require advancement, movement, pursuit of higher degrees, and more. We can't fight for our profession but hit a professional wall, it's all of our obligations to keep it moving forward and staying current with the educational demands. This is just my opinion.

OCNRN63, RN · Jan 22, 2014

I'm all for education. I don't think there is an anti-intellectual tone. Frankly I am tired of the bullying, brow beating, and not so subtle insinuations that nurses with an ADN are...DUMBER and inferior. But there is plenty of academic elitism
For me, personally, my BSN added NOTHING to my competency as a bedside nurse with 20 years experience in critical care and trauma flight. I NEVER had a physician question my capabilities because I was "Only a ADN". Frankly they never asked. I am a extremely competent, highly skilled, professional who happens to have my BSN from an online program that taught me how to write a paper in the APA format. I am secure enough to not have to shove my schooling in everyone face to make me feel superior.
I personally RESENT the implication that those who do not have a BSN are somehow inferior even with 30 years of experience and specialty based certifications....because they are NOT inferior. I believe the ADN programs have been watered down in content by the very same academics that are promoting the BSN on purpose to reinforce their agenda.
But that is just my opinion.
Going forward...I think that there needs to be a single entry into nursing if only to STOP this incessant bickering and posturing about who's superior.

Thank you! I may be a dumb diploma nurse, but I was able to get several difficult specialty certifications. Life hasn't permitted me to finish obtaining my BSN; I worked on it for several years, but personal issues interfered.

I don't have my BSN, but I respect my fellow nurses, no matter their educational level. How crass to ridicule someone because you think their education is inferior. Instead of inspiring others to continue their education, comments like the ones by a PP only serve to alienate them.

mtngrl, ASN, RN · Jan 23, 2014

I am an RN with my ADN and I have never felt pressured to go back to school. Graduated in 2004, now working at insurance company from home. I do work hard M-F and I sure as heck wouldn't want to do anymore schooling, I am wore out when 5:00 comes around! My weekends are family time and housework time. I have no plans to get a BSN. And never had a problem getting a job with my ADN.

jrinct · Jan 23, 2014

I'm an RN with an ADN and a non-nursing bachelor's degree from my first time through college. The non-nursing bachelor's counts for zip in my hospital's clinical ladder.

As RNs, we all have the same license -- but we take many different educational paths to get there.

AJJKRN · Jan 23, 2014

I am taking classes towards my BSN because like other nurses with a diploma or ADN I am being "forced" to return to school for my BSN. I have had my ADN for 9 years. My question is HOW is statistics, critical inquiry, and the other classes going to make me a better nurse? Isn't hands on training the best way to learn? I feel like they are requiring BSN now and in 10 years want MSN so that we wont need doctors working on the floors, because nurses will do their own orders!!
I am 42 y/o and rally don't want to do this, but I have a minimum of 23 years left of working and had to be forced to stay where I am due to not having a BSN. Sure they say we may be "grandfathered" in, but that limits us to stay put.
Anyone have any input on this, as to what am I going to learn getting my BSN and why the requirement now?

Doing an RN to BSN will likely add some extra alphabet soup to the end of your name, extra job security, a strong concept of APA formatting, and a sense of pride...with some debt to boot!!! (As is what happened with my personal experience) :smug:

I'm all for continuing education and I am all for raising the minimum entry level to a BSN with grandfathering in current diploma and ADN's as well as mandating that all schools have similar course work and standards across the United States. Maybe this will address the price gouging issues found from school to school! One can only hope...

(In my personal experience :saint: , (forgive me please) my ADN was less than 10,000 and was only about 4 credits shy of being a BSN program...I know this because they had to be very very careful when the school adjusted curriculum because they were not accredited uh er "allowed" to run as a BSN program...but the multiple BSN programs offered in a 50 mile radius were atleast 40,000 to 80,000...my school also had the highest consistent NCLEX pass rate of 99% for our area not to mention the best employer/community reviews)

I also don't understand when this discussion arises, because it does so often, that it seems we don't value continuing education of other forms such as reading peer reviewed articles by a specialty journal, or obtaining specialty certifications specific to our fields.

Just because a nurse doesn't have a BSN, does not mean that they do not supplement their continuing education with reading and subscribing to peer reviewed evidence-based articles, etc. I personally like in depth college level A&P for light reading.

So since I have my BSN now I am exempt from having to read anymore evidence-based articles just for fun or for learning... J.K. ladies and gents!!!

jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B · Jan 23, 2014

Let me throw a new twist in this. How about others coming in who don't mind being paid less than you, which still might be more than before, doing what you do? .
In Oregon at least a dozen RTs lost their transport jobs when the company hired cheaper Paramedics to replace them. There have been recent changes in the make up of some well known Pedi and NICU transport teams where Paramedics have replaced the RTs. Paramedics already do what an RT does in the ER and in some places, more.
Paramedics have already had a stance in a few states which have allowed them to function in the ER "just like a nurse". I believe Kentucky and Virginia or West Virginia are examples. You have already seen comments made by some of the Paramedics on this forum that they can do what an RN can plus more "skills". Paramedics did not even have to raise their education level but merely stated they could do those "skills" also. When it comes down to it, they have a point for the "skill" portion and if the ADN is the only education for entry into nursing, that is a weak argument even if the focus is different. Several transport programs now have a Paramedic in charge over the RNs..
Iowa now has Intensive Care Paramedics which can function a little like an RT and a little like an RN.

They will also work cheaper than either. Even California is not getting the Critical Care Paramedic scope of practice which will shake up the CCT world which had largely belong to nurses.
At least OT, PT and SLP professionals have set the bar high enough on the education ladder when few can touch them and they offer their own research to show they are worth every penny. With very few still holding the lower degrees, their professions are not as fragments. Maybe they learned something from others.
.

In my experience, Paramedics are taught there scope is an MD's right hand. Which is wrong and dangerous on a number of levels. In my state, it is against the nurse practice act for an RN to direct a Paramedic clinically. Only Medical Direction (an MD) can do that. Because when Paramedics are directing RN's as you describe, the only licensed person in the group (the RN) is the one ultimately with a license to uphold.

Paramedics are certifications. Much like when nurses hold specialty certifications. There are a number of ER's and ICU's where Medics may believe themselves to be able to do it all, but unfortunetely, are unable to due to policy.

Back on to the topic, bottom line--in this day and age there are more and more facilities that are requiring someone to have a BSN. Regardless of clinical competency. There are areas of nursing that are gleaning as much clinical skill from other levels of nursing, then a number of non-BSN nurses are finding their scopes change, their jobs being phased out. The new and improved version of nursing relies heavily on check boxes and scripting. The fly in the ointment is critcial thinking skills. Which most old school nurses had to rely heavily on therefore, is like second nature. If they could figure out a computer program for that, well then, all would be good in the hood.

If someone wants to be or continue to be an acute care nurse, then a BSN is where it is at. With an ongoing theme of "for every one multi-year experienced nurse, we can hire 2 or 3 with a degree that looks good on paper, and pay them even less.....". Or import them from other countries, and pay them even less than that....which is a topic for another day.

amygarside · Jan 23, 2014

It would be best to get a degree. It opens a lot of doors to lots of jobs opportunities with high salaries. Better get your degree now. :)

adnrnstudent, ASN, RN · Jan 23, 2014

I can't understand for the life of me why so many nurses find the idea of being more educated so offensive. The anti-intellectual tone found all over this forum is awkward and shameful. What in the world is wrong with more education, in any context or situation? What's the BIG PROBLEM with this profession evolving academically and intellectually? Why does that idea CHAFE so?
I don't see this kind of immature bellyaching in other fields. Pharmacists, doctors and physical therapists all did their time in school with 4 years being the minimum.
As long as the LPNs and ADNs keep up their sobbing about having to go to school, it's no wonder doctors and other allied health professionals don't take us seriously. Suck it up, buttercups. You might have to learn more stuff and be smarter, OH MY GOD THE HORROR. My employer pays BSNs more than ADNs, and that trend WILL spread.
If being dumber and earning less money is your choice, do the world a favor and stop humiliating yourselves by complaining about it. Seriously, this whole debate is stale, stupid and plain EMBARRASSING. Reality WINS, guys. Get the BSN and just quit the whining about it already.

It's not they find more education offensive. You're not seeing the whole story.

The number 1 thing I hear from ADN's in a BSN program is how much bull goes into writing paper after paper. The number 1 reason I hear for resistence to get a BSN which includes myself is they don't want to write papers. I simply don't write papers, that's why I was not an English major for my 1st B.S. which touches on another issue. Many ADN's got their ADN and then a B.S. in another field or like me, I got a B.S. then got my ADN. I need to work now, not go back to school and that's how a lot of people feel.

They need to come up with BSN completion programs that aren't writing a bunch of useless papers and I think people will be more receptive. You should see the comments I see posted on my friend's Facebook pages about how silly, busy, frustrating the work is they're doing in their BSN programs.

With the exception of arts & humanities kinds of stuff, I can't think of other Bachelor's degrees that have you write paper after paper after paper after paper. It's ridiculous and it gives most people high anxiety. Papers are graded subjectively and if you get the wrong Professor then bam! I don't write papers. I want to read and take tests as do many people. Come up with that and I'm in.

llg, PhD, RN · Jan 23, 2014

With the exception of arts & humanities kinds of stuff, I can't think of other Bachelor's degrees that have you write paper after paper after paper after paper. It's ridiculous and it gives most people high anxiety. Papers are graded subjectively and if you get the wrong Professor then bam! I don't write papers. I want to read and take tests as do many people. Come up with that and I'm in.

I think some of the paper-writing issue is due to the number of programs that are online and/or classes held on campus in the evenings, once per week. When you don't have the ability to interact with the students live and to do activities in class ... and you don't have the ability to observe them in clinical settings, the most practical way to evaluate them is either by online tests or papers. That leads to an over-reliance on those 2 methods of evaluation.

Schools trying to maintain on-campus classes that would involve class activities and/or clinical placements as a group (with an instructor observing) would not be practical for most students and would be hard to maintain. So everyone takes the "easy way out" and relies on tests and papers to document learning -- less interesting for many, but more practical as a means of teaching and evaluating the bulk of the target audience (potential students.) If you had to spend 2 or mornings or afternoons per week on campus, you probably wouldn't go -- or if you did, you would find very few classmates.

MissM.RN, BSN, RN · Jan 23, 2014

OP, to answer your title question: "Why do I need a BSN?" You don't. :) I am fully of the opinion that BSN's are bull (and I have one!) and ADN should be the highest degree for a bedside nurse. The strongest, kindest nurses I know are all ADN or diploma. I don't really know all the reasons why, but at some point someone decided more letters and more degrees after your name meant you were "better". The worst nurses I know are either from direct entry masters, accelerated bachelor's, or bachelor's in general. Just my opinion. I wish I could have gone ADN, and not only because of the financial impact of 4 years of tuition. In my area, the only way to get a bedside hospital job was BSN sadly. Diploma and ADN are better prepared to start working on the floor stat, meanwhile our BSN programs are filled with that statistic/theory/gen ed fluff. If you can - do your state school's online RN-BSN program. It's the cheapest option I know of, accredited, and will look better on resumes than the for-profit ones like Chamberlain or U of Phoenix (that's what I've heard)

MissM.RN, BSN, RN · Jan 23, 2014

mclennan:

A few thoughts on your post.

1. Exactly how much more does your employer pay BSNs? Does it equate to the cost of the BSN program? Does it even come close to reimbursing the nurse for their $ and time?

2. "Being dumber..." since when did anyone from a BSN program walk right onto the floor with a full assignment? Diploma nurses did. How does earning a BSN make the experienced nurse any better at completing that assignment, than they did before?

3. "I don't see this immature bellyaching..." MD's bark about NP's, PharmD's about RpH's (bachelor level pharmacists).

4. You seem to think that MDs "don't take us seriously". My MDs take me very seriously.

lub dub · Jan 23, 2014

I can't understand for the life of me why so many nurses find the idea of being more educated so offensive. The anti-intellectual tone found all over this forum is awkward and shameful. What in the world is wrong with more education, in any context or situation? What's the BIG PROBLEM with this profession evolving academically and intellectually? Why does that idea CHAFE so?
I don't see this kind of immature bellyaching in other fields. Pharmacists, doctors and physical therapists all did their time in school with 4 years being the minimum.
As long as the LPNs and ADNs keep up their sobbing about having to go to school, it's no wonder doctors and other allied health professionals don't take us seriously. Suck it up, buttercups. You might have to learn more stuff and be smarter, OH MY GOD THE HORROR. My employer pays BSNs more than ADNs, and that trend WILL spread.
If being dumber and earning less money is your choice, do the world a favor and stop humiliating yourselves by complaining about it. Seriously, this whole debate is stale, stupid and plain EMBARRASSING. Reality WINS, guys. Get the BSN and just quit the whining about it already.

^This!!!!!

Thank you for eloquently expressing the anti-education problem in our profession.