Why do Nurses tell students to go BSN??

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Specializes in Aesthetics, Med/Surg, Outpatient.

I know this has been discussed before but my situation is a bit different. Quick back-story:

  • Wanted to do ADN '12 but CC lost paperwork so that was on hold
  • Applied and got into BSN Spring '13 while waiting on CC
  • Applied for CC summer '13 and got acceptance on Tuesday :) and clinicals start January
  • I asked a few RNs which to choose and they all say BSN

Our hospital has no preference or pay diff but I get that maybe they want me to get the BSN now vs RN then BSN because life throws curve-balls. Well life threw me one and that's why I applied for the CC...

Im 25, married, mortgage, and mom will have to come live with us until she can work so I have to cover her bills... so I wont be able to afford my BSN.

But why are RNs advising me to get into debt for school despite knowing my acceptance to a good school? (hospital has partnership with them). Im not in a BSN preferred area either and my hospital will pay 100% RN-BSN.

Am I missing something?

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1) You won't always live in a "BSN not preferred" area

2) They know something you don't-- and some of those hospitals will be changing their minds soon

3) The program where they will pay RN-BSN is there now...but may not be there later

3a) What kind of obligation to remain working there will you have? That might not work out later for you, and you'll have to pay them back...and you can't take out a lower-interest student loan for it at that point

4) It's hard enough to go to school while working, much harder in the first year of practice when you'll probably be working shifts

5) I don't see one word about your having applied for financial aid or grants

6) You think you've got lots of time. Trust me. The years fly by. Don't put it off. Get it done while your mom is there to help with the kids.

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For us, it is the only way to a RN so the nurses I work with are encouraging me to got BSN after I finish getting my Practical nursing programme.

Just for the record, if they offered BSN here I would probably be in that right now.

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Specializes in Aesthetics, Med/Surg, Outpatient.

Thanks for your reply and outlook.

  • No kids lol
  • There is a one year obligation to work after they pay the RN-BSN portion

  • I plan on going CC ADN then RN-BSN at my current University whether my job pays or not because it would be more affordable vs doing the straight BSN now

I did apply for FAFSA and I just spoke with CC this morning and found out that they will be offering me a $650 grant/semester for the RN program so with tuition reimbursement of another $600/semester, I only have to pay for about $200-$300 out of pocket every semester whereas my current BSN program offers nothing.

Thank you so much for your insight... It gives me a lot to think about

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Specializes in Aesthetics, Med/Surg, Outpatient.

If it was more affordable I would not second-guess it at all but with mom in the mix, I cannot afford to take out 30K debt for a 4-yr BSN when I can do ADN then RN-BSN at half the cost and would be manageable to pay OOP

I guess I just dont see the benefit of my 4-yr program after all these changes but I could be wrong

Maybe I should have been more specific and say that I will not be able to afford my current BSN program; not that I wont ever do one... I will bridge

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Specializes in CCM, PHN.

Only 30K for a BSN....and you don't have kids. Does your husband/wife work & contribute to the bills? Does your mom help around the house? In my opinion if its only 30K, and you have support like this and no kids, you need to GO FOR IT. BSN will soon become the standard, it opens doors for you to get certifications and go to grad school. It's not always about the money. Things are changing, they will NOT stay the same!!! Lock in a BSN NOW before more "curveballs" get thrown your way. You'll be much better equipped to handle them with more education instead of less!

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Specializes in Aesthetics, Med/Surg, Outpatient.

Great observation... Mom comes this December. Hubby works and helps with the bills, yes but with mom coming, it will not be enough for all 3 of us.

Degree is only 36K because I did an Associates that covered my pre-reqs but I guess I keep thinking that it isnt financially smart to do so when I could do CC ADN for 7K and then RN-BSN for 12k... My RN friend that suggested staying in my BSN program said she dreads me getting prego after ADN and never going through to my MSN but I'd rather that "accidentally" happen in a cheaper program than in my BSN lol... Thats also not factoring my NP program which I'd rather use loans for (that Im aiming for)

I truly appreciate your advice, guys... Something to think about

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Specializes in Aesthetics, Med/Surg, Outpatient.

Let me clarify, I AM going to get my BSN; I just want to do my ADN first because I think it makes more sense for our family... My topic should have read "Why Nurses say go for BSN vs ADN first"... Sorry if I caused any confusion

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Specializes in Emergency Nursing.

We had a talk from our Chief Nursing Officer recently in which she noted that the Magnet standard would be moving and that we were aiming for 80% BSN among our RNs (we're currently at about 64%). Then she said, "Because research has shown that patients experience better outcomes having received care from a predominantly BSN prepared nursing staff".

I thought this was interesting. I am not pointing it out to start a fight, I haven't followed up on it, if it's true, it's reason enough.

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Specializes in Aesthetics, Med/Surg, Outpatient.

Interesting, indeed... I have done my due diligence and made myself a timeline; which is how I came up with my decision...

  1. ADN-BSN (CC graduate in 2015 and graduate BSN in 2016)
  2. BSN graduate in 2016

So for me its the same thing but the 4yr BSN program will cost 15k-20k more vs the other and thats where I dont quite get it... Im not slow; I promise :)

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As someone else said, lately it has become that having your BSN is the standard (and hospitals that havn't made this the standard yet are taking notice, so current situations can change). And new grads with BSNs are winning jobs out over new ADN grads (unless that ADN had made a great impression on their preceptor or during clinicals, has an "in" somewhere or has good medical background experience). And many places are phasing out ADNs. They are where I live.

For me it's just common sense from an employers standpoint...why would I hire someone with an associates when I could have someone with a bachelors degree that can choose to go even further in their education from there? With your associates you don't get many management opportunities or chances to climb the ladder...at some point you will need your BSN degree for that. And certain specialty areas of nursing request at least a BSN (flight nursing, for example).

Personally I don't understand everyone's fear of student loan debt. It's debt that is an investment in your future, and after working you can pay it back. Plus, you still have six months after graduating and looking for work before you need to start paying it back. 30k? That's not bad...

I'm going the CC route then bridging to UW for a year to earn my BSN, but that's only because I didn't get into a 4 year school. I have it in my head that I won't settle for less than a bachelors, so literally as soon as I graduate - job or not - I'm going for it and getting it done. I don't want to be stuck in a position where my employment opportunities are limited because I didn't further my education. Not a risk I'm willing to take. And it's just a personal drive thing...if I'm going to go to college for any field I'm going to go all the way to a bachelors degree at least.

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We had a talk from our Chief Nursing Officer recently in which she noted that the Magnet standard would be moving and that we were aiming for 80% BSN among our RNs (we're currently at about 64%). Then she said, "Because research has shown that patients experience better outcomes having received care from a predominantly BSN prepared nursing staff".

I thought this was interesting. I am not pointing it out to start a fight, I haven't followed up on it, if it's true, it's reason enough.

Actually, it is true. The classic paper by Linda Aiken (remember that name).

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2586978/pdf/nihms74339.pdf

Effects of Hospital Care Environment on Patient Mortality and

Nurse Outcomes

Linda H. Aiken, PhD, RN, FAAN, Sean P. Clarke, PhD, RN, FAAN, Douglas M. Sloane, PhD,

Eileen T. Lake, PhD, RN, and Timothy Cheney

Director (Dr Aiken), Associate Director (Dr Clarke), Research Professor (Dr Sloane), Assistant

Professor (Dr Lake), Senior Analyst (Mr Cheney), Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research,

University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Abstract

Objective—The objective of this study was to analyze the net effects of nurse practice environments

on nurse and patient outcomes after accounting for nurse staffing and education.

Background—Staffing and education have well-documented associations with patient outcomes,

but evidence on the effect of care environments on outcomes has been more limited.

Methods—Data from 10,184 nurses and 232,342 surgical patients in 168 Pennsylvania hospitals

were analyzed. Care environments were measured using the practice environment scales of the

Nursing Work Index. Outcomes included nurse job satisfaction, burnout, intent to leave, and reports

of quality of care, as well as mortality and failure to rescue in patients.

The analyses reported here suggest that nurse leaders have at least 3 major options for

improving nurse retention and patient outcomes: improving RN staffing, moving to a more

educated nurse workforce, and improving the care environment. The best present example of

care environments that support professional nurse practice are magnet hospitals.21,7 Emerging

research demonstrates that hospitals that implement the blue print for American Nurses

Credentialing Center Magnet designation achieve significant improvements in their practice

environments.22 In this study, we are able to demonstrate that hospitals with even some of the

features of magnet hospitals (investments in staff development, quality management, frontline

manager supervisory ability, and good relations with physicians) are associated with better

nurse and patient outcomes. Our findings show that each of the 3 options for improving

outcomes—improving nurse staffing, education, and the care environment—contributes

independently to better patient outcomes, and maximizing all 3 would seem to hold the greatest

promise for achieving the best outcomes.

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