Will NCLEX ever REQUIRE BSN???

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Im getting married, and I have used this site mainly to ask about questions re...moving..RN to BSN and etc...because we arent sure exactly which route or city we will go/be in.

Im pretty sure we have decided Ill stay home with kids after working a year or couple....My concern is, if thats the case I may or may not continue to RN to BSN...

If I do that, I know I can renew my license as inactive (JUST IN CASE!!!!) but...at some point will NCLEX/etc require the BSN to even do that? I think right now its just a preference and not necessarily require my employers but....will this change to expand to a requirement for the licensing boards???

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

At this time, no state in the union requires a BSN degree to take NCLEX. This may change, but I am in my 30s and do not envision this change transpiring anytime soon. 60 percent of all RNs produced in the US are associate degree nurses. The first and only state that had a law mandating a BSN degree, North Dakota, had to repeal the law 16 years later due to difficulty enforcing it.

However, as a hedge against the future, I've been enrolled in an online RN-to-BSN completion program since last year.

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Specializes in ICU.

No, I don't foresee it happening and here is why. At this time, there is not a significant difference in the ASN and BSN. The core programs are both 2 years, with the same amount of clinical hours. Some ASN programs have more clinical hours, where a BSN has more theory hours. The pass rates for the NCLEX are not any different. Some BSN programs have great NCLEX pass rates while ASN programs also have good ones. In my town their are two major reputable schools for nursing. A BSN and an ASN. Both have 100% pass rates. I live in a mid-size suburban area to a major US city.

My feeling is, if a hospital says BSN required, then first they need to differentiate the degrees. Like with an LPN and RN. Then, the programs need revamped, and their should be a different NCLEX like with the LPN. Then, hospitals need to make it worth someone's while to get a BSN. I'm talking about pay rates. Right now a BSN= about a $.50 and hour pay difference. That's at bedside. A BSN will most certainly have more opportunities to advance, but at bedside there is not much of a difference.

Right now, they are all RNs, passing the same test and taking the same core program. There needs to be a total revamp and that will take years to implement. With the projected "shortage" coming as baby boomers retire and will need medical care themselves, I don't foresee this happening.

But then again, I don't claim to have the psychic ability either. Lol

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Specializes in Cardio-Pulmonary; Med-Surg; Private Duty.

You do realize that you don't take the NCLEX every time you renew your license, right???

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I don't think it will happen anytime soon but I don't think it's outside the realm of possibility. Academia is pushing hard for advanced degrees so perhaps in the future but I would think it's a looooong way off. Also they would likely grandfather in the current ADNs IF they ever went this route. Similarly as they will MSN NPs as its moving to a DNP.

As a pp noted the nclex is one and done. To renew you will need CEUs (continuing education units, most jobs provide the classes) and a payment.

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"Ever" is a long time. Whether anyone will ever need it for initial licensure is a matter for conjecture. As the laws stand now, license renewal is not a matter of pre-licensure education, but of post-licensure CEs (and payment of fees, and whatever else the individual state may require).

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Specializes in Med Surg.

If it ever does, there will be a grandfather clause.

Get your BSN anyway.

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

I doubt a law will ever be passed. I do, however, believe that not having a BSN is a serious roadblock when it comes to getting that elusive first job- until/if a true shortage appears.

Also, NCLEX is a pass once and done test. There isn't another test each time your renew your license. Check with your current BON and/or any BON of states where you may move and see what the renewal requirements are- some are just a set amount of CEs, some are a set amount of CEs with certain topic requirements such as child abuse or infection control.

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Specializes in HH, Peds, Rehab, Clinical.

Nclex is a one and done thing. You pass it once and they are out of your life forever! THEY don't set bsn requirements, it would be a state issue, at which time it's not, no matter where you live

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Specializes in Emergency & Trauma/Adult ICU.

You would have to ask this hypothetical question x 50 states ... as state boards of nursing are the licensing bodies. It is conceivable that State A would legislate requiring a BSN to be eligible to take NCLEX and State B would not -- a poster above gave you an example of the one U.S. state which has attempted unsuccessfully to mandate a BSN for RN licensure eligibility.

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Specializes in PCCU, tele, Med/Surg, ED, Psych.

It is more likely that indivual employers might institute a BSN policy, one such policy is the "BSN in Ten" initiative. Nurses without a BSN would sign an agreement that they must complete a BSN within 10 years of being hired. My masters thesis dealt with this topic. Most ADN nurses have no incentive to go back to school. The pay rate difference at bedside is minimal or none, but student loan debt is around for quite a while; many employers don't have great tuition assistance.

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Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

To do so would require all 50 states and the territories to agree that the BSN is the minimum degree for entry level nursing. That would eliminate a lot of nursing schools. If we all fall under a Federal mandate in the future it might happen, but I do not think it will be in my lifetime

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