Will Non-BSN nurses ever be fired?

[AcosmicRN]

I'm entering nursing at a time when diploma, ADN, and BSN are all entry level educations for nursing. I don't want to get a BSN. But will there ever come a time when the ADN nurse will be fired for not having a BSN? Or will the BSN become the only entry level education and ADNs will simply fade away through attrition? What do you think?

(By the way, a little background: I'm entering nursing a little older than most [36]. I was a writer/publisher before, so I already have a bachelor's in another area. I'm not trying to argue a bachelor's education, I'm just tired of formal school at this time in my life. I do intend to get a CCRN, be ACLS certified and do continuing education units.)

Acosmic

[AcosmicRN]

Professional? What is that? Is it someone licensed by the state? Barbers are licensed by the state. Is it someone who makes money at what they do? That's the burger flipper. Is it someone who is completely autonomous in the decisions they make while performing their work? That's every self-employed person. Is it anyone who has to have a bachelor's or higher to work? Are newspaper editors considered professionals? Are FBI agents?

If you take one definition, you open flood gates for all kinds of job titles. If you take another definition, you open different flood gates.

Is a professional only an MD, Lawyer, CPA? Is a vocation only for priests? Perhaps a professional is anyone who puts letters after their signature? Or is it someone who directly bills a client for services rather than being paid by a third party (such as a hospital).

I am an R.N. I sign it after my name, even when I'm writing checks or signing credit card receipts. My job is listed under the section of my state law called "The Professions." I have a state board that licenses me. I have malpractice insurance. I get paid for what I do. I have social respect and status. I assess patients, make diagnoses, plan interventions, conduct interventions, and evaluate those interventions. Furthermore, I am an essential element of health care. And not just a member of a team: the role of MD and RN are the two components that define healthcare. You can't have just one or the other without the whole thing coming apart. In a hospital, everyone is either an RN or an MD or working to support and assist one or the other. Nursing is older than medicine. Doctors evolved from nursing, not the other way around.

I'd say that makes me a professional if ever there was such a thing.

Acosmic