2 year program vs 4 year ones

SFCardiacRN · Jan 2, 2006

Many ADN/ASN have gone on to BSN. Some courses will transfer and some will not. If you want to be a nurse and can afford it, go for the BSN. Most ASN (2 year) take 4 years to finish anyway when you count pre-reqs and the general education classes required for graduation. Good luck!

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Jan 3, 2006

Hi, blinky. . .I got my AA in nursing in 1975 and my BSN in 1986. No, there was no difference in the pay. The difference in pay usually comes as you start to rack up years of experience. So, a new graduate nurse just out of nursing school doesn't usually make as much money as a nurse who has 10 years experience under her belt.

Many of the general education classes I took in the junior college transferred to the university where I ended up getting my BSN. However, there were some extra classes I had to take and the university also required me to re-take my anatomy and physiology class. The university I went to had some very unique requirements. You will need to contact each school you want to attend to find out what their specific requirements are to abtain the degree you are looking for. You can usually find this information on their web sites in either their college catalog (many are on line now) or on the web site for their department of nursing.

The advantage of having a BSN is that if you want and desire supervision or management positions you will move into them much easier than if you just have an AA degree. BSN programs go into more depth with leadership and management as well as nursing theories. You will do a lot of writing and learn how to do some beginning research in a BSN program.

I would recommend that if you ultimately want a BSN that you aim for that initially. As you can see it took me 11 years to continue on to get my BSN. I would have gone straight to a BSN if I had known about all the difficulties I encountered with transferring classes and having to make up classes that the university required that my junior college didn't. If nursing is your goal then that is what you get your degree in, not something else.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Jan 3, 2006

I went to an ADN program at a community college. Thirteen years later I began a bridge to the BSN, and just completed my first year of that. I have a year and one semester to go. (It's part time, as I'm working full time.)

RN to BSN programs are springing up all over the place. Most courses from the ADN program readily transfer to BSN schools.

If I keep my same job, when I get my BSN they will give me a 4% raise. The BSN, I hope will open up non-floor nursing jobs to me as I age in nursing. Right now I'm happy with floor nursing, but want the BSN for options later.

Annabelle57 · Jan 3, 2006

here in florida, if you get your associate's degree at a community college, the courses you took have no problem transferring over credit to a public 4-year school. if you decide to go to a private university or one out of state, well, sometimes there might be a course or two that doesn't get credit. but for the most part, you shouldn't have too much trouble. you are smart to contact the colleges, though - good start. check their websites, too.

no difference in pay for bsn vs. adn-trained rns, at least not at the hospital i work at (and i'm in the recruitment dept where they set all these things). what daytonite said was right: it's the years of experience, not necessarily the degree, that earns more pay. some hospitals do offer a small difference in pay, but i do emphasize *small* here: usually somewhere between 50 cents to a dollar more per hour, if there's a difference at all. but, most every hospital will either help pay or completely pay for you to do an rn-bsn completion program if you want, as well as any advanced nursing degrees.

money was the big factor for me, not in what i would earn but how much the schooling would initially cost me. since i'm a 2nd-degree nurse wannabe, it actually turned out to be quicker and cheaper in the end for me to just get the accelerated bsn, but i would have been just as happy doing a 2-year program if it was the least expensive option (and if the waiting list wasn't so effing long, either).

i also recommend the bsn route, if you can do it: it opens up more doors for you in the end (leadership, advanced degrees, etc). but getting an adn first, then doing your bsn, is nothing to sneeze at and is a well-traveled route for many nurses.

good luck! :smokin:

blinky, ASN, RN · Jan 3, 2006

All good info. THe other problem I have is the addmission reguirements. The gpa on eis higher at the four year ones than the two year one. and im nto sure when i transfer how my grade will be efected but its not that great right now 2.42 or somethign with 63 credit hours, ya it sucks ;(

Tweety, BSN, RN · Jan 3, 2006

All good info. THe other problem I have is the addmission reguirements. The gpa on eis higher at the four year ones than the two year one. and im nto sure when i transfer how my grade will be efected but its not that great right now 2.42 or somethign with 63 credit hours, ya it sucks ;(

RN to BSN programs are much easier to get into and aren't competative at all. I would still strive to make the best of grades possible if you go the ADN route, but wouldn't worry they would hinder you getting into an RN to BSN program later.

BSN program are pretty competetive to get into due to waiting lists. ADN to BSN programs usually don't have waiting lists.

Good luck in whatever you do.