Hi,
Other than websites like:
http://www.nursingassociatedegree.com
Does anyone have suggestions on where to go pertaining to the differences between an ADN and BSN I really have to disagree with SOME of what Dave said. First, there still are diploma schools out there in many states. (I teach in one). But yes, there are far more ADN programs. Both ADN and BSN graduates take the same NCLEX exam and get the same license, so most hospitals pay new graduates the same. BSN grads have more career options, so ultimately, they can make more money.
If you want to do beside nursing, get the 2 year degree and go work. Research studies have shown that diploma and ADN graduates function better on the floor as new grads than BSNs. This makes sense because they have more focus on beside care and BSN has more focus on managing care. However, by the end of the 1st year, you can't tell the difference in performance. BSNs catch up quickly with some experience. Diploma and ADN graduates also have a SLIGHTLY higher pass rate nationally on the NCLEX exam (but only slightly)
So I'd recommend getting your RN with a ADN (or diploma where available). If possible, choose a school that is NLN (National League for Nursing) accredited as well as your state board of nursing accredited. Then take boards and go to work. Most hospitals today have tuition reimbursement. You can get your BSN paid for by your employer, plus you have some experience and can get more out of those management classes when you know what they are talking about. This is was MANY diploman and ADNs do. There are many RN to BSN programs available that you can do part time while you work.
If you know you want to be a manager and you like the academic environment for four years, then by all means go straight for the BSN. You also can continue and get a masters degree.
Know matter what you do, DON'T blow off the non-nursing courses. While you don't 'diagram sentences' in nursing, you do need to be able to communicate clearly and understanding proper sentence structure is one way to do that. Not to mention what Cs do to your grade point average (which can keep you from getting into the nursing courses). They don't have you take those courses just to 'punish you'. Definitely take anatomy and physiology, microbiology seriously. You WILL need that information to pass the nursing courses. american nursing association
Associates nurses do the same thing that BSN nurses do, but sometimes get paid less and sometimes not.
BSN nurses have more theory and ADN's have more hands on practise. They both take the same certification exam. They pass with the same score and the fail with the same score. There are more opportunities open to you with a Bachelors than with an associates (supposedly). BUT some leaders are only associate prepared. Experience is everything. The AD degree was suppose to be a stop gap but now is entry level into nursing. It happened like this.
Years ago, most nursing schools were 3 year diploma programs run by hospitals. The students would go to school 9 months of the year and work the summer as nurse aids/orderlies. They got a ton of hands on experience in the programs and when they graduated, they could go take care of patients the very next day.
But along came the BA (BS) degree nurses. They wanted a degree to be entry level for nursing and they started getting state practice laws changed to that effect. However, they knew closing down the diploma schools would cause a nursing shortage so they came up with the idea of an AD for nurses so they could get out and start working as they finished up on their Bachelors degree. It sounded like a wonderful plan.
The diploma schools were closed down and now all we have are AD and BD programs. But not enough of them. We are in a major nursing crisis and it is only going to get worse when many baby boomer nurses retire in the next 10 years. So the degree nurses response? They are turning out AD nurses like crazy. It does not matter how long they are in the program or how little clinical experience they get with patients, all they got to do is get the right college credits and BOOM, they graduate. They lack the didactic knowledge of the four year BD nurse and the clinical skills of the diploma nurse. When they graduate and get a job, the hospital has to give them an "internship" so they can learn all that stuff they should have learned in school. (Of course that is also true of the BD nurses in many cases as some of those programs are pretty lame on clinical experience also.) And the vast majority of these "stop gap" AD nurses never do go on to get their BD. It is like 90 day wonders of World War Two, churn out the bodies and hope they do not go kill someone.
So if you want to be a nurse, get an AD and start working.
If you want to be a really good nurse, get a BD and pay attention to the nursing courses. (Just go for a "C" in all that liberal arts crap they make you take. Being able to diagram a sentence is NOT a vital part of nursing care.) |
