Getting your BSN and education is of the utmost importance to us at Wanderly. We are in the business of understanding various nursing degrees, certifications, and licensures, and we take it personally to provide you with the most accurate information to launch your travel nursing success. It begins with the difference between a Bachelors of Science in Nursing (BSN) prepared Registered Nurse (RN) versus an Associates Degree in Nursing (AND) prepared RN.
This is Nurse Kelley here, guest blogging along with Kati Kleber from Fresh RN to share a bit of our take on the importance of getting your BSN.
So, what is the difference between obtaining your BSN and your ADN when it comes to actually working as a nurse? Both degrees must pass the licensure exam known as the NCLEX, so why would you spend four years in school when you could spend two? Let’s cover that now. Here are 5 reasons to opt for obtaining your BSN with real-life reasons that will affect your “everyday” as a traveler.
1. Broader Educational Perspective
The majority of ADN programs do a fantastic job at teaching nursing skills and preparing students for sitting for their board exam. However, there are many courses that many administrators view as vital for nursing success that are missing from the ADN curriculum. To name a few: pediatrics, assessment, and research. A four-year degree prepares the nurse for advanced education and provides a broader educational perspective, more clinical hours, and substantial theoretical practice for students.
2. Hospital Leadership Preference
It is pretty plain and simple: advanced nursing degrees are so common now that hospital administrators are starting to require BSN prepared nurses. It has become the educational standard as leadership considers patient complexity, safe staffing, and the need for nurses in professional roles. Basically, starting with this degree may be your best bet based off of the trend.
3. Expanded Nursing Pathways
The BSN prepared nurse can work in more clinical settings, home care settings, and management positions than ADN prepared nurses. “Many hospitals are now looking to either only hire BSN-prepared nurses, or hire ADN-prepared nurses with an active plan to complete their BSN within a certain time period,” added Kati Kleber, BSN RN CCRN-K. Kleber has worked on hospital committees working to comply with the Institute of Medicine’s recommendation for 80% of the nursing workforce to be BSN-prepared by 2020, and she described it as, “a very prominent priority for major health care organizations.”
4. Obtaining The First Nursing Job
It has become tougher for new graduates to obtain their first nursing jobs. Research shows that managers will consider hiring a BSN prepared nurse over an ADN prepared nurse in the majority of instances. In many cases, the BSN is the minimal education requirement. ADN nurses may not be considered at all.
5. Promotions
The BSN prepared nurse is almost always considered for promotions, leadership roles, and educational roles over the ADN prepared nurse. Kleber adds, “While having an ADN degree is a wonderful step to provide bedside patient care, in order to advance into nursing roles with more responsibilities and duties, you almost always need to be bachelor’s-prepared.” Kleber continues to state that, “as interesting and rewarding opportunities present themselves, one doesn’t have the time to complete their BSN to qualify before it’s filled, so it would be advantageous for those who desire to work beyond the bedside at some point in their career to obtain that bachelor’s degree.”