Adn vs Bsn. the Benefits of Higher Education
ADN vs BSN. The Benefits of Higher Education.
Amanda Sindel
Grand Canyon University
Abstract
There is much debate on whether there is a benefit to obtaining a Baccalaureate in Nursing. Since it is only my second week in the RN to BSN program, I don’t have a lot to base my opinion on. This paper will summarize the differences between Associates a Baccalaureate Degree in Nursing based on what I’ve been told, research I have done, and my own experiences.
In a hospital setting, there are nurses of various levels of education starting from a Licensed Practical Nurse all the way to a Nurse Practitioner. Although there is a clearly defined difference in education, knowledge, and skill sets between an LPN, RN, and NP, the difference between an ADN and a BSN is not so clearly differentiated.
While going through my ADN program and doing clinicals in the hospitals with BSN program students, it was obvious that the ADN students were more skill driven than the BSN students. WIll the ADN students started clinicals from the beginning of their two year program, the BSN students didn’t go to the hospital for hands on training until the end of their four year program. The ADN students seemed far more comfortable in the hospital setting and round patients than the BSN students. However, the BSN students were much more educated on disease process, health promotion, disease process, and community health (Hood, 2010). As new graduate nurses, both lacked the knowledge and experience needed for effective critical thinking, making the ADN’s technical skills more of an advantage. The additional competency obtained by the BSN nurse becomes more apparent after the new grad period.
The education a Baccalaureate nurse receives in an an extension and advancement of the skills and practice possed but an Associates nurse (Hood, 2010). For example, if a patient were admitted to the hospital for pneumonia, an ADN nurse would be fully competent in taking care of the
Amanda Sindel
Grand Canyon University
Abstract
There is much debate on whether there is a benefit to obtaining a Baccalaureate in Nursing. Since it is only my second week in the RN to BSN program, I don’t have a lot to base my opinion on. This paper will summarize the differences between Associates a Baccalaureate Degree in Nursing based on what I’ve been told, research I have done, and my own experiences.
In a hospital setting, there are nurses of various levels of education starting from a Licensed Practical Nurse all the way to a Nurse Practitioner. Although there is a clearly defined difference in education, knowledge, and skill sets between an LPN, RN, and NP, the difference between an ADN and a BSN is not so clearly differentiated.
While going through my ADN program and doing clinicals in the hospitals with BSN program students, it was obvious that the ADN students were more skill driven than the BSN students. WIll the ADN students started clinicals from the beginning of their two year program, the BSN students didn’t go to the hospital for hands on training until the end of their four year program. The ADN students seemed far more comfortable in the hospital setting and round patients than the BSN students. However, the BSN students were much more educated on disease process, health promotion, disease process, and community health (Hood, 2010). As new graduate nurses, both lacked the knowledge and experience needed for effective critical thinking, making the ADN’s technical skills more of an advantage. The additional competency obtained by the BSN nurse becomes more apparent after the new grad period.
The education a Baccalaureate nurse receives in an an extension and advancement of the skills and practice possed but an Associates nurse (Hood, 2010). For example, if a patient were admitted to the hospital for pneumonia, an ADN nurse would be fully competent in taking care of the
References: Hood, L., (2010). Leddy and Pepper’s Conceptual Bases of Professional Nursing (7th ed., pp. 16-19). Philadelphia: Lippincott. Grand Canyon University College of Nursing Philosophy. (2008)