Question

Before looking at the research behind the answer for this question I would like the class to take a minute to answer two questions in a similar light.

1. Do you personally believe there is a difference in performance between an ADN nurse and a BSN nurse? Why?
2. What is your opinion about the lack of uniformity in the education for nurses in comparison to other health care providers?

Answer 1

Ans) Differences between ADN and BSN:

- Patient Safety: Are BSN Nurses Safer & More Qualified to Offer Better Patient Care?

Nobody is claiming ADN nurses offer less care than nurses with a BSN degree.

BSN nurses are simply better trained, prepared and ready to tackle more care jobs thanks to their educational experience. The elaborate curriculum and clinical hours required by academic criteria make BSN nurses highly trained and qualified to meet the nation’s patients’ nursing needs and deliver safe, effective patient care.

Extensive research across the years shows that patient outcomes and quality of care improve with BSN-prepared nurses. Moreover, it was shown that having BSN nurses in a medical facility leads to lower patient mortality in hospitals, fewer medical errors and better relationships through communication.

- Both ADN and BSN degrees prepare nurses for entry-level roles. However, a BSN degree is designed to offer more career opportunities for upward mobility, and that comes with a bigger paycheck.

The starting salary for a registered nurse with a BSN can be, at the beginning, similar to what an ADN nurse earns. However, RNs with an ADN degree may land entry-level positions that will provide them with $40,250 on average, while RNs with a BSN can earn up to a mean annual income of about $71,730.

ADN-level RN Salary:
As stated in our 2019 nursing salaries study, registered nurses earn a median annual salary of $71,730 — salaries vary by state, specialty, employer and level of education.

According to Payscale, a registered nurse (RN) earns an annual salary of $68,000 on average. Over the years, the average salary has increased steadily. However, it is possible to notice a slower growth for ADN graduates’ salary in the following years because employees are looking for more BSN-educated nurses to hire.  

BSN-level RN Salary:
BSN-educated nurses are the top 25% earners in the field. RNs with a BSN degree earn an annual income of $82,000 on average, according to the same source. Because of the growing need for BSN-prepared nurses, the annual salary is expected to grow significantly in the next five years.

Opting for an area of specialization also affects a nurse’s salary. However, a baccalaureate degree gives you the opportunity to explore and expand your horizons and the chance to move beyond hospital employment.

nurses education guide.

ADN vs BSN Competencies Differences:

- When it comes to professional skills, one can say that an ADN-prepared nurse is a “technical” nurse, while a BSN-level nurse is a “professional” nurse.

The difference is that an Associate degree trains someone mostly on clinical skills, while a Bachelor’s degree is focused on leadership, nursing research, management as well as clinical skills training.

Both degrees prepare nurses to provide patient care that meets generally accepted standards, and that is why nursing training is professional in both ADN and BSN programs.

However, the latter focuses more on research, disease prevention, community health, advocacy, and informatics to better examine data, implement best practices and find better solutions to patient outcomes. As a BSN nurse, you will have a better understanding of the cultural, economic, and social issues that affect patients and influence healthcare delivery systems. This way, you will make yourself open to opportunities and rewarding, specialized roles.

ADN vs. BSN Education Differences:
The main differences between ADN and BSN programs are the length of time needed to complete each and the number of credits required to graduate from the program.

An ADN usually takes 2 years, while a BSN will take 4 years to complete (or sooner). If you’re already an RN and want to improve your outcome in less time, you can complete the RN to BSN Bridge Program in as few as 12 months or 3 semesters, if the required General Education (GE) courses have not been completed.

According to AACN, traditional baccalaureate nursing programs (BSN) include all the course work taught in the ADN program and diploma programs (the most basic nursing certificate) plus a more in-depth training in social sciences, management, research, public and community health, and leadership.

The main focus of BSN programs is for the learner to broaden their scope of practice and have the opportunity for enhanced professional development.

Associate Degree in Nursing
Earning an ADN is a great start to your nursing career. The main advantages of an ADN program are that it’s less expensive and less time-consuming. You’ll become a nurse faster, start earning money and getting nursing experience. You can complete ADN programs in as few as 18 to 24 months.

Many people choose to first pursue the ADN program, so they can enter the workforce, gather experience and go to school later to obtain their BSN in an RN to BSN program.

• The future of access to basic primary care and nursing education will depend on increasing the number of BSN-prepared nurses. Unless this goal is met, the committee’s recommendations for greater access to primary care; enhanced, expanded, and reconceptualized roles for nurses; and updated nursing scopes of practice cannot be achieved. The committee believes that increasing the proportion of the nursing workforce with a BSN from the current 50 percent to 80 percent by 2020 is bold but achievable. Achieving this target will help meet future demand for nurses qualified for advanced practice positions and possessing competencies in such areas as community care, public health, health policy, evidence-based practice, research, and leadership. The committee concludes further that the number of nurses holding a doctorate must be increased to produce a greater pool of nurses prepared to assume faculty and research positions. The committee believes a target of doubling the number of nurses with a doctorate by 2020 would meet this need and is achievable.

- To achieve these targets, however, will require overcoming a number of barriers. The numbers of educators and clinical placements are insufficient for all the qualified applicants who wish to enter nursing school. There also is a shortage of faculty to teach nurses at all levels. Incentives for nurses at any level to pursue further education are few, and there are active disincentives against advanced education. Nurses and physicians—not to mention pharmacists and social workers—typically are not educated together and yet are increasingly required to cooperate and collaborate more closely in the delivery of care.

To address these barriers, innovative new programs to attract nursing faculty and provide a wider range of clinical education placements must clear long-stand.

- To this end, market-based salary adjustments must be made for faculty, and more scholarships must be provided to help nursing students advance their education. Accrediting and certifying organizations must mandate demonstrated mastery of clinical skills, managerial competencies, and professional development at all levels. Mandated skills, competencies, and professional development milestones must be updated on a more timely basis to keep pace with the rapidly changing demands of health care. All health professionals should receive more of their education in concert with students from other disciplines. Efforts also must be made to increase the diversity of the nursing workforce.

The nursing profession must adopt a framework of continuous lifelong learning that includes basic education, academic progression, and continuing competencies. More nurses must receive a solid education in how to manage complex conditions and coordinate care with multiple health professionals. They must demonstrate new competencies in systems thinking, quality improvement, and care management and a basic understanding of health care policy. Graduate-level nurses must develop an even deeper understanding of care coordination, quality improvement, systems thinking, and policy.

- The committee emphasizes further that, the ACA is likely to accelerate the shift in care from the hospital to the community setting. This transition will have a particularly strong impact on nurses, more than 60 percent of whom are currently employed in hospitals (HRSA, 2010b). Nurses may turn to already available positions in primary or chronic care or in public or community health, or they may pursue entirely new careers in emerging fields that they help create. Continuing and graduate education programs must support the transition to a future that rewards flexibility. In addition, the curriculum at many nursing schools, which places heavy emphasis on preparing students for employment in the acute care setting, will need to be rethought.