Benefits of Earning a BSN Degree: Is It the Next Step for me?
Many nurses these days are going straight for a bachelor's degree in nursing, bypassing the Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) that qualifies them to go for certification as a registered nurse. If you're in RN with an ADN, maybe you've talked to your colleagues and realized there are many valid reasons to continue your education and go for a BSN. Here are some of them.
Why Go for a BSN?
An ADN will help you prepare for the NCLEX exam, while also providing you with the basic skills and education you need to get your start as a nurse. But a BSN will give you much broader preparation so that you will be exposed to facets of the nursing profession you might not have known about otherwise.
For instance, a BSN gives you a broad and comprehensive education that is helpful in your development as a human being. Taking courses that deepen your knowledge of history, culture, the arts, and sociology/psychology, can enhance your ability to communicate and deepen your understanding of your patients, their backgrounds, and the increasingly complex world we live in.
But a BSN will also give you more nursing-specific training that, in the future, could help you reach beyond patient care. For instance, ADN programs are not likely to include courses such as these, which are typically found in BSN curricula:
- Nursing theory and research
- Community nursing
- Pediatrics
- Health assessment
- Ethics of nursing
- Nurse management and leadership
Each of these areas may represent a direction you could go in after you get your practical experience as a nurse. Perhaps you decide you want to climb the ladder into nursing management. A BSN could help you attain that goal. Or, say you want to specialize in an area such as pediatrics. A BSN program will likely offer course material that will prepare you for dealing with medical issues specific to children.
Interested in pursuing an advanced nursing degree? A BSN will help you prepare. As reported in Nurse Journal, BSN programs "focus on interdisciplinary course work, and strengthening their students' writing and research knowledge" so students are better prepared for graduate school. Anyone who has aspirations of being a manager or nursing executive--or moving into such areas as advanced practice nurse (APRN) or nurse educator--must have a graduate degree, and a BSN is the first step toward getting one.
Increased Complexity
You may have noticed if you have been an RN for a while, that the medical field just keeps getting more complex, with technological advances, more complicated health care regulations, and ever-changing developments in the way patients are insured. A bachelor's degree could help you be better prepared to meet the challenges that will emerge in coming years. Nurses of today need knowledge beyond that of patient care, including skills in smart technology; deeper knowledge of illnesses and disease trends; cultural sensitivity for treating an increasingly diverse population; and many other areas. Tomorrow, you may need skills that are not yet even on the horizon.
Better Patient Health
Recent nursing research has revealed some surprising findings regarding the growing presence of nurses with BSNs in hospitals and clinics. It appears that with greater BSN nursing staffing, there is a lower incidence of pressure sores, hospital-acquired infections, post-surgical mortality, and post-operative deep vein thrombosis. This research is bound to be an incentive for hospitals and clinics to encourage the attainment of BSNs by more of their nursing staff.
Next Step
RNs may find that a college with an RN to BSN program meets their needs best for earning their bachelor's degree. Some of these programs feature a heavy emphasis on online courses, which will be helpful as you arrange your schedule, particularly if you have to work or you have family commitments that require you to be at home. Completion time can vary based on your previous education.
Do You Want to Move Forward as a Nurse?
If you want to get a step up as an RN, earning a BSN could get you there! If you want to earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree, ECPI University could help you get there. For more information about this exciting program, connect with a knowledgeable admissions officer today.
It could be the Best Decision You Ever Make!
DISCLAIMER – ECPI University makes no claim, warranty, or guarantee as to actual employability or earning potential to current, past or future students or graduates of any educational program we offer. The ECPI University website is published for informational purposes only. Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information contained on the ECPI.edu domain; however, no warranty of accuracy is made. No contractual rights, either expressed or implied, are created by its content.
For more information about ECPI University or any of our programs click here: http://www.ecpi.edu/ or http://ow.ly/Ca1ya.