Differences
Raven Masters
University of Phoenix
September 24, 2010
Adn vs Bsn:
Differences
In the late 1850s Florence Nightingale started her own school to train nurses and developed standards by which nurses performed their duties. She may never have envisioned that one day there would be different educational tracks resulting in multiple degrees and disciplines in nursing, each having their own set of criteria for excellence. Associate degree nurse (ADN) and baccalaureate degree nurse (BSN) are the two most common entry level nursing positions. An ADN can be obtained in two or three years whereas the BSN takes four years of education to complete due to additional courses. Differences between the degrees begin with education and mature as the nurse gains experience.
Raines and Taglaireni’s (2008) article states ADN and BSN nurses attend the same basic liberal arts and general education courses such as English, literature, history, math, humanities, and arts. Both have basic nursing courses, the same technical skill sets are taught, and nurses must pass the same National Council Licensing Examination for RNs (NCLEX-RN©) which measures minimum technical competency for entry-level nursing practice.
Colleges will differ in the exact requirements for each degree but the community college ADN program consists of approximately 75 course credits of which 38 are science and liberal arts prerequisites, and 37 credits are in the nursing major. The four-year college and university BSN program consists of approximately 124 credit hours of which 62 are in liberal arts and sciences prerequisites, and 62 are in the nursing major. BSN coursework has more in depth study for nursing research, informatics, management, and technology. These additional courses put more emphasis on theory, developing critical thinking skills, and leadership skills. The increased emphasis on theory and communication builds collaborative decision-making skills.