Becoming a Registered Nurse is considered a grueling process by most people who go through it, whether it is through the Diploma, Associates or Baccalaureate program. The Diploma program has almost been completely phased out as an acceptable program, leaving the Associates and Bachelor programs in play. The Associates Degree in Nursing is usually a 2year program obtained in community colleges, whereas the Bachelor of Science in Nursing is a 4year course done in undergrad colleges. Some of the attraction factors to the ADN over the BSN have included the tuition being cheaper, having fewer prerequisites and finishing the course in less time. Things are however, beginning to change, as the standards of healthcare are becoming more advanced. This is because BSN educated nurses generally exhibit more competence in their practice than those with an ADN education.
Beginning from the 1940s, Baccalaureate programs in nursing became popular, by 1962 there were 178 colleges offering the program to students, and this became an accepted standard. However because of a nursing shortage in 1951, the ADN program was introduced as a quick way to repopulate the nursing community. (Creasia & Friberg, 2011, p. 15). This program was deemed successful and served its purpose at the time, but based on advances in health care; it may not be sufficient education to provide the best care for people.
Nursing is an evidence based practice, and in order for this type of practice to function effectively, research has to be conducted so that people can receive the best care possible. Several studies have been conducted to prove the superiority of BSN over ADN graduates. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing put together a fact sheet entitled, “Creating a More Highly Qualified Nursing Workforce”. This fact sheet contained data on studies performed to look into the effectiveness of higher educated nurses. In the October 2012 issue of Medical Care, researchers from the
References: Creasia, J. L., & Friberg, E. (2011). Conceptual Foundations: The bridge to Professional Nursing Practice (5th ed.). [ Pageburst Online. Web]. Retrieved from http://pageburstls.elsevier.com/books/978-0-323-06869-7/Root/1 Creating a More Highly Qualified Nursing Workforce . (2007). Retrieved from http://www.aacn.nche.edu/media-relations/NursingWorkforce.pdf Forster, H. (n.d.). ADN vs. BSN. Retrieved from http://nursinglink.monster.com/education/articles/3842-adn-vs-bsn Why Our Magnet Status Is Important To You. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.bannerhealth.com/Locations/Arizona/Banner+Good+Samaritan+Medical+Center/About+Us/Our+Magnet+Status/_Why+our+Magnet+status+is+important+to+you.htm