What Is the Difference Between an ADN and BSN Registered Nurse?
To become a Registered Nurse (RN), a person must attend a university or community college that has an established nursing school. Many colleges offer associates degrees in nursing (ADN) or bachelor of science degree in nursing (BSN). Sometimes it may get a little confusing to a person on what degree they should get to become a Registered Nurse (RN). Many people wonder: what is the difference between an ADN or BSN nursing degree and how long does it take to receive an ADN or BSN nursing degree?
There are two main difference between an associates degree in nursing (ADN) and bachelor of science degree in nursing (BSN). The first difference is an obvious one and it involves the amount of time it takes to complete each degree. An ADN takes two years to complete and a BSN takes four years to complete. Most community colleges offer the ADN program compared to universities that mainly offer the BSN program. This in turn means that it will be relatively cheaper to obtain an ADN degree than a BSN degree because community colleges tend to cost less than universities.
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The second difference involves salary differential. When starting out as a registered nurse, the hourly pay is usually the same for an ADN and BSN nurse. However, if an ADN registered nurse is interested in applying for a manger type position they may be required to obtain their BSN degree before they could work in that type of position. In order, for the ADN nurse to do this they must attend a RN to BSN program. Furthermore, most BSN nurses are more likely to secure positions that involve being a nurse educator, discharge planner, and shift leader compared to a nurse who has an ADN degree.
In summary, there are two differences between an ADN and BSN nurse. These two differences include amount of schooling that is required and pay differential. It takes two years of schooling at a community college to obtain a associates degree in nursing (ADN) and four years of school at a university to obtain a bachelor degree of science in nursing (BSN).
