The difference between an Associates degree in nursing and Bachelors in science in nursing is that a BSN nurses are better prepared in medical setting vs. an ADN nurse especially in the acute care settings. Hospitals want nursing to be better prepared especially with all the advancements in the medical field. “The complexity of medical and surgical interventions undertaken in hospitals requires an even bigger and more sophisticated clinical workforce” (Altamann 2011). A lot of ADNs do not have the complexity or the critical thinking as do BSNs do.
ADN nurses only have 2 years to complete their program, therefore their programs are usually shortened in order to meet the 2 years, and ...view middle of the document...
BSN provides additional education, which will, allows nurses to enter in various other specialties such as education, leadership, research and development, interdisciplinary collaboration, community and public health, and graduate studies. This includes acute care and long-term care settings, hospitals, ambulatory care public health etc. (The Impact of Education, 2015). Furthermore BSN programs will go into theories, research, and management skills they also better prepare their nursing students for the work force.
ADN nurses main function is at the bedside with less complicated patient care, and ADN nurses provides teaching to their patients on how to cope with conditions and how to keep up with their care after they have been released from the hospital. As for BSN nurses they will advocate for their patients plus their education gives them the opportunity to think independently. They also have research-based protocols and make independent decisions. For example a BSN nurses would know to hold their warfarin if the patients PT/INR lab came back 4.09 then they would know to recheck their labs the next day. Also BSN nursing will challenge a physician if they order Tylenol to a patient with liver failure and then make sure that the orders are changed to another medication that would not put the patient at risk. Overall BSN nurses are more educated to think more critically than ADN nurses.
The BSN program gives nurses knowledge that improves the power of critical thinking. Critical thinking is very essential to work in areas such as...