Hi! I’ve decided to study nursing and am trying to decide on a program. What’s the difference between getting an associates at a community college and a bachelors other than the obvious degree difference? Can I still take the N-CLEX with just an associates? Thank you for the help! I love your blog xx
Hello! My apologies for the really late response, but I hope this information helps! I’m currently in a BSN program so my answers may be a little biased but I know plenty of ADN-RN nurses!
While I’m not super well-versed in all the little details between the two different degrees, this is what I do know.
First off: You CAN take the NCLEX as an ADN (associates degree nurse). My preceptor at the internship I was just at was an RN after getting her associates degree and she’s been working for a little over 15 years. However, she is currently in school to get her BSN.
ADN is the minimum for nursing requirements, but takes shorter (2-3 years depending on the program)
If you are looking to get the basics out of the way and jump straight into the workforce because staying in school for a long time is not something you’d like, then an ADN works just fine! You get the basic nursing fundamental classes and some specialty classes (like pediatrics, behavioural health, basic pharmacology etc). However, being an ADN-RN means that you’re limited to just basic nursing care.
BSN opens up more options for better positions, different jobs, higher pay but takes longer (usually a 4 yr program at an institution)
The difference between the classes of ADN and BSN is that these go a little more in depth. While ADN gets the basics, they’re also a little more focused on care while BSN classes go deeper into more critical thinking concepts.
For example if you see a patient is failing and their Oxygen percentage is going down, a first instinct is to give them oxygen. But critical thinking pushes you into delving deeper such as why is it going down, what could possibly be causing it, and what components of their entire health do you have to factor in that could be a reason as to their oxygen going down. It’s a lot of mental exercise, admittedly!
However, it does take longer and you have to take pre-requisite classes at the school beforehand and more often than not, take an entrance test as on top of a review of your pre-req grades to get into the program.
A lot of people with ADN’s ive noticed are getting their BSN.
If you end up decided to get your ADN for now, just know that that’s not the end! There are plenty of RN to BSN programs at multiple schools where people that are already RN’s are choosing to get BSN certified in it. So if that’s something you’d think you’re interested in further down the road, just know it’s a possibility!
BSN opens up the doors to being: nurse educators, clinical instructors, nurse managers, specialty nurses (specific age group, disorders, critical care, neonatology, etc), and is the first step in going onto be an Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) where you can be a Nurse Practitioner, Nurse Anesthetist, Nurse Midwise, and even higher roles in administration. Also, higher pay.
Ultimately:
I personally will advocate to get your BSN, because even though it takes a little bit longer than an ADN, it’s better to get it out of the way now and it opens up plenty of opportunities right at the start of your career. BUT! If your life situation makes that difficult and ADN is your choice of path, you’ll still definitely be able to take the NCLEX and still be a Registered nurse. In many cases, ADN-RNs are great nurses and unless you’re looking up new jobs, if you’re good at what you do, no one cares how you got the degree. (I didn’t know my preceptor was an ADN but even with that knowledge, she was still the best one I had!)
Good luck with choosing a program and good luck with nursing school once you enter it! Let us know how it goes :)
