Many people often dream of going into the nursing profession. However, knowing which nursing program to go for can prove quite tricky. From BSN to ADN to RN, there are quite a few programs to choose from. Alternatively, you may already have one of these and are looking to further your skills and potentially your career. Whatever the reason for you looking into nursing programs, here’s the difference between them so you can figure out which one is preferable to you.
RN certification
The RN certification is what you do to become a registered nurse. However, you often need this alongside either the ADN or BSN degree. This is a minimum requirement for all nurses, and you will not be able to practice nursing without it. As a registered nurse, you will also be able to become a travel nurse and experience working in different states and medical settings. Most staffing agencies make it easy for their travel nurse candidates to apply for positions and submit the necessary documentation.
ADN diploma
To get your ADN diploma, you must spend two years in nursing school. This is mostly studied to get the RN certification as it is shorter than the BSN diploma; although, this often depends on how far you want to go in your career. It is also what you may do to begin your nursing career, and you can then progress onto a BSN diploma if you want to develop your knowledge.
BSN diploma
This is a four-year nursing diploma and is often the most sought after by employers. This can be studied to get the RN certification; however, this all depends on career goals and, due to the length of the course, how long you are willing to spend in education to become a nurse.
How to study for a BSN degree
There are multiple ways you can study for your BSN, including both in-person and online. If you prefer to study in person, this may mean having to move away from work for a while to focus on completing your BSN. However, if you prefer to study online, this can mean you have more flexibility on when and where you study, meaning you can still work as an RN while studying for your BSN. If this is something you would prefer, visit academicpartnerships.uta.edu/programs/rn-to-bsn to find out more.
Why a BSN degree is better
As previously mentioned, the BSN diploma is the most sought after by employers and means you will earn more than if you were to only have an ADN diploma and RN certification. This can also give you the opportunity to teach nursing, hold a supervisory or management role, and helps you stand out more to employers. However, this is all dependent on whether you are prepared to do the four years in education, as opposed to the two years an ADN diploma offers.
It also means you can get to the level of nursing you wish to pursue sooner. For example, if you were to study for an ADN diploma first, and later decided to complete a BSN diploma, this gives you an overall time of six years studying nursing. So even though the ADN diploma is technically shorter, if you plan on advancing further than this, you will end up spending more time and money on education than if you were to begin with a BSN diploma.
