ASN, The Savior of the Nursing Running head: ASN, The Savior of the Nursing Shortage

ASN, The Savior of the Nursing Shortage Daryl Blackman, ASN Middle Tennessee State University School of Nursing

ASN, The Savior of the Nursing ASN, The Savior of the Nursing Shortage: Quietly, there is an ongoing debate amongst the nursing profession on the exact role of the ASN trained nurse. January through September 2008, the latest statistics available, about 59% of total first time candidates taking the NCLEX-RN exam did so after completing an Associate Degree in Nursing program (Napoletano, 2008). This statistics shows that more than half of new nclex test takers are from an ASN program. With all of these ASN trained nurses, comes the attitude that ASN trained nurses are not good enough to perform the functions of a professional nurse. Is this attitude warranted? Do BSN trained nurses have better patient

outcomes that ASN trained nurses? To answer these questions we must look at the differences of training between the two displne. ASN trained nurses are in school for a supposedly 2 years, which includes 32 general education courses in science, math, history, and English with an additional 30 or so hours of nursing training. BSN trained nurses are trained just as ASN, but with the addition of 32 general education courses, and 30 or so hours of nursing classes. Obviously the more time in school makes the BSN trained nurse the more educated of the two, but when it comes to patient care those extra two years dont have as much influence. The extra classes taken for BSN training are geared toward management, research, and specialty nursing areas such as public/community health. Where this defiantly give BSN trained nurses an advantage in those areas, as far as patient care goes the extra 2 years of study for BSN nurses, is used by ASN nurses providing and gaining experience in patient care. With todays nursing shortage, the ASN trained nurse provides a highly important role in providing care for the sick. In 2006 the state of California conducted a survey of registered nurses. This survey showed that BSN prepared nurses have a mean income of $75,017 while ADN prepared nurses had a mean income of $70,804 (Donna

ASN, The Savior of the Nursing Cardillo, 2009). In the end both the ASN and BSN trained nurse is needed in our healthcare system, but when it comes to patient care experience outweighs education in all aspects; though the BSN trained nurse is vital in conducting research to help guide the patient care that nurses perform. .

ASN, The Savior of the Nursing Bibliography

Donna Cardillo, R. (2009, May). ADN vs. BSN: Which should you choose? Retrieved Feburary 19, 2011, from Nursing Link: http://nursinglink.monster.com/education/articles/534-adnvs-bsn-which-should-you-choose Napoletano, J. L. (2008, September). Associate degree in Nursing ASN. Retrieved Feburary 19, 2011, from About Nursing: http://www.aboutnursing.com/degrees/asn-associate-degreenursing.htm