ADN to Bsn: Nursing Nursing is a very dynamic profession. An individual interested in pursuing a career in nursing should possess high-level intelligence, sound technological knowledge, a sympathetic heart and high level of expertise. In addition to this, an individual should be strong enough mentally as well as emotionally so that he/she can effectively deal with human suffering and other forms of stresses exposed to him/her during the job. It is a profession for only those who want to truly dedicate their life for serving the suffering mankind. Job satisfaction in this profession is primarily derived from the feeling of satisfaction that an individual experiences by helping out others and not from the money or other benefits. To be successful in this profession, one should possess strong leadership and teamwork skills, as they have to independently handle certain cases and in some instances need to supervise others. It is also important for nurses to possess outstanding critical thinking skills.

The Associate Degree of Nursing (ADN); Pros & Cons:

The Associate Degree Nursing program is one of the three available options for developing a career in nursing as a registered nurse (RN). The ADN program is usually of two years duration. At the completion of the two-year degree program, the student can qualify for the position of a staff nurse and becomes eligible for National Council Licensure Examination to become a Registered Nurse (RN). There are a number of career opportunities open for the AND degree holders including positions in hospitals, nursing homes, physicians' clinics etc. In addition to this, nursing professionals receive impressive salaries ranging from $30,000 to $40,000 depending on the market demand for nurses and geographic markets.

ADN degree holders usually work as registered nurses under the supervision of physicians, senior nurses and surgeons. Their scope of work is limited as compared to BSN degree holders. They are primarily responsible for basic patient care such as recording blood pressure, temperature, respiration etc. In addition to this they are also responsible for making routine observations related to patients...

Their scope of work is limited and in some cases they are supposed to only follow the directions of the physician or senior nurses. In some states where the laws are less strict, they are allowed to administer the medicine prescription process. In some instances, experienced RNs are also allowed to supervise nursing assistants and other support staffs. After gaining some experience, majority of the ADN graduates are able to gain a prominent position in healthcare institutions. They become eligible to perform certain tasks, which are mostly performed by physicians or other senior staff. It is obvious from the above-mentioned description that the career growth for ADN graduates is restricted to a few positions in healthcare. In most of the cases, ADN graduates are not able to make further advancements in their professional career because in higher-level administrative positions BSN graduates are preferred. However, it should be kept in mind that experience, expertise and knowledge might help them to further develop their career. One of the primary benefits of making a career in nursing through an ADN degree is that ADN graduates have an option of obtaining their BSN degree through tuition reimbursements along with their job. This allows them to take dual advantage of getting experience as well as more advanced education at a lesser cost.
On the other hand, a number of advancement opportunities are not available to ADN degree holders. Most of the specialized fields of healthcare are open only for BSN graduates. Moreover, one should note that several attempts were made in the past to specify BSN as the only program for advanced career in nursing. In addition to this, although ADN graduates can further add their educational qualification by getting enrolled in BSN degree programs along with their jobs but this process is pretty time consuming and is very difficult to manage. The job of a nurse requires extra attention and a lot of hard work and therefore most of the times it becomes increasingly difficult for the nursing professionals to carry on their studies along with their jobs. It has also been observed that students interested…