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Associate Degree Versus Bachelor Degree Prepared Nurses

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Differences in Competences of AND versus BSN Nurse

Vanguard University
Professional Dynamics
Mary Jackson MSN RN

Many professionals have drawn their attention toward two diverse educational routes to licensure of Registered Nurse and nursing career. One of the most widespread pathways to become a registered nurse is Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) offered in many community colleges as a two-year degree, and Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree, which requires a four-year education at colleges and universities. Even though, these educational pathways are considerably diverse in studying period and content, they both lead to eligibility to pass the identical National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX)-RN in order to acquire RN license. The ADN degree focuses primarily on practical scope and utilizes entry level knowledge and clinical skills in the healthcare setting. In the contrary, the BSN degree offers advance in research, leadership, community health and is planned to aim for a better understanding of the economic, cultural, religious, and social concerns influencing healthcare delivery and patients. Both nursing programs offer classroom guidelines and clinical experience in the real health care settings. Students take numerous courses. Over the last decade, ADN nursing programs help to educate approximately 60% of new nurses, and 36% of these new graduates finished BSN programs (Hood, 2010). Despite of many similarities the ADN nurses are trained typically in structured settings to become a caregiver, educator and counselor for their patients. Individuals who complete the ADN degree obtain entry nursing education and are less trained in community health, leadership and management, research and critical thinking, which increases in importance as nursing becomes more complex. In contrast, BSN nurses are

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