An ADN nurse is defined as a nurse with two years of schooling focusing on general studies and clinical nursing in a community college setting. Upon graduation the student is qualified to take a national licensure exam to become a registered nurse (RN). In 1952 Mildred Montag created the ADN program due to the rising demand of nurses after the war. This program was offered to increase nurses in the workplace. The programs’ success was determined by satisfactory clinical nursing skills and passing a national exam (Creasia & Friberg, 2010, p.26). A BSN nurse can be defined as a nurse with four years of nurse training. This consists of two years of general studies, followed by a two year nursing program. Upon graduation in order to become a RN students must pass a national exam. According to Creasia and Friberg (2010), the BSN program was founded after World War II. The program was not popular at first and they struggled to find qualified instructors. Now many of the instructors who teach are well respected in the nursing field (Creasia & Friberg, 2010, p.25).
The BSN program includes all the courses taught in associate degree programs. However, according to Creasia and Friberg, “liberal education, quality and patient safety, evidence-based practice, information management, health care policy and finance, communication/collaboration, clinical prevention/population health, and professional values” (Creasia & Friberg, 2010, p.25) are taught more in depth. According to Grand Canyon University’s College of Nursing:
Baccalaureate nursing practice incorporates the roles of assessing, critical thinking, communicating, providing care, teaching, and leading…Nursing practice includes health promotion, disease prevention, early detection of health deviations, prompt and adequate treatment of the human response to acute and chronic illness…(Grand Canyon University, 2011).
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