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The Difference Between Adn Versus Bsn Prepared Nurses

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The Difference Between ADN versus BSN Prepared Nurses
Grand Canyon University

The Difference Between ADN versus BSN Prepared Nurses In the United States of America nurses are allowed to practice as Registered Nurses upon completion of an Associate degree program in nursing and a passing score on the NCLEX boards. From there they have many choices for job opportunities: some of which include hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes. They practice alongside physicians prepared at the doctorate level, pharmacists prepared at the bachelors, masters, or doctorate level, and speech pathologists prepared at the masters level (2008, Taylor). While these are requirements for their colleagues, nurses are given a great deal of responsibility with regards to patient care, but allowed the choice of an Associates versus a Bachelors of Nursing. While an ADN prepares a nurse for practicing in a care setting, a BSN furthers those skills and allows for improved critical thinking, improved work performance, and improved leadership skills (2003 Leonard).
Improved Critical Thinking A Bachelors of Nursing allows for focus on critical thinking in a manner that an ADN cannot because the focus of an ADN is primarily pathophysiology and its application to everyday nursing (2009, Orsolini-Hain & Waters, V.). The ADN degree promotes more task-oriented nurses, focused on the smaller pieces of the puzzle, versus the whole of the picture and the whole of the patient. BSN nurses are able to utilize theory to take their critical thinking skills to a higher level; their abilities are correlated with better outcomes for patients, leading to emphasized wellness and lower mortality rates (2008, Taylor). As a patient care example, a very new ADN nurse performed an assessment of a patient and found fine crackles in the patient’s lower lobes. Immediately, this was all the nurse could

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