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6 Reasons to Get a BSN

Featured Author:

Jennifer Fink, RN, BSN

Jennifer L.W. Fink, RN, BSN, is a Registered Nurse who has been writing professionally for over 10 years. As a med-surg and transplant nurse, she worked hard to develop a rapport with her patients, to teach them according to their needs and to provide them with information and options. Today, she uses those same skills in her writing career. She is very interested in professional issues in nursing. Follow Jennifer on Facebook and Twitter.

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#5: Better Pay

Who doesn’t want to make more money? While many hospitals and healthcare organization pay all RNs the same rate, regardless of educational preparation, BSN-prepared nurses, in general, make more money than ADN or diploma nurses. According to payscale.com, the median salary for BSN-prepared nurses is $62, 674; for ADN nurses, it’s $50, 565.

The pay discrepancy may be because BSN-prepared nurses are better prepared for higher-paying nursing positions. The BSN is often the preferred degree for nursing management positions, which typically pay more than staff nursing positions. BSN-prepared nurses can also work in four of the top 10 highest paying nurse specialties: nurse research, pediatric endocrinology, orthopedic nursing and neonatal nursing. (The other top six specialties require a Master’s degree, which is just a hop, skip and jump away from a BSN.)

#6: Better Patient Outcomes

It’s old news by now, but it bears repeating: an increased proportion of BSN-prepared nurses is associated with decreased patient mortality.

In a 2003 study, Educational Levels of Hospital Nurses and Surgical Patient Mortality, renowned nurse research Linda Aiken found that a 10% increase in the number of nurses with a BSN was associated with a 5% decrease in patient deaths within 30 days of admission. Greater numbers of BSN nurses are also associated with fewer cases of failure to rescue. Aiken concluded that, “these effects imply that altering the educational background of hospital nurses by increasing the percentage of those earning a BSN would produce substantial decreases in mortality rates for surgical patients generally and for patients who develop complications.”

If hospitals take the research seriously, they may soon increase the proportion of BSN nurses to reduce costs.

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