Bradley Byrne

Nurses that go from RN to BSN are among the most prepared health care providers in the industry. A good number of nurses that have been granted nursing licenses after taking 2-year nursing programs decide to pursue BSN to be better equipped in their field. They are the true driving force behind successful hospitals and medical institutions.

Although patients may be indebted to their physicians for having been cured, almost always they are closer to the nurses. A nurse makes personal contact with patients, tells stories, listens to stories, makes rounds into the evening and early morning, cleans gauzes, administers IV, and so on. Nurses initiate personal touch.

Nurses face all kinds of challenges—difficult cases, difficult patients and difficult health problems—which is why it is important for them to engage in continuous learning, both in specialized and general education. A desired continuity is from RN to BSN to Master’s in Nursing. There are several BSN, Master’s, or RN-BSN programs available online and in colleges or universities.

One of the most challenging cases that a nurse must face is depression among the elderly. Geriatric nursing is a specialized skill that a non-BSN nurse may not possess. It requires a lot of patience, backed up by knowledge that has been acquired from similar case studies and nursing theories that were taught in a BSN program.

Depression is common in older people, especially those that are suffering from chronic conditions such as arthritis, kidney problem or heart disease. Left untreated, depression may progress and cause damage to the patient more than the actual physiological illness. Studies reveal that elderly people hurt more from emotional woes than physiological.

Nurses with BSN or those that have gone through appropriate training know that there are available technologies that could address depression in older patients. The Geriatric Depression Scale, for instance, is an easy-to-use questionnaire that is designed to help patients and care givers to determine the onset of depression. The questions focus on the patient’s mood.

There are many causes of depression for the elderly. Often they are alone, lonely, weak, poor of hearing, and helpless. Many have lost a wife or husband and have not heard from their children.

Old people are depressed when they have little sleep, are unmotivated to live and are unresponsive to stimuli. They often feel fatigued and have little appetite. Often there are no real physical illnesses, only emotional ones.

Handling depression among geriatric patients is just one concern within one health care situation. The elderly have other problems. On top of that, the nurses have other patients to attend, too.

Other cases have specialized challenges and corresponding interventions that are unique. For instance, what may work for the elderly may not necessarily be beneficial to younger adults or children; or, what is good for pregnant women may not work with other adult females. Such specialization makes it more clear that nurses should upgrade, update and develop themselves by taking steps to higher education such as from RN to BSN.

RN to BSN programs were designed with practicing RNs (Registered Nurses) in mind. That means you can always expect flexibility in schedule whether you’re taking one online or offline in brick-and-mortar schools. There is no doubt, however, that between the two, online studies offer more advantages.

But while online RN to BSN programs are beneficial to most, they are not for others. Online studies in fact, aren’t for everybody. Following are some pros and cons of studying online and going to physical nursing universities, to help you decide which one will work for you.

1. Study anytime you’re available with online programs, but keep to your school schedule with traditional schools. With online schools, you can study anytime you want and anywhere you are. You don’t have to worry about being on time in class or worry about traffic, etcetera, etcetera.

While studying anytime looks totally appealing, it could spell danger to some. Because you don’t have to keep to your schedule, you tend to not “force” yourself to study. But if you have to meet your professor in the class in a traditional school, chances are, you’d ALWAYS make time for it.

2. With online schools, you have to be proficient in using the computer to make the most out of your studies. With traditional schools, however, you don’t have to excel in computer knowledge to effectively learn what you need to learn. If you’re not comfortable with web chats, video calls and video conferencing, going to traditional schools might be better for you.

3. You don’t have to commute or travel and incurr transportation expenses with RN-BSN online schools. Going to traditional schools, however, will require a budget for gas, parking or bus and taxi fares. You save on transportation with online colleges and spend more with traditional schools.

4. The physical effort of going to school every day doesn’t exist with online education. You can be in your pajamas when you’re enrolled in an online school and you don’t have to bother getting yourself ready, choosing your clothes, gathering your stuff and many others. You save on clothes this way too.

5. You can’t choose your own pace with traditional schools. If you have to finish one class for two hours and be at school for two hours, that’s what you’ll do. You can’t suddenly decide to take a break and put off some reading materials you have to finish.
6. You have limited choices for nursing schools for traditional studying. You can’t chose a school located halfway up the country when you’re actually on the other side. Unlike with online education, you can choose any college you want.

7. Clinical training can be a problem with RN to BSN programs online. While some online schools provide clinical practice for you, some do not. If you choose to go to a traditional school, however, you don’t have to worry about your clinical hours at all.

A lot has been said about having an associate degree in nursing versus a bachelor degree. And while most Registered Nurses (RN) with diplomas and two-year nursing studies have conceded that having a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree is important, others just don’t see the need for getting into RN to BSN programs. The importance of getting a BSN degree is simply lost on them.

The reason isn’t just because they’re against changes and prefer to age with what they already know. The truth is, RNs with two-year courses tend to have more clinical experience and are more ready for their first day on the job than those who are graduates of BSN. Most associate courses of two-year study provide more hands-on training than bachelor courses.

What’s more, those who are already practicing can very well see that graduates of BSN have the same jobs as they have. They all do the same thing and have the same job description. In fact, in some cases, RN diploma nurses have the same salary as BSN nurses.

So the question is, why would an RN, who’s already earning and who has a good job get into RN-BSN schools and get their bachelor degree? What does a graduate of BSN have that a graduate with an associate diploma doesn’t have? Here are the top reasons why you should consider enrolling in RN to BSN programs: