Nurses are regarded as the backbone of our healthcare system. As the field of nursing is quickly growing, the need for nurses and schools is more important than ever. Gaining a BSN for your nursing career can bring you a wide array of benefits that can see you gain more career opportunities, providing better patient care as well as an increase in salary. Here are five reasons why a BSN can be a great choice for your professional career.
Job Opportunities
Possessing a BSN degree can expose you to more job opportunities. When applying for nursing jobs, management roles and other positions, you will find that many applicants need to have a BSN in place. Recognized as a necessity for many nursing careers, a bachelor’s degree is also required for nursing roles at certain healthcare facilities and hospitals. To remain eligible for most nursing positions, it’s essential that you have a BSN degree. There are various types of roles that you can apply for with your BSN such as a nurse midwife, a clinical nurse specialist and a nurse practitioner.
Leadership Positions
When starting out in the nursing world, almost every career begins at the bottom of the ladder. Entry-level positions are a great way to gain experience and give you the right tools and techniques to help further your career. As a BSN is a requirement for higher level nursing staff roles, this means that if you want to progress through your nursing career, it’s vital that you study for your BSN.
Improving Skills
As a nurse, you will always be learning new skills and techniques to help you perform to the best of your ability. There have been various studies carried out which show that having a BSN can bring a range of benefits, including lower patient mortality rates, higher proficiency when diagnosing and evaluating patients, improving professional integration, a decrease in failure-to-rescue rates as well as improving on research and evaluation skills. While the results should not be too surprising, you can’t deny that they are impressive. The purpose of completing your BSN is to provide nurses with the knowledge and expertise for them to succeed at their job. As the evidence proves, completing your BSN will improve your skills and make you better at your role.
Increase in Salary
When looking at the typical salaries of an RN vs a nurse who has a baccalaureate, it’s evident that you can see an increase in salary once you have obtained your BSN. However, this may not always be the case. If you stay in your current field after completing your RN-BSN program, you may not see your salary increase. There are plenty of financial benefits that are linked with a BSN degree, especially as you will become eligible for higher-paying roles.
Many higher-paying nursing positions and graduate programs require you to have a BSN which can expose you to more opportunities. While your salary may not increase straight away after completing your BSN, you will have a plethora of options available to you that can see you earn a higher salary. You should do your research on the types of jobs you can apply for before starting your BSN.
BSN May Become Mandatory
While you can begin your nursing career with your RN diploma, it’s expected that the number of people who have a BSN will increase from 50% to 80% in the next couple of years. Therefore, it’s strongly recommended that nurses get their BSN within five years of completing a diploma or an associate degree. As a nurse, you will want to be on an even keel with your peers, so having the right up to date education behind you can make a huge difference. As a BSN may become mandatory, it’s essential that you look into degree programs as soon as possible.
Earning a BSN
Once you have decided to study for your BSN, you should look into online RN-BSN courses available which can give you analytical, professional development, and clinical skills that are needed to further your career. Doing an online course can be incredibly beneficial for busy nurses, allowing you to stay working while studying. With 100% of the coursework being online, this means that you can log in and out when you please which allows you to factor in learning whenever you like.
As a BSN degree may become a mandatory requirement, it’s more important than ever to get yours as soon as possible. To excel in your nursing career, as well as progressing up the ladder, obtaining a BSN can put you on the right track and give you more opportunities.
[…] nurse, but this isn’t going to last forever. New York State has become the first US state to put mandatory BSN training in place for all nurses, with the BSN in ten law that requires all nurses to become BSN qualified within ten years of […]