Electronic Health Reporter

Have you finally decided to advance your career? If so, this is the right place for you to be. After being in a profession for some time, it is natural to feel stagnant and bored with the same routine and job responsibilities.

A career direction rejuvenates your career and makes you more energetic and excited to perform your new roles and responsibilities. Bedside care nurses perform recurring activities every day, so excelling in your career is an excellent way to offload the monotony of your job. When you advance in nursing, meeting new people and performing meaningful roles comes with it.

Evolving your nursing career through educational advancement

For growing in your profession, taking an interest in new educational avenues might suit you the most. Besides, the nursing field is quite different from others. There are more career opportunities for skilled individuals than in any other career. If you have spent some time exploring new educational degrees in nursing, you will know there is a long list of degrees that you can pursue. But the most frequently recommended degree is a BSN qualification which corresponds to a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.

Why go for a BSN degree?

Most RNs go for a BSN degree after their diploma qualification.  According to 2018 estimates, 57% of the nurses have BSN or higher education. Getting higher education in nursing has been rising for a few years, but it showed an upsurge due to the recent pandemic. But if you ask why earning a bachelor’s in nursing is worth it, the answer is straightforward. A BSN nurse has more theoretical and practical knowledge of the nursing field. Their curriculum is designed to impart students with the most recent trends and information in nursing.

BSN students are better prepared to analyze patient data, forecast patient outcomes, understand evidence-based practices, and promote patient safety. In addition, they learn to work around patients with novel infections and administer innovative treatments and procedures.

As a BSN student, you are viewed as more qualified and respected than other medical professionals. Other benefits include:

• More cultural competence

You achieve better cultural competence with better education, such as a BSN degree. In nursing, the concept implies working with patients from various backgrounds segregated by social, cultural, economic, religious, ethnic, and other diverse boundaries.

You can give them the best care while at the same time being cognizant of their beliefs, likes, and dislikes. Cultural competence allows nurses to empathize with their patients, understand their struggles, and provide complete care, including mental and emotional support.

Teaching cultural competence is an integral element of degree programs such as BSN geared towards preparing future nurse leaders. Nurses can display cultural competence by using the language and terms that patients understand, avoiding complicated medical jargon with patients who are not well-educated.  They can also make sure treatments don’t impinge on the religious and cultural beliefs of the patients, listen to the patients, ask questions, and avoid judgments.

• Better job security

Nurses with a BSN degree have a better clinical competence than others; they can receive better patient outcomes. So, it makes sense that more hospitals are eager to employ nurses with higher education such as BSN.

The stats can paint a better picture. Moreover, according to a 2020 AACN survey, 82.4% of employers prefer nurses with a BSN degree over a mere diploma in nursing. More than 41% of hospitals frequently ask for a BSN degree from the applicants. The results are based on the data from 647 nursing schools. Moreover, 94% of the nurses with a BSN degree were able to get education within four to six months after completing their education.

Even if you are considering a career in healthcare where BSN is not a stringent requirement, having this degree provides you a leg up over candidates applying for the same position. In a way, you can slash a lot of competition in the earlier screenings.

• More job options

Your BSN degree opens up new job opportunities that you weren’t aware of before.

A BSN nurse is eligible for specializations not available to the ADN nurse. For instance, you can work in the Medical-surgical, Emergency room, Intensive care, and Pediatric units of a hospital after having the right certifications.

Apart from that, you can also transition into leadership roles, work in the administration, and be a part of the decision-making bodies. Interestingly, you can also certify several specialty areas and work at various domains on a rotation basis. This way, you have a broader interdepartmental knowledge than others. Nursing certifications are available in women’s health, diabetes, rehabilitation, and much more.

• A step to advance your education

Besides a chance to work in highly meaningful roles inside and outside healthcare, a BSN is often a step to get further higher education. For instance, if you aspire to obtain a terminal degree in nursing, you need a BSN and then an MSN (master’s degree in nursing) to get into the doctoral program. In addition, you qualify for highly meaningful nursing roles such as nurse anesthetist and nurse-midwife with an MSN degree.

• Get a higher salary

Nursing is an emotionally satisfying degree; you strive to bring relief to the lives of others, remove their pain, and help them live a longer and healthier life. But things do not end here; tied to the altruistic nature of this job is the opportunity to earn a higher salary. The due is perfect for those who want to live a better life but gain mental satisfaction out of their work.

The 2020 National Nursing Workforce Survey states that nurses with a BSN degree earn more than those with a nursing diploma due to their higher responsibility roles and greater responsibility. Their salary estimates show that a nurse with a BSN degree makes $88000 per year, which is higher than the average annual income of those with an Associate Diploma in Nursing. The latter earns $72,000 per year.

• Increase your autonomy to make decisions

Highly educated nurses can exercise more control over their work. Greater autonomy with a BSN degree allows you to make timely decisions without professional’s approval for better patient outcomes, improved patient satisfaction, and lower mortality rate.

The level of autonomy a nurse gets through a BSN degree is indispensable if healthcare intends to address the demand for more patient care services in the wake of an impending nursing shortage.

Conclusion

Is it worth getting a BSN degree? Well, we believe you have all the information now to decide. Nursing is a lucrative career, but better education with a BSN degree is a seal of approval for this claim. With this degree, you get endless opportunities to choose the path of your liking, whether in bedside care or managerial roles. A BSN degree makes you eligible to work in various healthcare settings apart from a hospital. You can work in home health, private practice, university and colleges, and nursing homes.