There are several reasons why a BSN in nursing is important. Advantages of a BSN include good job prospects, competitive salary, improved patient outcomes, greater job stability, more advancement opportunities, more varied specialty options, and better preparation for the future. Earning your BSN from the College of Mount Saint Vincent will catapult your career.
When entering the nursing field, you can choose from a variety of educational paths. You may have heard of bachelor’s degree programs, associate degree programs, and even master’s degree programs. Knowing which route to take can get confusing. For most students, we recommend a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). Want to know why a BSN in nursing is important? We’ll get into it here.
The Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program at the College of Mount Saint Vincent in New York can help you earn your BSN in as few as 16 months. A BSN is the clear choice because of the many career benefits of BSN-prepared nurses and the short timeframe for earning your degree.
What Is a BSN?
Before talking about why a BSN in nursing is important, let’s first cover what a BSN is and how it differs from other nursing degrees.
Here are the common nursing degrees:
- Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN)
- Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)
- Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)
- Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
As you can see, there are many degree options to become a registered nurse (RN), but we recommend a bachelor’s-level education for most students. You can earn a BSN through a traditional four-year nursing program or an accelerated nursing program, which generally requires a non-nursing bachelor’s degree or a certain number of prior college credits.
Because of its comprehensive nature, a BSN education will prepare you for a long-lasting and successful nursing career. To help you see why a BSN is such a great choice, let’s get into the advantages of a BSN.
Why a BSN Is Important
Now that you understand what a BSN is let’s discuss the advantages of a BSN. Understanding why a BSN in nursing is important will help you see why earning your degree in a program like our ABSN at Mount Saint Vincent is a smart career move.
1. Job Prospects
If you’re considering returning to school for nursing, you probably hope to have a long and successful career. Thankfully, with a BSN, you’ll be well-positioned for excellent job prospects in many specialties.
Due to the higher level of qualification, most healthcare employers strongly prefer hiring new nurses with a BSN, and some even require it. Earning your BSN from the start is the best way to ensure a long career with plenty of job prospects.
2. Salary
One of the clear reasons that earning a BSN is worth it for nurses is that having a BSN sets you up to earn a higher salary. Nurses with a BSN earn an average of $5 per hour more than nurses with an ADN, according to ZipRecruiter.
Additionally, having a BSN opens the door to other ways of earning a higher salary, including a potentially easier path to leadership positions and the ability to return to school for an advanced nursing degree.
3. Patient Outcomes
Healthcare facilities strongly favor nurses with a BSN because research shows that better-educated nurses result in better care and improved patient outcomes.
Several studies have shown the benefits of a BSN for patients, including decreased mortality rates, lengths of stay, and readmission rates, among other positive results.
4. Job Stability
One of the best reasons to enter the nursing field is that nurses are always in demand. Because healthcare is such a vital industry, and nurses are essential in all specialties, nurses enjoy job stability.
This is anticipated to continue in the coming years, as shown by the 6% growth rate of the profession expected from 2021 to 2031, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Plus, if you are a nurse with a BSN, you’ll have even more job stability than a nurse with an ADN because of the intrinsic value of a BSN.
5. Advancement Opportunity
Another key reason why a BSN in nursing is important is that it is the vehicle for future career growth. When you have a BSN, you can advance your career in any number of ways, including:
- Returning to school to earn a master’s or doctorate degree to become a:
- Nurse practitioner
- Nurse anesthetist
- Nurse educator
- Nurse midwife
- Clinical nurse specialist
- Nurse scientist
- Managing a department of nurses as a nurse manager or nurse leader
- Earning certification(s) in your chosen nursing specialty
6. Specialty Options
A BSN makes it possible for you to earn a higher salary and be more in demand by employers, and it gives you more options as far as which specialties you can enter. Nurses with an ADN are generally limited in the types of nursing practice they can enter, while nurses with a BSN can choose to pursue one of the dozens of specialties, such as:
- Surgical nursing
- Acute care nursing
- Critical care nursing
- Cardiac nursing
- Neonatal intensive care nursing
- Telehealth nursing
- School nursing
- Legal nurse consulting
7. Preparation for the Future
Because of the strong support for having a bachelor’s-level nursing education, the BSN will likely continue to be the degree of the future. This may even move from being a preference to a requirement soon, as the state of New York already requires that all nurses earn a BSN within ten years of their initial licensure.
Your Guide to Nursing in New York City
Begin Earning Your BSN at Mount Saint Vincent
Now that you can see why a BSN in nursing is important, it’s time to start your educational journey. If you have a non-nursing bachelor’s degree, Mount Saint Vincent’s ABSN program can help you earn your BSN in as few as 16 months.
The ABSN program provides a well-rounded nursing education and offers onsite nursing courses with hands-on labs and clinical rotations. With three start dates per year, you can begin nursing school soon.
Contact our ABSN admission counselors to learn more about the next steps for earning your BSN at College of Mount Saint Vincent.