Initial and Progression of Educational Preparation of Early Career Nurses

In our national sample:

  •  56.3% of RNs held an Associate degree in nursing (ADN) as their basic nursing degree compared to 39.5% with Bachelor’s degree in Nursing (BSN).
  • Within three years of initial licensure, 6.7% of BSN nurses earned a Masters or Doctoral degree.
  • Within three years of initial licensure, 12.9% RNs with an ADN earned a BSN, and 1.4% earned a Masters or Doctoral degree.

Our data show that:

  •  BSN RNs report being better prepared to engage in evidence based practice, and patient safety – critical skills that are required of RNs working in an increasingly complex healthcare environment.
  • 61.9% of BSN prepared RNs compared to 49.2% ADN prepared RNs report being “very prepared” to use evidence based practice.
  •  Similarly, 73% of BS RNs compared to 69% of ADN RNs reported that they were “very prepared” in safety.

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