Magnet status? Hospitals choosing BSN new grads. Important!!!! over ADN??

So, I have been accepted into TCU's nursing program and into El centro college of nursing in Dallas tx. I am having a hard time deciding which route will be better for me. TCU has been the school of my choice since day 1, i believe that it is a very competitive school and i was accepted as a transfer student ( which is really hard to get in nowadays since they first take their own students). I will earn a BSN with them and it will open me a lot of other doors. What i am not really looking for is the high private tuition they carry ( 14,000 per semester) i really have my heart in to this school, but im scared of the debt. On the other side i also got into el centro's program which leads to a ADN and its much cheaper. I've been doing some research that will give me strong conclusions and will help me decide which way to go, since I don't have that much time and i came across a lot of articles stating how many hospitals where switching to a magnet status, where they no longer hire new ADN, this makes me wonder if really there is such a shortage of nurses how is it that they are switching to this new reform, i mean if the shortage is real, they would hire an ADN without experience and train them their way. This leads me to think.. How real is this information? will ADN nurses really have a tough time finding a job, and if so, should that make an impact in my college decision, because i don't want to have to spend 4 semester and be unemployed for a while , while i go back for my BSN, while in TCU in 5 semesters i can graduate with my BSN and have absolutely no problem. Tough decision, please help me with your suggestions and opinions! it is greatly appreciated!!!
I just graduated an ADN program, and I was worried about this too, but a teacher of ours (this is california though) said that that rumor has been going around since the 80s when she graduated with her ADN. Jobs are not as easy to come by these days, however i believe about 3/4 of my fellow graduates have jobs lined up and we havent even taken boards yet. 14K a semester sounds outrageous, at least to me. I feel my ADN education has given me a solid foundation and always remember you can do a bridge ADN-BSN program after you graduate. Good Luck

Couple things here. First of all there is absolutly NO nursing shortage. The nursing "shortage" is only propaganda put out by those with a vested interest (means they stand to gain financialy) in a nurse oversupply situation.Second is that while it is true that in many areas of the country hospitals are choosing new grads with BSNs over grads with ADNs it is unrelated to the Magnet certification. They may both be happening at the same time and in the same place but as someone who sat on two hospital's "Journy to Magnet" committe I can tell you there is nothing about gaining Magnet that requires a hospital to only hire BSN nurses. That they can be so picky is evidence that there is no nuring shortage.I don't know anything about the nurse job market in Texas but here in the upper midwest new grads are having a hard time finding jobs reguardless of the program they attended. TCU seems like a LOT of money. It might make you more competative for a new grad position but, unless there is something I don't know about TCU nursing grads, by no means a guarentee.

yes, i have considered that option. i am personally really scared of debt, but also am thinking about our weird economy and really just want to be as competitive as I can be. I don't want to sit out for a while having to wait for a job. So did you find a job right away? or what is the process like? thanks!!

very true! thanks!

( I am replying from Calif) Jobs are hard to come by, however not impossible. I currently work in a Magnet Children's Hospital where I was hired as a new grad. I am thinking about pursuing my BSN, but I do not feel any less employable without one. Personally I would be very scared about spending 14k a semester for a BSN when I had a perfectly good ASN opportunity waiting in the wings. That is $70.000. You can always get established in a job and then go pursue your BSN at a later date. Good Luck!!

First off, congratulations for getting accepted into the TCU. I dont know if you get financial aid, 14k is alot! If it were me, I would definately go the BSN route. Ive been told that nowa days, having an ADN is almost equivalent to having a high school diploma. I think doing the 5 semesters for the BSN is better than doing the ADN, because in the future if you decide to go back to get your BSN, youre going to have to go for another couple years. So might as well do the BSN route now. You should feel very proud! I am still on my pre reqs and cannot wait until I am in your shoes! So great job! I know it is very hard work! Please let us know what you decide.

Quote from mirc88slSo, I have been accepted into TCU's nursing program and into El centro college of nursing in Dallas tx. I am having a hard time deciding which route will be better for me. TCU has been the school of my choice since day 1, i believe that it is a very competitive school and i was accepted as a transfer student ( which is really hard to get in nowadays since they first take their own students). I will earn a BSN with them and it will open me a lot of other doors. What i am not really looking for is the high private tuition they carry ( 14,000 per semester) i really have my heart in to this school, but im scared of the debt.

That's a lot of debt I am assuming you are young u can always take online classes to continue to get ur bsn get ur and then work towards ur bsn that's a lot of debt also compare the pay difference no new skills are required just more paper writing or so I've heard who will help u pay for this if on your own where are u going to stay on campus at home then that goes up significantly transportation needs and working family considerations children etc. One thing u can always upgrade when you need to

When you say you've had your heart set on TCU since Day 1, can you put into words all that encompasses for you? Don't think that anything is too frivolous to mention. You say you are transferring in - from what type environment?

Please forgive my ignorance but what states that magnet status = BSN.I understand hospitals are now preferring more BSNs then ADN but how is it related to magnet status.I thought magnet status was the meant to use more evidenced based practice. Sorry again for my ignorance. Can someone please explain ? I'm going to google also.

The hospital where I work is a Magnet hospital, and they are no longer hiring ADN. I do know that in order for a hospital to maintain its Magnet status it has to have a certain percentage of nurses that are BSN, or at least that is what the nurse recruiter is telling everyone. I think with a hospital being Magnet status they can use that as an excuse to be super picky; last year an ADN could be hired if they had connections. Last week my coworker was talking to a nurse manager about a friend of his that has her ADN and the first words out of the mangers mouth was "Does she have her BSN?" and then the manager proceeded to tell us unless she has her BSN or is in a program to receive it then she could not hire her. I know its more expense but trust me go for your BSN. You have to get eventually anyway. I spent 15k on my BSN alone and it was a waste of time as it was pretty much the same classes I took for my ADN. If I had gone straight for my BSN I would have saved at least 7k. -___- and wouldn't have wasted as much time.

Here is what I found in my search. No where does it state that magnet hospitals = BSN only. I'm starting to think there is not a direct correlation between BSN and Magnet status. What is Magnet status and how's that whole thing going?Magnet status is an award given by the American Nurses’ Credentialing Center (ANCC), an affiliate of the American Nurses Association, to hospitals that satisfy a set of criteria designed to measure the strength and quality of their nursing. A Magnet hospital is stated to be one where nursing delivers excellent patient outcomes, where nurses have a high level of job satisfaction, and where there is a low staff nurse turnover rate and appropriate grievance resolution. Magnet status is also said to indicate nursing involvement in data collection and decision-making in patient care delivery. The idea is that Magnet nursing leaders value staff nurses, involve them in shaping research-based nursing practice, and encourage and reward them for advancing in nursing practice. Magnet hospitals are supposed to have open communication between nurses and other members of the health care team, and an appropriate personnel mix to attain the best patient outcomes and staff work environment. We encourage all nurses to learn more about the principles of Magnet certification, and to consider appropriate nursing certification programs for their hospitals. Learn more about Magnet status: eligibility for it, the benefits of it, hospitals that have achieved it, and hospitals that are seeking it on which the ANCC is seeking public comment.We understand that some nurses are enthusiastic about the program and feel that it promotes the important practices outlined above. However, it is important to be aware that others, notably nursing unions, have been highly critical of the way the Magnet program has been implemented. Some critics, including the California Nurses Association and the Massachusetts Nurses Association, have argued that the Magnet program is primarily a hospital promotion tool that resembles the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations in its seemingly incestuous relations with hospital management. Such critics have also asserted that there is little evidence that nurses at Magnet hospitals are really much better off than nurses elsewhere. Suzanne Gordon, in Nursing Against the Odds (2005), says that she regards the Magnet program as an important effort, but she too questions how well it really works, suggesting that many of its voluntary guidelines may offer only the illusion of nurse empowerment. The Center has heard many first-hand reports of some hospitals trumpeting their new Magnet status even as they proceed to betray some of the program's key principles. To the extent the Magnet program is not effectively promoting its important nurse empowerment goals, we would like to see it strengthened. In general, we hope that all nurses will work for strong, effective nursing credentialing programs to address the nursing crisis and improve patient care.Frankly, the Center has heard from a number of nurses who are unhappy with the changes at their hospitals since the award of magnet status, and we have not heard from many who are happy. One report was that the nurse who had led the drive for magnet status was fired soon after the hospital received it, and that the magnet reforms quickly began to unravel. Others have said that their hospitals reverted to short-staffing and excluding nurses from decision-making processes soon after receiving magnet certifications. Such reports support the claims that some hospitals are treating magnet status mainly as a promotional tool, and that the program is not effectively monitoring compliance.