Do you have to be a RN before you get a BSN | ASN vs BSN

Do you have to be an RN before you go for the BSN or can you take the pre-requisites that are required for the ASN and apply for a BSN program??

Thank you!

-Eman

This question was asked in the nursing forum section.

Comments

Petra says

October 5, 2014 at 6:55 pm

Hey again!

First I will address your first question regarding if you have to be a RN before you go for a BSN. The answer is no. A BSN is a four year bachelors degree in nursing and is completed at a university. The ASN is an associates degree in nursing and is completed (generally) at a community college. The ASN takes two years and the BSN take four years. Regardless after you completed the ASN or BSN program you become a registered nurse and you have to take the NCLEX-RN exam (it is the same exam for both degree types)

You may ask yourself what is the difference between the two degree then right? This article explains it very well: https://www.registerednursern.com/adn-or-bsn-nursing-degree-what-is-the-difference-between-adn-bsn-programs/

Now to your other question. Generally, the pre-requisites for the ADN and BSN programs are different and would require different courses but this is totally dependent on the program you apply to…each nursing program is different. It is usually best to pursue either an ADN or BSN and stick with it. However, after you get your ADN degree you can easily go on for your BSN which would take you about 1-2 years to complete.

Hope this was helpful 🙂