Career Advancement with an ADN? It is possible.

• If you’ve been told your ADN isn’t enough to build a nursing career, learn how to get around that perception and find career advancement with “just” an ADN. 
• Consider focusing your job search on smaller organizations rather than the major healthcare organizations in your area. 
• Those smaller organizations can be a launching pad to larger operations and allow you to pursue more education, if you choose. 

Imagine this: You decide to make a career of caring for patients by being a nurse. You find a nursing school without a long waitlist. You pay a ridiculous amount to attend school. You pour your heart and soul into studying. You practice empathy at all clinical shifts. You build great relationships with your patients, teachers, cohorts, and preceptor nurses — only to be told your associate degree of nursing (ADN) won’t be enough.

This is what many nursing students, myself included, faced trying to enter the workforce. But fear not — There are ways around this and even opportunities to advance your nursing career with “just” an ADN. 

Shift in Nursing Education

Between inflation and the rise in the cost of upper education, many students are forgoing college. In fact, 4 million fewer teenagers enrolled in college in 2022 versus a decade earlier. Despite encouragement for higher education in nursing roles, many students are realizing that extra education only sometimes equates to extra pay or opportunities.

Many healthcare organizations encourage or require their nurses to obtain a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) or greater. However, there are still many roles available to ADN-prepared nurses, with opportunities for advancement. 

Finding Your First Role

Nursing students often struggle finding their first job because many nursing roles require experience and/or higher education. To bypass this requirement, look for high-demand, less-known roles. 

During my final semester in nursing school, I applied to all ADN-prepared nursing positions at all the major healthcare organizations in my area. When I shifted my focus to smaller organizations, I immediately landed job interviews. 

I accepted my first nursing role at a local “mom and pop” long-term care (LTC) facility that hired me even before I graduated. They onboarded me as a “med tech,” where I trained under the Director of Nursing (DON). As soon as I graduated, they updated my title to “nurse” – still practicing under the DON’s supervision. When I passed the NCLEX, I was promoted to “charge nurse.” As a charge nurse, I was responsible for all the LPNs and CNAs, oversaw all the nursing care, and provided all assessments of patients, skilled nursing care, and medication passes. Was it hard? Yes! Was it worth it? Absolutely!  

Career Advancement Opportunities

This role set the rest of my career up exceedingly early on, as I now had one-and-a-half years of charge nurse experience under my belt. It allowed me to get my next charge nurse role for a nationally known healthcare organization. I obtained another year-and-a-half of experience as a charge nurse in this role, totaling three years of charge nurse experience straight out of nursing school with only an ADN. 

During this time, I chose to pursue my BSN. When I approached the dialysis unit manager about receiving a promotion or raise for my education, he declined. This shows that not all departments or managers are prioritizing educational promotions in their budgets. My bachelor’s degree, and eventually master’s degree in nursing, did not provide any additional income or title change for me at that large healthcare organization. 

After this role, I was asked to be the assistant manager for a competitor’s dialysis unit and eventually became the regional manager. When interviewing for these roles, education played a small role in the hiring process. Rather, they were impressed with my extensive charge nurse and dialysis experience. 

Receiving Raises

During my time as a med tech-turned-charge nurse, I received raises increasing my overall salary by 22%. I received a 9% raise at the first large healthcare organization. During my time as an assistant manager and manager, I increased my salary by 16 % and 28%, respectively. In just six years, I doubled my salary because of my nursing experience — not because of the education I did not have! 

The Bottom Line

It is a misconception that ADN-prepared nurses need more education to become more employable. Healthcare advancements mean more people getting diagnosed earlier on, and being treated longer, which increases the demand for nurses. Though the culture is changing around hiring BSN-prepared nurses or higher, many organizations are focused on hiring good nurses with a passion for what they do – education level aside! The ADN-prepared nurse has the necessary education, skill, and professionalism to provide quality care to patients – and help lead healthcare into the future. 

Read More