The Tennessee Action Coalition maintains that nurses need to be better prepared in order to provide high-quality care in today’s increasingly complex healthcare environment. The goal is to see to it that 80 percent of Tennessee’s nurses hold BSN degrees or higher by 2020.
A survey of 31 Tennessee hospitals revealed that 57 percent require nurses to have a BSN while 61 percent give hiring preference to BSN-educated RNs. Clearly, a BSN provides a path to greater job security, and better pay as revealed by the US Department of Labor, and the Advance Healthcare Network.
Salaries of BSN-RN Educated Nurses in Tennessee
Nurses with experience and more education can be expected to earn within the higher salary percentiles. According to the 2013 survey published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) BSN-educated RNs in Pennsylvania earned top salaries among non-advanced practice RNs.
- 75th Percentile Annual Salary – $65,940
- 90th Percentile Annual Salary – $73,900
- 75th Percentile Hourly Wage – $31.70
- 90th Percentile Hourly Wage – $35.53
The Advance Healthcare Network breaks down the annual salaries revealed in a survey of the Southern region as a whole, revealing that BSN-educated RNs in Tennessee earned more on average than those in other southern states.
- Associate Degree RNs – $58,562
- Bachelor’s Degree RNs – $61,956
- Master’s Degree RNs – $77,370
Regional and City Salaries of BSN-Educated RNs in Tennessee
The US Department of Labor furnished the data in the table shown here, which provides salaries for BSN-educated RNs in specific cities and regions of Tennessee.