New York has recently become a leading advocate for BSN education in nursing by promoting educationally progressive organizations like the New York State Action Coalition (NYSAC). Not only are nursing students more often choosing a BSN over an ADN as the preferred path to licensure, many RNs are returning to school to complete RN-BSN bridge programs as a way to compete for higher paying jobs in leadership and education.
In 2010, the NYSAC became one of the first action coalitions dedicated to implementing the Institute of Medicine’s recommendation that 80% of the nursing workforce hold a BSN within ten years. This innovative goal is being realized, in part, by the steady increase of BSN programs available in the state.
According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), in 2013, New York’s forty-nine AACN member schools enabled 19,621 students to enroll in baccalaureate nursing programs. In that same year, these schools graduated 6,858 students from baccalaureate and advanced degree nursing programs.
An Analysis of Salaries Between ADN and BSN-educated RNs
Nurses that receive a BSN in New York are not just proactively enhancing future earnings; they are staying up-to-date with increasingly competitive occupational standards.
According to New York’s 2013 Nursing and Allied Health Care Professionals Workforce Survey Report:
- Employers in the health care industry are preferring to hire candidates with BSN degrees
- The percentage of BSN registered nurses climbed from 32% in 2011 to 41% in 2012
Recent statistics provided by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that registered nurses with ADNs are earning an average annual salary of $61,300 and an average hourly wage of $29.48.
On the other hand, more experienced registered nurses holding BSN degrees are earning an average annual salary of $90,200 and an average hourly wage closer to $43.37.
Prospective BSN students that need financial assistance in order to afford college tuition costs are encouraged to take advantage of New York’s higher education motivation plans, which include the New York State Nursing Faculty Loan Forgiveness Incentive Program and the New York State Nurses Association Secor Scholarship Program.
Regional Salary Analysis of BSN-Educated RNs in New York
BSN-educated registered nurses in New York consistently earn within the 75th and 90th percentiles of their occupational class.
In 2013, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics published the findings of their salary survey revealing hourly and yearly earnings for BSN-educated RNs in several prominent metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas of New York: