Thesis/Topic Sentences: Essay 3

Thesis:
The need for a bachelor’s degree has multiple effects on nurses including increased pay, vast job options, and overall more knowledge and expertise in the field.

Topic Sentences: 

1. A nurse who has acquired his or her bachelor’s degree is going to see an increase in pay.

2. Nurses who have their bachelor’s degree have the benefits of multiple more job opportunities and options in their career.

3. As one continues on with their degree advancement, a more concrete understanding of the work and more experience in the field is a result.

Essay 3: What Research Told Me

-A nurse with less than a year of experience has an annual wage of $50,017, 1-4 years of experience pays $59,739, 5-9 years pays $66,044, 10-19 years pays $72,791, and 20 years or more of experience pays $77,032 annually.

-nursing is largest profession in health care industry

-nurses with BSN outperform their RN counterparts

-demand for nurses with advanced degrees is increasing

-nurses with BSN can work anywhere from geriatrics, home health, community clinics, hospices, hospitals, to administration.

-in a more broad range nurses with BSN can work as head nurses, nurse practitioners, administrative managers, department chiefs, and nurse anesthetist.

Essay 3: Rough Draft

                                      Effects of Need for Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing

          With the growing qualifications and regulations of nursing surging forward as the years go on, many nurses are finding themselves with the need for a bachelor’s degree. Many hospitals are now requiring their nursing staff to have their bachelor’s degree, BSN, rather than their associate’s degree. This new preference for nurses is very beneficial to the medical field. The need for a bachelor’s degree has multiple effects on nurses including increased pay, vast job options, and overall more knowledge and expertise in the field.
              A nurse who has acquired his or her bachelor’s degree is going to see an increase in pay. As one advances with their major, an increase in pay accompanies the title. The pay of a nurse with a bachelor’s degree largely depends on the years of experience one has. A nurse with less than a year of experience has an annual wage of $50,017, 1-4 years of experience pays $59,739, 5-9 years pays $66,044, 10-19 years pays $72,791, and 20 years or more of experience pays $77,032 annually (Average & Starting Nurse Salary for Registered Nurses (RN's)). In the article, “Average & Starting Nurse Salary for Registered Nurses (RN’s)”, it states, “It’s apparent that employers reward nurses with salary increases when they obtain additional training/education because demand for highly-trained and specialized nurses is higher.” An increase in pay comes along with a bachelor’s degree. Facilities and hospitals are looking for nurses with more experience and more training. Education and specialization in nursing is very valuable, and employers look for that in nurses and reward them with an increase in pay.
                Nurses who have their bachelor’s degree have the benefits of multiple more job opportunities and options in their career. Nurses with their bachelor’s degree have a wide array of positions that they can choose from. A head nurse, department chief, administrative manager, nurse anesthetist, clinical nurse manager, and nurse practitioner are all examples of positions one could pursue with a bachelors degree. The biggest difference between a bachelor’s degree and an associate’s degree is that with a bachelor’s degree a nurse can pursue managerial positions. Nurses with their BSN are typically employed by hospitals, community clinics, home health agencies, hospices, hospitals and public health departments (Average & Starting Nurse Salary for Registered Nurses (RN's)). There are multiple career fields that a nurse with his or her BSN can get into such as geriatrics, home health, administration, pediatrics, information technology, or even training and education (BSN-Career Opportunities). Just because one is a nurse does not mean that he or she is working just in a care agency. Many nurses move on to managerial positions, research positions and even educational positions.
                As one continues on with their degree advancement, a more concrete understanding of the work and  more experience in the field is a result. The longer one works in a certain environment, the more comfortable he or she is going to become and the more will be learned as each day passes. In the article, “Average & Starting Nurse Salary for Registered Nurses (RN's)” it was stated, “. . . nurses holding baccalaureate degrees outperform their RN counterparts.”  Higher education is directly correlated to increased earnings, roles with leadership positions and the job security is more concrete (Average & Starting Nurse Salary for Registered Nurses (RN's)).  Acquiring a bachelors degree leads to advancement or specialization on one’s field of work. With any field of work, more experience and knowledge is beneficial. More experience results in a more experienced work place, which in turn results in happier residents and employees. With degree advancement, a lot of knowledge is taken in at once; the higher one proceeds in degree achievement, the more knowledge and experience one is going to experience. 
             Nursing is a field of work that involves a great deal of knowledge, practical skills, intelligence, and critical thinking. Nurses need to know how to handle demanding situations, how to care for patients with specific care needs, how to properly administer medications, and overall they need to have intelligence about all aspects of their work field. Acquiring a bachelor’s degree in nursing prepares one more extensively for their work. Nurses with a bachelor’s degree have an increase in pay, more job options in their desired field of work, and overall they have more knowledge and expertise. A bachelor’s degree is extremely beneficial to nurses, their patients, their employers and their fellow employees. 

Essay 3: What I Already Know/What I Need to Know

What I Already Know:
-facilities looking for bachelor's degree in nursing over associates degree
-bachelors degree is preferable
-better pay
-more knowledge
-more options job wise

What I Need to Know:
-pay
-what jobs are available to nurses with BSN
-how long it takes to get BSN
-positives of getting BSN