Why a BSN Is Important in Nursing

Written by: University of Tulsa • Sep 23, 2024

Nurses walking and talking in a medical facility.

Nurses with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree often have more job opportunities, earn higher salaries, and can provide a higher level of care than nurses with an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN). Understanding why a BSN is important in nursing starts with recognizing its scope, its many benefits, and the potential career outcomes associated with the degree.

If you have a non-nursing bachelor’s degree and want to pivot into a nursing role, you should consider enrolling in an accelerated BSN program, which allows you to earn a bachelor’s degree in less than two years and fast-track your future career. The benefits include honing essential skills, gaining opportunities for specialization, and preparing to advance into leadership roles.

What Is a BSN Degree?

A BSN is a traditional four-year university or college degree. An accelerated BSN is the same degree, but it requires a bachelor’s degree in another field and doesn’t require the same general education requirements. Accelerated programs build on what you’ve already learned and help you gain clinical knowledge as well as the necessary soft skills for success in nursing.

If you want to become a nurse, you can complete either a BSN or an ADN to begin your career. While an ADN usually takes less time than a traditional BSN, you can complete an accelerated BSN in around the same time as an ADN.

Differences Between ADN and BSN Programs

According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), BSN programs cover all the coursework taught in ADN programs but go into more detail in subjects such as nursing research, public health, nurse leadership, the humanities, and the physical and social sciences.

These additional courses give RNs with a BSN a better overall understanding of the health care system, as well as the issues that affect patients and influence the way health care is delivered. While an ADN prepares students for entry-level RN positions, a BSN is important for nursing students who want to apply a fuller scope of nursing practice in health care settings.

BSN General Education and Prerequisite Courses

Graduates of non-nursing bachelor’s degree programs have often completed many of the traditional BSN program’s general education requirements, such as courses in chemistry and biology. In an accelerated program, you may be allowed to choose elective courses that appeal to your interests or career goals.

Core Nursing Courses

Understanding why a BSN is important in nursing requires taking a close look at both the traditional and accelerated BSN curricula, which often feature the same nursing coursework. Core courses in a BSN program may include:

Fundamentals of Nursing: This course covers the essential knowledge and skills required to practice nursing in the modern health care landscape.
Pharmacology and Metrology: This course combines the study of how drugs impact the body with proper measurement and dosing of specific pharmaceuticals.
Health Assessment: This course involves collecting data from patients and their caregivers to create a plan of care for the patient.
Theoretical Frameworks of Nursing: This course, which is more specific than Fundamentals of Nursing, focuses on concepts and purposes that guide every aspect of the nursing profession.
Population Health: This course introduces the basics of how populations stay healthy, teaches the factors that influence health care costs, and explores health equity among diverse populations.
Nursing Care of Specialized Populations: This course prepares RNs to work in family medicine, which involves providing comprehensive care to patients of all ages and genders.
Health Care Informatics: This course prepares RNs to acquire, study, and manage large volumes of health data. It also explores the ways in which nurses combine their clinical knowledge with information technology (IT) to deliver better patient outcomes.
Nursing Science: This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to health care, drawing on natural, social, and behavioral science. It teaches students to use evidence-based approaches and shows them how they can advance nursing as a profession, both now and in the future.
Quality Across Health Care Systems: This course explores how nurses can ensure that they provide or facilitate the best possible care for their patients, regardless of their workplace or specialty.

8 Benefits of Earning a BSN Degree

The benefits of earning a BSN extend well beyond increased earning potential. Below are eight benefits associated with earning a bachelor’s degree in nursing that can lead to many exciting opportunities.

1. Higher Salaries

ADN graduates had a median annual salary of about $80,000 as of June 2025, according to data from Payscale, while BSN graduates had a median annual salary of about $99,000 as of September 2025. As RNs gain experience, this significant salary gap between the two degrees widens further.

2. Higher Rates of Employment

Among the many reasons why a BSN is important in nursing, nurses with a BSN degree may have a higher chance of getting hired than nurses who don’t. As of 2022, about 28% of hospitals required their RNs to have a BSN degree, while another 72% strongly preferred RNs with a BSN, according to AACN.

Furthermore, a 2023 AACN report on new graduate employment noted that 96% of BSN graduates found meaningful work within four to six months of graduation, and 84% had a job offer upon graduating. By comparison, among those who earned a bachelor’s degree in a non-nursing field, only 55% had secured full-time employment within six months of graduating.

3. More Comprehensive Knowledge

BSN programs can go beyond the education required for licensure and entry-level nursing roles. After graduation, RNs with a bachelor’s degree often are better prepared to provide nursing care to diverse populations across all settings than those with an associate degree.

4. Specialization Options

BSN program graduates can specialize in their nursing practice. Many nursing specialization programs require students to hold at least a BSN to enroll, making it important to have a BSN in nursing to avoid having to take additional bridge courses to learn more advanced skills.

5. Opportunities for Higher Education

Completing a BSN program lays the foundation for RNs to take their education even further with a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN). A BSN is typically the prerequisite for most advanced nursing degrees and programs and is essential for aspiring advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs). Some nurses may even choose to pursue doctoral degrees, such as a PhD or a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP). Many go on to become nurse practitioners (NPs) with their own private practice.

6. Better Patient Outcomes

Of all the reasons why BSNs are important in nursing, the training they offer in providing better patient care may be the most rewarding. Research suggests that nurses with a higher level of education directly improve patient outcomes.

A 2022 study published in Nursing Outlook found that hospitals with a higher proportion of BSN-educated nurses were associated with significantly lower odds of surgical mortality after 30 days. The study included RNs who earned their BSN through any educational pathway — not just the traditional four-year bachelor’s degree program.

7. Career Advancement

RNs who earn their bachelor’s degree have numerous nurse advancement opportunities available to them. Many health care organizations look to nurses who hold at least a BSN for managerial roles. By completing a BSN, nurses build a valuable foundation in nursing that better prepares them for the many challenges of more senior roles.

8. Preparation for a Potential Future Mandate

Although most states don’t require RNs to hold a BSN degree, New York became the first state to enact such a law. New RNs in New York who entered the profession after December 2017 must earn a BSN degree within 10 years of initial licensure to maintain their license and continue practicing. Additional states may follow suit as it becomes clearer that well-educated nurses lead to healthier populations.

Professional Outcomes for BSN Graduates

Employment of RNs is projected to increase by 5% between 2024 and 2034, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

As the American population ages, patients will require more medical care and assistance, increasing demand for RNs. The growing prevalence of patients with chronic conditions such as heart disease, obesity, and diabetes will also drive demand for RNs in the coming years.

Below are some positions that BSN graduates can pursue.

Registered Nurse

Registered nurses (RNs) are licensed health care professionals who work closely with doctors, surgeons, aides, and other members of a health care team to coordinate and provide their patients with quality care. They work in various settings, including hospitals and doctors’ offices.

RNs can pursue a wide range of specialized roles, such as nurse case manager, hospice nurse, utilization management nurse, legal nurse consultant (LNC), or nurse case manager. A BSN in nursing is important because it can help graduates make an informed decision on whether they want to specialize in a particular field, such as obstetrics and gynecology, oncology, pediatrics, or geriatrics.

The median annual wage for RNs was $93,600 as of May 2024, according to the BLS.

Nurse Case Manager

Nurse case managers are skilled RNs who, under the direction of a physician, evaluate patients and develop long-term care plans for them that are designed to improve their overall quality of life. These nurses work very closely with patients, both inside and outside health care facilities, monitoring the patients’ health and adjusting their care plans as needed. They also communicate with patients about their diagnoses and progress and serve as liaisons between patients and their health care teams.

Nurse case managers earned a median annual salary of about $82,740 as of November 2025, according to Payscale, and some have the potential to earn bonuses and profit-sharing income depending on their employment type.

Hospice Nurse

Hospice nurses are RNs who provide end-of-life care to individuals with a life expectancy of six months or less, as determined by their physicians. These patients often have life-threatening illnesses, such as cancer, and they depend on compassionate care to remain comfortable and to enjoy the highest possible quality of life.

Hospice nurses work closely with other members of their patients’ health care teams, which may include home health aides, counselors, and physicians or specialists. The median annual salary for hospice nurses was about $80,330 as of October 2025, according to Payscale.

Utilization Management Nurse

Utilization management nurses are RNs who work in a wide range of settings, including hospitals and insurance companies, managing costs for their employers or patients without impacting quality of care or jeopardizing outcomes. They review medical records, evaluate patients’ treatment plans, and work with insurance companies and other reimbursement organizations to reduce unnecessary costs for patients or their employers.

The median annual salary for utilization management nurses was about $82,540 as of September 2025, according to Payscale. This figure represents highly experienced professionals or those who work in settings requiring overtime hours.

Legal Nurse Consultant

LNCs are skilled professionals who use their clinical experience and knowledge in complex legal situations involving medical issues. They commonly work on cases involving malpractice, personal injury, and workers’ compensation claims, and benefit greatly from an educational foundation in nursing.

After gaining several years of experience in nursing, LNCs often choose to pursue their master’s degree in a legal field, giving them a unique and comprehensive set of skills. The median annual salary for LNCs was about $90,760 as of November 2025, according to Payscale.

Nurse Manager

Nurse managers work in a range of health care facilities, planning and directing the nursing department’s business activities. Nurse managers coordinate the delivery of patient care and often treat patients at their bedside.

The BLS reports that medical and health services managers, including nurse managers, had a median annual salary of approximately $117,960 as of May 2024, with those in hospitals earning the highest median at $130,690.

Earn Your BSN at The University of Tulsa

There are many reasons why a BSN is important in nursing. From gaining new skills that can help improve patient outcomes and further the nursing profession to having more opportunities to specialize, earning a bachelor’s degree allows you to advance your education.

If you have a non-nursing bachelor’s degree and want to change to a nursing career, consider The University of Tulsa’s online Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program. With a strong foundation of coursework and a required skills bootcamp, our program can help you advance on an expedited timeline.

Taught by accomplished faculty, our program was designed to provide students with the skills they need to enter the workforce with confidence. The program focuses on the current challenges in health care and teaches skills such as compassion, communication, and self-care, allowing you to become the very best RN you can be.

Explore what nursing means to you with a TU degree.

Recommended Readings

Preparing for Success in Your Nursing Clinicals

Types of Nurse Management: Career Options for RNs

What Are the ABSN Admission Requirements?

Sources:

American Association of Colleges of Nursing, New Graduate Employment Data

American Association of Colleges of Nursing, Nursing Workforce Fact Sheet

American Association of Colleges of Nursing, The Impact of Education on Nursing Practice

American Nurses Association, Nurse Leadership

American Nurses Association, RN to BSN: Advancing Your Nursing Career

Health Resources and Services Administration, State of the U.S. Health Care Workforce, 2024