What is an ADN? Associate Degree in Nursing Programs
An ADN prepares you to become a registered nurse. Therefore, you’ll be eligible to apply for any entry-level RN position. As you earn more experience, even more opportunities will open up for you. Here are just a few of the amazing career opportunities you can get with an ADN degree:
1. Hospital Nurse
Hospital nurse is a general term that describes RNs working in hospital settings. Hospital nursing includes bedside positions where you interact with patients directly. As a hospital nurse, you may specialize depending on the department in which you work. Such specializations include but aren’t limited to:
- Family medicine
- Pediatrics
- Emergency
- Oncology
- Surgery
- Radiology
Keep in mind that hospital nursing is demanding, as you would handle multiple patients each day and may have to be on call.
2. Travel Nurse
Travel nurses work with recruiters and agencies to fill temporary positions at hospitals worldwide. Travel nursing is an excellent option for ADN-trained registered nurses who want flexible careers that keep them on the go. Typically, you’ll need at least two years of nursing experience and an active RN license to become a travel nurse.
Since they are in such high demand and face rigorous requirements, travel nurse salary tends to be higher than other RN jobs. Although your ADN will allow you to become a travel nurse, you will have more limited options than BSN-trained RNs.
3. Home Health Nurse
Home health nursing is another flexible job you can get with an ADN that offers constant scenery changes and a lot of independence. Home health nurses work for an agency or other organization that dispatches nursing care to patients’ homes. Because patient’s needs vary case-by-case, home health nurses provide a range of services, including but not limited to:
- Bathing and feeding
- Monitoring patient conditions
- Ensuring compliance with physician’s orders
- Providing wound care and pain management
- Administering medication
To understand what it’s really like to earn an ADN, we thought we should go straight to the source. Here’s what Breann Kakacek had to say about earning her Associate Degree in Nursing:
“I earned my ADN degree from a community college in two years. The program was rigorous, but it was also gratifying. I learned a lot about the nursing profession and made some great friends along the way. I joined a concurrent program with a university where I received my BSN shortly after my ADN. This program allowed me to bypass the 2-year waitlist to enter the nursing program.
Despite the challenges, I am glad that I earned my ADN degree. It has given me an excellent foundation for my career and opened up many opportunities. I recommend the ADN program to anyone interested in a nursing career. If you want to further your career into management positions, BSN options are available as this degree or higher is usually desired for non-bed-side positions.”
“I earned my ADN degree from a community college in two years. The program was rigorous, but it was also gratifying. I learned a lot about the nursing profession and made some great friends along the way.
I joined a concurrent program with a university where I received my BSN shortly after my ADN. This program allowed me to bypass the 2-year waitlist to enter the nursing program.
Despite the challenges, I am glad that I earned my ADN degree. It has given me an excellent foundation for my career and opened up many opportunities. I recommend the ADN program to anyone interested in a nursing career.
If you want to further your career into management positions, BSN options are available as this degree or higher is usually desired for non-bed-side positions.” – Breann Kakacek, BSN, RN
