BSN in 10 Law: Where Do We Go From Here? I feel that the BSN in 10 law required by American Nurses Credentialing Center’s coveted Magnet recognition is an unfair law. The law requires a Registered Nurse to obtain their Bachelor in 10 years in order to obtain their license and work in the hospital. The ANCC believes that a highly educated nursing work force improves patient safety and leads to higher quality, more cost efficient patient care. The issue I have with this law is who going to pay for nurses to go back to school; hospital put a hiring freeze on nurses with associated degrees, and what about experience of nurse. The average cost of RN to BSN nursing programs is 10,000 to 20,000. This is not an easy cost to swallow in today’s economy. Most hospitals will offer tuition assistance for a commitment but the cost upfront is the employee’s responsibility. This is a wonderful benefit, however, this is not offered at every company. So this fact leaves most nurses applying for loans to attend school. According to the website Sallie Mae the average interest rate on a student loan is 7.75% APR to 12.50% APR. I am proposing that when the ANCC drafts the law into action, they should require healthcare companies to pay for nurses to go back to school. According to a lot of registered nurses with an associate degree, most hospitals are not hiring right now because of the BSN in ten laws. Some hospitals only advertise hiring nurses with BSN only which leaves the nurses with associate degrees unemployed. I never thought I’d see the day a nurse would be without employments. The BSN in 10 law buzz is affecting the hiring process of many nurses with an associated degree in nursing. The registered nurse with an associate degree should be given a timeframe to complete the required education. With a nursing shortage on the rise, it is not practical to have so many experienced nurses without jobs. Whatever happened to the statement “experience is the best teacher?” What about the more senior nurses who have work in a hospital for over 20 years, will they be required to go back to school for their BSN or lose their jobs? The more senior nurses should be exempt from the BSN in ten requirements on the fact that they are experienced enough to work their specialty floors. According to the Nurses association website, the law is only for newly license registered nurse but where is the guarantee for job security for the veteran nurse who has been employed at hospital for a number of years? I wonder did the ANCC put those factors in consideration when drafted the law. The new registered nurse with a BSN is more likely to be trained by the veteran nurses when they enter the hospital setting. We need these experienced nurses as mentors and preceptors on these units. If hospitals are pushing them out the door what will be the fate of the new nurse? Will our patients suffer from lack of experienced nurses? I believe that before the ANCC puts the “BSN in 10” law into place, they should take into consideration a few things: Whose going to pay? Where does this leave our veteran nurses who choose not to go back to school after 30 years of nursing? and What are the healthy benefits of this law for nurses and patients. I’m considered in the middle class tax bracket so I will be paying for school out of my pocket. The hospital should continue to hire registered nurses with associated degree until all provisions of the law have been outlined. The law is called “BSN in 10: not today! So give those registered nurses with the experience the time and resources they need to receive higher education. The nurse shortage along with the number of baby boomers retiring and high acuity of today’s patients will hopefully put this law into a different perspective. We need our veteran nurses. I agree with higher education but not at the expense of the public, my family’s income, and the fate of the nursing profession. .