This article discusses the experience of nursing students that enroll in a BSN program while still in the final semesters of an ADN program and before they are licensed. The study discusses what the students thought to be different areas of focus in each program. The students felt what they learned in the ADN program such as skills, assessment, and disease processes were foundational, but in the BSN program they were able to begin to see a bigger picture of the patient and of the expanded role of the BSN in the healthcare setting. They noted the added emphasis on leadership, community nursing, and evidence based practice in the BSN program. The areas of focus in each program correlate to the expanded role of the Baccalaureate prepared nurse
