[pattycakebaby]

The new push is for all nurses to be baccalaureate prepared, eliminating the 2 year associate degree program. Given the current and future nursing shortage, what is your opinion?

[burn out]

Originally Posted by pattycakebaby

The new push is for all nurses to be baccalaureate prepared, eliminating the 2 year associate degree program. Given the current and future nursing shortage, what is your opinion?

I can't believe such a hot topic and no one has responded yet. Personally I don't think we should let the nursing shortage concern us or affect us. We should not lower the standards of nursing to make more warm bodies eligible to work as a RN. I think if we are going to be Professionals we need to have a professional entry level of a BSN ( not a 2 year ADN with a bs in accounting). The first question being do we want to be considered professionals? If we do I believe that all current RN's should be grandfathered in that lack the BSN level and nationwide entry level should be the same-after all we all take the same test so why not uniform entry levels everywhere. I beleive this is the only way to advance nursing and
get the respect from the doctors that we are all entitled to.

[suzy253]

probably one reason for the lack of responses is that this very same topic has been discussed, heatedly at times, over and over and over ad nauseum. It's beating a dead horse and people just don't want to go there.

[VickyRN]

Originally Posted by suzy253

probably one reason for the lack of responses is that this very same topic has been discussed, heatedly at times, over and over and over ad nauseum. It's beating a dead horse and people just don't want to go there.

Originally Posted by SharonH, RN

Right! I mean, this is probably THE single most discussed topic on this forum. Just do a search on one of the other dozens and dozens of other discussions about this issue.

http://allnurses.com/forums/1379680-post3.html

http://allnurses.com/forums/f87/prof...SN+entry+level

http://allnurses.com/forums/f164/tru...SN+entry+level

http://allnurses.com/forums/f8/bsns-...SN+entry+level

http://allnurses.com/forums/f198/adn...SN+entry+level

http://allnurses.com/forums/f8/does-...SN+entry+level

http://allnurses.com/forums/f195/ny-...?highlight=BSN

http://allnurses.com/forums/f8/title...SN+entry+level

http://allnurses.com/forums/f75/scho...SN+entry+level

http://allnurses.com/forums/f166/cha...SN+entry+level

http://allnurses.com/forums/f198/sic...SN+entry+level

http://allnurses.com/forums/f50/asso...SN+entry+level

http://allnurses.com/forums/f8/adn-v...SN+entry+level

http://allnurses.com/forums/f50/aas-...SN+entry+level

[NRSKarenRN]

Classic 2002 series of articles form nursing leaders/educators:

Online Journal of Issues in Nursing: Entry Into Practice: Is it Relevant Today?
http://www.nursingworld.org/ojin/topic18/tpc18toc.htm

Overview & Summary by Davina J. Gosnell, PhD, RN, FAAN

• Revisiting the American Nurses Association’s First Position on Education for Nurses
  Sister Rosemary Donley, RN, PhD, C-ANP, FAAN
  Sister Mary Jean Flaherty, RN, PhD, FAAN (May 31, 2002)
• The Relevance of Associate Degree Nursing Education: Past, Present, Future
  Elizabeth H. Mahaffey, RN, PhD (May 31, 2002)
• Education for Pprofessional Nursing Practice: Looking Backward into the Future
  Martha A. Nelson, PhD, RN (May 31, 2002)
• Education for Entry into Nursing Practice: Revisited for the 21ST Century
  Lucille A. Joel, EdD, RN, FAAN (May 31, 2002)
• Ethical Grounding for Entry into Practice: Respect, Collaboration, and Accountability
  by Mary Cipriano Silva, PhD, RN, FAAN
  Ruth Ludwick, PhD, RN, C (August 30, 2002)

Many thoughtful letters to the editor respond to topics.

[lindarn]

Originally Posted by burn out

I can't believe such a hot topic and no one has responded yet. Personally I don't think we should let the nursing shortage concern us or affect us. We should not lower the standards of nursing to make more warm bodies eligible to work as a RN. I think if we are going to be Professionals we need to have a professional entry level of a BSN ( not a 2 year ADN with a bs in accounting). The first question being do we want to be considered professionals? If we do I believe that all current RN's should be grandfathered in that lack the BSN level and nationwide entry level should be the same-after all we all take the same test so why not uniform entry levels everywhere. I beleive this is the only way to advance nursing and
get the respect from the doctors that we are all entitled to.

Go BSN as entry into practice. By the time you finish with the prerequisites, you are spending almost that amount of time in school anyway. You might as well get the degree that coincides with the amount of time that you spent in school. And I completely agree with the above post.

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN
Spokane, Washington

[Altra]

Originally Posted by pattycakebaby

The new push is for all nurses to be baccalaureate prepared, eliminating the 2 year associate degree program. Given the current and future nursing shortage, what is your opinion?

Just curious ... is this for a school paper? Were you told this was a "new" push, and who/what was doing the pushing? Debates rage in academic & public policy circles ... action takes a loooong time to come to fruition sometimes, and in the meantime successful careers march on.

[sunnyjohn]

"That dog won't hunt!"

Ehh, we'll probably go all BSN in 10 or so years, but not until we cough up some SERIOUS money to pay for the opening of new BSN programs accross the nation, pass laws to create 4-year BSN programs out of already 3+ year community college programs and add the needed teaching staff.

Additionally we will have to finally accept that our Diploma/ASN/ADN/AAS (and indeed LPNs) must have a seat at the all-BSN transition table.

Congress has already spent boatloads and this sure won't get a priority.

Until then we'll just have to concentrate on OTHER way to UNIFY and ADVANCE the profession.

[pattycakebaby]

Yeah, this thread was for a paper. My personal opinion on the subject is to let nurses decide if they want to further their education formally, whether it is BSN, MSN, PHD, etc. But, I think that ALL states should adapt mandatory education/CEU's. No matter what level of education we're at in the health industry, we always need educational updating/lifelong learning to keep up with the rapid pace of change in our field. Education is a good thing, it empowers us with confidence and competence. AND...we are NEVER too old to learn - take it from me, I'm 52 yrs. old, about to graduate with my BSN, and going on for my MSN-Nurse Practitioner track this next fall!

[Lurksalot]

Originally Posted by lindarn

Go BSN as entry into practice. By the time you finish with the prerequisites, you are spending almost that amount of time in school anyway. You might as well get the degree that coincides with the amount of time that you spent in school. And I completely agree with the above post.

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN
Spokane, Washington

I agree. I've spent about 3.5 years getting my ADN, it makes me nuts that I could have had a BSN in that time. But of course, it goes back to the shortage of nursing educators/programs, etc. The only BSN program near me was taking 40 applicants, and when my friend with a 4.0 GPA did not make the cut, I knew my measly 3.5 GPA was not going to get it. So, an ADN program was the only option for me, and now I will be working as an RN while I pursue my BSN/MSN.

I also agree with making a universal standard for nursing, in order to advance the profession as a whole. It's too confusing to the layperson to distinguish between ADN, BSN, diploma and I have run into a lot of clients who think they are different levels of nursing. Like the client who asked me what school I go to, and then when I told him I will have my ADN, he said, so that'll make you an LPN? And another client asked me about what is the difference between and LPN and a 2-year RN degree? (Not much, as far as I've seen, I've run into some darm great LPNs who know more than a lot of RNs!)

It would be good for the entire profession to establish a baseline of education for the RN. All I can say about it right now is that ADN, BSN, diploma, all of the programs prepare the nurse for ENTRY into practice, and they all prepare us to sit for the same NCLEX.