The education requirement for nursing is changing

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  1. This is a discussion on The education requirement for nursing is changing in General Nursing Discussion, part of General Nursing ... It used to be that nurses did not have to go to college; we were instead trained by hospitals. Then...

    by Aug 26, '12
    It used to be that nurses did not have to go to college; we were instead trained by hospitals. Then the education requirement changed and community college replaced hospitals. And now, it is changing to that some hospitals will only hire nurses with college degrees. Undoubtedly, the education requirement will continue to increase in the future.

    The downside to this is that it will make this profession harder to get into. And those who are in the profession will constantly need to adapt by going back to school. The upside to this is that it will provide us with more skills to do a better job.

    What is your opinion on this?
    Last edit by DichloroacetateAl on Aug 26, '12
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    by DichloroacetateAl Aug 26, '12 9:54 pm
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  2. 179 Comments so far...

  3. Aug 26, '12 by
    The educational changes are related to the idea of professionalizing nursing.

    This is a good thing.
    JHU2016, iluvpatho, Anoetos, and 11 others like this.
  4. Aug 27, '12 by
    My opinion is that it isn't accurate. To say that nurses didn't used to have to go to college because they were "trained" by hospitals is more-or-less technically correct, but it doesn't really capture the essence of earlier nursing education. The education provided by a reputable hospital school of nursing WAS a college education. Nurses have also been receiving bachelor's degrees for a good long time--long before community colleges started granting associate's degrees in nursing.
    merrywhiterose, gypsyd8, RNam, and 12 others like this.
  5. Aug 27, '12 by
    This is the trend in many professions.
    Colleges are the gatekeepers for more professions. Once a college degree was an unusually hight level of achievment, now it is more standard. The downside is that college is getting more expensive and doesn't give you the career boost that it once did.
    The degree has little to do with actual skills; it is a credential.
    JHU2016, gypsyd8, lindarn, and 7 others like this.
  6. Aug 27, '12 by
    BSN degrees predate Associate Degrees, don't they?
    barbyann, lindarn, joanna73, and 5 others like this.
  7. Aug 27, '12 by
    I think anything that raises the bar for nurses, builds us up as a more professional career (rather than a "pink collar" trade), gains us more respect and gives us more bargaining power for higher salaries, while also forcing more selectivity in who joins the profession, can only be a GOOD thing in the long run.
    JHU2016, merrywhiterose, Anoetos, and 12 others like this.
  8. Guide
    Aug 27, '12 by
    I am all for it.
    Mom To 4 likes this.
  9. Aug 27, '12 by
    Homework?
    caroladybelle likes this.
  10. Aug 27, '12 by
    No, it's not homework. I made this thread after reading the following article from the New York Times:http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/24/ed...AmWwWJyq74Jipw
    Last edit by DichloroacetateAl on Aug 27, '12 : Reason: Fixed broken link
  11. Aug 27, '12 by
    I'm all for making nursing hard to get into, because it lessens the competition for existing nurses and keeps salaries from going on. The glut of new grads and pop-up nursing schools is something that needs to be stopped.
    JHU2016, gj519620, Chiggysmom, and 17 others like this.