BSN

Farawyn · May 30, 2016

Oh you would like some research? No problem!
In a study published in the October 2014 issue of Medical Care, researcher Olga Yakusheva from the University of Michigan and her colleagues found that a 10% increase in the proportion of baccalaureate-prepared nurses on hospital units was associated with lowering the odds of patient mortality by 10.9%. Titled Economic Evaluation of the 80% Baccalaureate Nurse Workforce Recommendation,â€ the study authors also found that increasing the amount of care provided by BSNs to 80% would result in significantly lower readmission rates and shorter lengths of stay. These outcomes translate into cost savings that would more than off-set expenses for increasing the number of baccalaureate-prepared nurses in hospital settings. Medical Care.
Posting online in August 2014 by the International Journal of Nursing Studies, a team of researchers from several nursing schools in South Korea and the University of Pennsylvania found that a 10% increase in baccalaureate-prepared nurses was associated with a 9% decrease in patient deaths in South Korean hospitals. The authors concluded that increasing the number of nurses with the BSN would significantly reduce the number of in-hospital deaths. www.journalofnursingstudies.com
Published in The Lancet in May 2014, authors of the study titled Nurse Staffing and Education and Hospital Mortality in Nine European Countries: A Retrospective Observational Studyâ€ found that that patients experiencing complications after surgery are more likely to live if treated in hospitals with adequate nurse staffing levels and higher numbers of BSN nurses. Following a review of more than 420,000 patient records in 300 hospitals spanning nine European countries, finding show that a 10% increase in the proportion of nurses holding a bachelor's degree in an acute care setting is associated with a 7% decrease in the risk of death in discharged patients following common surgeries.
www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(13)62631-8/abstract
In an article published in the March 2013 issue of Health Affairs, nurse researcher Ann Kutney-Lee and colleagues found that a 10-point increase in the percentage of nurses holding a BSN within a hospital was associated with an average reduction of 2.12 deaths for every 1,000 patientsâ€”and for a subset of patients with complications, an average reduction of 7.47 deaths per 1,000 patients.
In the February 2013 issue of the Journal of Nursing Administration, Mary Blegen and colleagues published findings from a cross-sectional study of 21 University Healthsystem Consortium hospitals which found that hospitals with a higher percentage of RNs with baccalaureate or higher degrees had lower congestive heart failure mortality, decubitus ulcers, failure to rescue, and postoperative deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism and shorter length of stay.
In the October 2012 issue of Medical Care, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania found that surgical patients in Magnet hospitals had 14% lower odds of inpatient death within 30 days and 12% lower odds of failure-to-rescue compared with patients cared for in non-Magnet hospitals. The study authors conclude that these better outcomes were attributed in large part to investments in highly qualified and educated nurses, including a higher proportion of baccalaureate prepared nurses.
In an article published in Health Services Research in August 2008 that examined the effect of nursing practice environments on outcomes of hospitalized cancer patients undergoing surgery, Dr. Christopher Friese and colleagues found that nursing education level was significantly associated with patient outcomes. Nurses prepared at the baccalaureate-level were linked with lower mortality and failure-to-rescue rates. The authors conclude that moving to a nurse workforce in which a higher proportion of staff nurses have at least a baccalaureate-level education would result in substantially fewer adverse outcomes for patients.â€
In a study released in the May 2008 issue of the Journal of Nursing Administration, Dr. Linda Aiken and her colleagues confirmed the findings from their landmark 2003 study (see below) which show a strong link between RN education level and patient outcomes. The noted nurse researchers found that every 10% increase in the proportion of BSN nurses on the hospital staff was associated with a 4% decrease in the risk of death.
In the January 2007 Journal of Advanced Nursing, a study of 46,993 patients conducted by researchers at the University Toronto found that hospitals with higher proportions of baccalaureate-prepared nurses tended to have lower 30-day mortality rates. The findings indicated that a 10% increase in the proportion of baccalaureate prepared nurses was associated with 9 fewer deaths for every 1,000 discharged patients.
In a study published in the March/April 2005 Nursing Research, Dr. Carole Estabrooks and her colleagues at the University of Alberta found that baccalaureate prepared nurses have a positive impact on mortality rates following an examination of more than 18,000 patient outcomes at 49 Canadian hospitals. This study, The Impact of Hospital Nursing Characteristics on 30-Day Mortality, confirmed the findings from Dr. Aiken's landmark study from 2003.
In a study published in the September 24, 2003
Journal of the American Medical Association, Dr. Linda Aiken and her colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania identified a clear link between higher levels of nursing education and better patient outcomes. This extensive study found that surgical patients have a "substantial survival advantage" if treated in hospitals with higher proportions of nurses educated at the baccalaureate or higher degree level. A 10% increase in the proportion of nurses holding BSN degrees decreased the risk of patient death and failure to rescue by 5%.
We good?

We not.

Please see angloublue.

Then again, I'm a mere ADN and may not fully understand. :woot:

Farawyn · May 30, 2016

I don't know if it's a ploy really....ANA has been suggesting baccalaureate prepared nurses for years

...and years and years.

How's that working out for them?

Nalon1 RN/EMT-P, BSN, RN · May 30, 2016

...
Then again, I'm a mere ADN and may not fully understand.

Well thats your problem. Didn't you know that was part of the BSN indoctrination?

I am just a few courses into my RN-BSN program, and as of yet I have not learned anything new that has changed my patient care or improved my pt outcomes.

I am all for increasing my knowledge though.

Central BSN, RN · May 30, 2016

You asked for some research and I provided ten separate studies. Ignoring the research doesn't make it any less valid. As for "only having" an ASN you said it not I. You may be right though, that could be why your having a hard time... guess we will never know

OldDude · May 30, 2016

We not.
Please see angloublue.
Then again, I'm a mere ADN and may not fully understand.

ADN nurses are cave nurses. We don't understand these things.

klone, MSN, RN · May 30, 2016

It seems ridiculous to me that "magnet status" requires BSN and having it gives better reimbursement for hospitals.

None of what you just said is correct.

LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN · May 30, 2016

I work at a Magnet Hospital and we have BSN, ADN and diploma nurses working, no time requirement to get a BSN, nothing.

No one would know if one was a BSN unless it's on their name tag, although I have a BSN and it's not on my name tag; maybe because I can't do nothing without that RN behind my name, I'm not so concerned about having that on a name tag, not when I sign my name.

Rhody34 · May 30, 2016

Don't bite... Don't bite... Don't bite... Alright... I'll bite...

Just my opinion/2 cents...

I have an Associates in nursing. I also have a Bachelors in nursing. I also have Bachelors degrees in psychology and sociology. I know about research, I know about writing papers, and I know how to be a bedside nurse. I can tell you there are endless studies out there to prove any point. My opinion... the best patient outcomes come from those who have experience, and continue to learn. Continuing to learn doesn't necessarily mean get more degrees or alphabet soup after your name- it just means you are actively learning about new trends. Completing CEUs, actively participating in different groups within your work place, etc etc. This topic has been beat to death, revived and beat to death again. I will say, as some one who has both an ADN and a BSN- I credit my excellent patient care and their usual excellent outcomes to my associates degree training. My BSN taught me many things and I am proud to have that degree- but it definitely did not make me more safe at the bedside. I was safe due to my diligent training in my ADN program.

Farawyn · May 31, 2016

You asked for some research and I provided ten separate studies. Ignoring the research doesn't make it any less valid. As for "only having" an ASN you said it not I. You may be right though, that could be why your having a hard time... guess we will never know

You sly dog. You have me pegged.

How many of your BSN nurses in those studies are bridge nurses? There was just a huge thread on Gen about this a few weeks ago. I will try to dig it up.

I have no problem with BSN nurses. I have a BA in Psych. I like the idea of a 4 year degree. I'm in the bridge and it's FLUFF, and it's expensive, and it's not going to change my status.

Editorial Team / Admin · May 31, 2016

Thread moved to: RNs: Diploma / ADN / BSN forum.

TiffyRN, BSN, PhD · Jun 1, 2016

As has been discussed before, those studies don't take into consideration that many BSNs were first ASNs with experience which makes the studies a little inaccurate.

I don't understand this argument. Maybe I should go find this other thread. The fact that some of the BSN nurses in the study were RN to BSN doesn't seem to matter to whether there are better outcomes. It might be an important factor if you were trying to argue that initial licensure BSNs are better than bridge BSNs but I'm not sure too many people are making that argument. What many are arguing is that why bother going through the two-step process when it can be over and done with all at once?

I wish I had lived in a city that offered an initial licensure BSN but I would have had to move and not had a nice Aunt who let me live with her for super cheap rent. I would have only had to go to school 2 more semesters (at $50 a credit hour no less) and I would have been a full fledged BSN. But I digress.

Now, would it be an interesting study to compare the outcomes of nurses with bridge BSN versus initial licensure BSN? I think it would though there is so much variation in quality it might not be productive.

As for my experience with RN to BSN, I went to a decent school, but I became fascinated and engaged and probably got a lot more out of my education than some of my classmates. I know I'm a better nurse today than before that coursework and those changes are clearly (in my mind) directly linked to the things I learned there. I had classmates declaring during capstone (in guarded tones as to not upset the professor) that this whole experience was useless and a waste of time, money and effort. What can I say, we took the same courses, had many of the same professors. You get out of the course what you put into it. Basic adult learning theory.

windsurfer8, BSN, RN · Jun 5, 2016

Do any of you truly think hospitals obsess over "better" or "worse" nurses? They worry about the BOTTOM LINE. Management love stats and numbers. They love saying "We had a 10% increase in....." Or "we had a 10% decrease in.." Anyone can say all day long about how great ADN nurses are..and guess what..I am not going to argue with you. However that is not statistical evidence and in this world you need to argue with data not "I think". Go to your management with peer reviewed evidence that shows better patient outcomes AND money saving to the hospital and guess what..they WILL be hiring ADNs over BSN. If a random person was asked would you like a doctor who went to Harvard or Michigan State which would they most likely pick? This does not mean one doctor is "better" or "worse". They have nothing else to go on besides perception. If people see a stat that hospital X has 75% BSN prepared nurses then hey..they MAY be more likely to pick that hospital. No one is saying an individual nurse is a good nurse or a bad nurse. MONEY TALKS. Do not take things personal...good or bad..hospitals are a business.