Do Bachelor's Degrees Save Lives? - The Facts about Earning a BSN
In most lines of work, there’s one clear path to getting your foot in the door. But nursing is unique in that it offers multiple paths to entry-level positions. Whether you’ve earned a diploma, an associate degree or a bachelor’s degree, you know there is more than one way to become an RN.
Some assert that there are some pretty distinct differences in the capabilities, responsibilities and patient outcomes that come with each educational milestone. It's no secret that more voices in the field are citing those differences as a driving force behind the push to convince more RNs to pursue BSN degrees. But are the benefits as clear-cut as they've been made out to be?
Here's what we found from doing some research on what has been written.
The push for more BSNs
Initiatives like "80 by '20" and "BSN in 10" have become hot topics in the nursing world, but they're often misunderstood. Here's a quick breakdown of the differences:
80 by '20 is a call-to-action that requires 80 percent of nurses to hold bachelor's degrees by 2020. This initiative has been put in place by the Institute of Medicine in tandem with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
BSN in 10 is a proposed policy that would require new nurses to obtain their BSN within 10 years of entering the field if they wish to continue practicing. The initiative originated with the New York State Nurses Association and has received support from the House of Delegates of the American Nurses Association.
The motivation for initiatives like these is threefold. Proponents hope to see improvements in patient care; increased prospects and longevity in nursing careers; and efficiencies in the ability of healthcare facilities to manage increasing patient loads.
It hasn't taken long for other healthcare organizations to align with these commitments. Many hospitals may be drawn by the motivation to uphold high standards of patient care and professional development in order to achieve magnet status, while others can't seem to ignore the question, "Do bachelor's degrees really save more lives?"
The link between education & mortality rates
Healthcare organizations and hospital leadership continually recognize the contributions made by nurses of all educational levels. But many have acknowledged reports that suggest qualifications impact mortality rates.
What does the data say?
Studies suggest a correlation between patient mortality rates and the level of education achieved by their nurses. A 2014 study supported by the National Institutes of Health reported a 7 percent decline in patient mortality for each 10 percent increase in the number of nurses who hold bachelor's degrees. Put simply, nurses with more education appear to have better patient outcomes.
The study brought the conversation a step further by comparing patient outcomes with nursing workload. Hospitals in which 60 percent of nurses hold bachelor's degrees and care for six or fewer patients saw a 33 percent decrease in patient mortality when compared to hospitals in which only a third of nurses hold a bachelor's degree and care for up to eight patients.
This suggests a significant decrease in the number of patient deaths for nurses who have more education and also care for fewer patients. The data suggests that healthcare organizations recognize the need to not only increase RN qualifications, but also increase the number of nurses available to care for patients.
The added benefits of earning a BSN
Because many healthcare facilities are prioritizing a bachelor's level education for RN candidates, the number job prospects for nurses with bachelor's degrees has seen a huge surge in recent years.
In fact, Burning-Glass was used to identify more than a million RN job postings from the past year and found that candidates holding a bachelor's degree qualified for 78 percent of them, while diploma and associate degree holders qualified for just 53 percent.1
The prospects are also greatly increased for RNs hoping to progress into advanced nursing positions later in their careers. For example, we examined nearly 100,000 nurse manager job postings from the last 12 months. The data revealed that candidates with bachelor's degrees qualified for 70 percent of the jobs available, while associate degree holders qualified for just 25 percent of them.2
But the job vacancies don't tell the only story here. There is also increased earning potential for bachelor's degree holders. Nurse manager candidates with bachelor's degrees can expect a $7,000 increase in mean annual salary.3
Are BSNs worth more than the hype?
The initiatives in place to encourage more RNs to earn bachelor's degrees are hard to ignore, but there are two sides to every coin. Some professionals are pushing back despite support from leading healthcare organizations. It's a debate that continues to rage throughout the comment streams of nursing blogs across the Internet.
So what do you think? Are there tangible benefits to a nursing workforce with a higher percentage of bachelor's degrees? Is the jump from RN-BSN worth it? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
I started out in a BSN program. Didn't like it, changed my major, got a degree in psychology. Went to a hospital based diploma program where I feel I got a MUCH better nursing education. My school had a 100% NCLEX pass rate 5 years running. But, because I have a BA instead of a BSN (even though I already have the nursing theory classes), it doesn't "count". Seems dumb to me.
I started out in a BSN program. Didn't like it, changed my major, got a degree in psychology. Went to a hospital based diploma program where I feel I got a MUCH better nursing education. My school had a 100% NCLEX pass rate 5 years running. But, because I have a BA instead of a BSN (even though I already have the nursing theory classes), it doesn't "count". Seems dumb to me.
I started out in a BSN program. Didn't like it, changed my major, got a degree in psychology. Went to a hospital based diploma program where I feel I got a MUCH better nursing education. My school had a 100% NCLEX pass rate 5 years running. But, because I have a BA instead of a BSN (even though I already have the nursing theory classes), it doesn't "count". Seems dumb to me.
The community college I went to for my ADN had 8 years of 100% NCLEX pass rate. Since that time, over 30 years ago, they have only had 4 years with less than 100% pass rate and all of those 4 years were in the 90%'s. They are a strict and difficult school for nursing students. We had over 200 student nurses in our class and only 37 made it to the end and graduated. The grading scale was high, with 85% being the lowest C. We had 2 days of classroom, 1 day of lab, and 2 full 8 hour days of clinicals for two years. You couldn't do your pre-reqs or work and make it through those nursing classes. So my 2 year ADN program still took me 4 years! I was definitely ready to be a nurse when I got my first job. I did well and I loved it. And I always have. Like others who have already said, there are good nurses and not so good nurses. The degree didn't matter. It was what you learned and how you applied it, along with why you became a nurse in the first place that made the difference in ability to do a good job.
I started out in a BSN program. Didn't like it, changed my major, got a degree in psychology. Went to a hospital based diploma program where I feel I got a MUCH better nursing education. My school had a 100% NCLEX pass rate 5 years running. But, because I have a BA instead of a BSN (even though I already have the nursing theory classes), it doesn't "count". Seems dumb to me.
I find it helpful to reframe these kinds of situations. You have a BA in psychology. If someone else had completed an associate's degree in psychology and had a BA or BS in something else entirely, would you consider that the same as your BA in psychology? Why, or why not?
I find it helpful to reframe these kinds of situations. You have a BA in psychology. If someone else had completed an associate's degree in psychology and had a BA or BS in something else entirely, would you consider that the same as your BA in psychology? Why, or why not?
You are right, of course. It's just frustrating when you do the bridge and think...really?
Clinicals for two years. You couldn't do your pre-reqs or work and make it through those nursing classes. So my 2 year ADN program still took me 4 years! .
I know there are programs like that -- and I think they are ripping students off -- requiring so much of the students and charging them money for all of that when it is not necessary. An Associate's Degree should take approximately 2 years. Any school that makes you do more and doesn't give you the corresponding academic credit for the extra work is ripping its student off. That would make me very angry at the ADN program.
I started my career as an RN with an ADN and 4 years later I got my BSN. Have been an RN 5 years. Had to get the BSN to get an acute care job. BSN and ADN nurses are clinically about the same at the.start. The only thing that helps a nurse be better is experience, good training, and mentorship from good, more experienced nurses. BSN taught me to write a paper and more "fluff" but opened doors to opportunity. A nurse' worth is not determined by he/his degree but rather her/his smarts, experience, and attitude.
YES! YES! YES! NursecatRN! I'm paying $2000 per course to learn little to nothing new over what I learned from the Associates degree program from which I graduated. To say it's frustrating is an immense understatement. I want to learn things that better my practice, deepen my knowledge of physiology, pharmacology, anatomy, and evidenced based practice along with leadership/management/legal topics.
The motto of the Emergency Nurse Association is Safe Practice, Safe Care-I have yet to learn anything in the RN to BSN classes that helps meet that standard. It is very disconcerting to say the least. I also take issue with the profession of nursing taking directives from the medical field….It is as if we are de-evolving. The IOM study "The Future of Nursing" states nurses should practice to the full extent of their scope of practice-yet I feel we are in so many ways but mere puppets for the medical community. (Forgive me-I am very frustrated with being told I MUST get my BSN, pay $2000/course to have PhD's 'teaching' the classes and yet not learn anything of practical use as a critical care nurse). Another frustration is the individuals that are 'teaching' these classes may post one or 2 sentence replies to classroom discussion forums and not teach a single thing throughout the entire semester.
Spending all my free time outside of work writing papers that aren't graded on content-but on APA formatting is excruciating. Before starting this program, I LOVED to research and write papers. I now have a great disdain for the whole process. Perhaps I'm just burnt out in general.
Before writing a post stating I must just be in a very bad RN to BSN program, I've spoken with many co-workers attending various programs, and they have verbalized experiencing requirements and environments very similar to mine. I think we, as a profession need to examine why, what, and to what end we are being mandated to learn and pay out of pocket to learn the material that is required. If the end goal is truly better outcomes, why are we not learning advanced pharmacology, physiology, patient care, and anatomy along with the management/leadership courses? For those reading this that are interested, heres a list of the courses my program requires:
Organizations and Systems Management/outcomes
Policy Law Ethics/Regulations
Nursing Research & Informatics (Did learn some new information)
Nursing Leadership & Management (very similar information to that in organizations and sys. management)
Health Promotion/vulnerable/diverse populations
Assessment comm/collab (NO different than ADN program)
Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
nutella said:
I am glad you had ice cream! I am a huge fan of my two boyfriends Ben and Jerry myself ...
I think we have to look at this topic also from another angle. Instead of interpreting the push for a BSN as "not good enough" despite years of experience, we could also look at it saying that this is a time of transition in which a new standard of education is achieved.
I do not think that it is feasible to force already hired and working RN to go back to school for their BSN unless it was a condition from the get go. But going forward, it seems that this will become much more mainstream in areas that already prefer the BSN. I have worked with nurses who are great in their work and would be a good fit for a hospital but who do not accept a job offer because the stipulation requires them to get their BSN within 5 years of hire. The most common argument I hear is that based on age it does not make sense to them to go back to school and acquire a BSN with only 5 or 10 more years to retirement. In addition, they may have to save money for retirement and do not have money for school but the vast majority is intimidated by the idea of technology and writing papers in APA format....
I think experienced nurses are absolutely "good enough" but it is clear that the options of employment will be limited without a BSN in the future.
I was working on my BSN off and on over the years, most recently about a year ago. It gave me something to occupy my time and exercise my mind since I was no longer working. I was a little concerned about APA format, but really, if you use the manual, it's not that hard.
I had to withdraw due to health problems, and at this point, I can't see spending what little money I have on a degree I will never ever use again. I would have liked to have it, but it's not to be.
Honestly, it wouldn't be much different. I didn't change my major until my junior year. Spent 2 full years as a nursing major, and 2 as a psych major. The only nursing classes I had left were clinical based - the theory stuff was all done. So, yes. The AD psych person would have spent the same amount of time in psych classes. What gives you the BA is all the "extra" stuff - foreign language, physical ed, history, extra English courses, etc. Has nothing to do with psychology.
Tenebrae, BSN, RN
2,021 Posts
I've had about 30-40 die in the three plus since I've been a BSN trained nurse
(that said, I do work in palliative and elder care)
