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!
My state nursing association is embracing "80 by 20", where 80% of RNs will have a BSN by 2020. Forget the aging workforce, the shrinking population, and the hospital that laid off RNs last month.Did I mention the fact that our public colleges are some of the most expensive in the nation?
Sure, lots of the various nursing organizations are "embracing" all kinds of proposals -- but they have no ability to enforce or require any of them ...
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.
And that's why I went for my BSN...I became VERY disillusioned in an ADN program wanted credit for the work of a two year degree; then coupled with the fact that I had test anxiety (didn't know it at the time) and other issues, when I didn't succeed-they want me to rerun, I took a BIG risk and decided not to, partly because why schooling not was basically going to be, in my opinion, worth getting a Bachelor's.
I live in an area that all across the board the curriculum is the same for ADN and BSN program, plus or minus at least 2-4 classes; I dusted myself off, became a LPN and went straight for a BSN program and had a enjoyable clinical and theoretical education where they exposed the student to every area and specialty-LTC, SNF Med Surg areas with a focus on older populations for fundamentals; pts with complex medical surgical issues in Med Surg I, Pediatric units exposing students with special needs pts along with milestones setting pediatric pts and exposure to Pedi OR and ER nursing in Peds; Psych Med-Surg in Psych rotation, Home Health, Critical Access clinics in Community Health, NICU, full LRDP experience in Maternity, and in Med Surg II charge nurse responsibilities, telemetry unit, ED rotation and PACU shadowing.
I took a risk and research schooling to give me the best opportunity to learn and give me exposure; I wanted to shadow my Diploma Nursing experience where I had those same exposures as a PN student.
I think some ADN programs-at least in my area DO a disservice; and if anything, there should be high time that there are collaboration agreements in order for nurses to have the opportunity to get their BSN due to the demands for BSNs at area employers being a top choice.
Academic Napoleon complex? I have my BSN (from a brick and mortar non-profit state you, but thanks Rassmussen). I sometimes joke "I BS'ed my way to my BSN." There was some talk of technical nurses vs professional nurses...but I'll tell you I learned next to nothing that made me a more competent ICU RN. Hmm my pt's ICP is still 40 after giving fentanyl, versed, and a dose of 23% NaCl. But never fear sir -- I know the Modeling and Role Modeling nursing theory!!
Absolutely fantastic ! Well said. I also have a BSN after many years as a critical care ADN. The additional education was helpful to understand the business end of the hospital but did nothing to improve my critical skills. I also know the Role Modeling nursing theory :). A new BSN nurse could never recover an open heart surgical patient. I agree, experience makes the best nurse and how sad it is that nursing organizations feel that patients are safer with a BSN!! LESS PATIENTS makes patients safer. What are they thinking???
Who can afford a BSN? Ideally, I would like to find employment in a hospital that offers tuition reimbursement so I could complete my BSN but who knows if I ever will. In the meantime, I'm working at a nursing home and will pay off my student loan in 54 years based on my current lousy income. I went to community college not a private one either. I could go into massive debt, be homeless, have my family starve until I complete my BSN and all that would offer me is potential job security at a hospital. Maybe if there was a notable pay increase somewhere but I refuse to go into more debt to get there.
I just recently paid off my student loans and it is such a wonderful feeling to have that monkey off my back! But I think I need to keep proof in my safe that they are paid in full in case the Texas Rangers ever decide to come knocking at my door claiming I have unpaid student debt from decades earlier! Or even any two bit debt collector since student loans have no bankruptcy protections, what a racket!
Regardless of anything the ANA may or may not say, the BONs do not determine entry to practice. They can only write and implement rules based on the standards established by the state legislatures. In order for anything to change regarding nurse licensure, a state legislature would have to be convinced that the change was necessary and pass legislation making changes to the state Nurse Practice Act, a practice that is referred to colloquially as "opening up the Nurse Practice Act."
State BONs and nursing advocates are extremely reluctant to do this because, once you "open up" the Nurse Practice Act, anyone can weigh in and lobby for changes that they want. The state hospital association, the state physicians association and the AMA, consumer advocate groups, individual citizens -- it's not like the legislature just passes what the BON wants and that's that. The same legislative process applies to this as to any other legislative proposal; there is a period of public comment, there are public hearings, anyone who has any interest in the topic is able to comment and advocate and lobby. Most state nursing associations and BONs have had bad experiences in the past with "opening up the Nurse Practice Act" to get something changed that they want, only to find themselves worse off than they were to begin with at the end of the process, and the Act changed to include something that is the exact opposite of what they were trying to get included. Believe me (I have been directly involved at the state level in the past with making decisions about whether it's worth trying to get something changed), when this process is started, the physicians and hospital associations and every other group associated with or interested in healthcare don't just sit back and let the nurses have what the nurses want; they all have agenda that they want to pursue in relation to nursing and healthcare, and most of them are more experienced, powerful and better funded lobbyists than the nursing groups.
For better or worse, there is v. little support outside of nursing for mandating a BSN for licensure, with or without grandfathering in nurses. Regardless of what they may believe in their heart of hearts, and regardless of what the ANA may pronounce, no BON is (currently) willing to take the risk of opening up their Nurse Practice Act for an issue that the public and legislators understand and care about so little. The nursing community in each state has little to gain, and quite a bit more to lose, in that process.
I don't think it plays out like this very often, although economically Bob's way is better. As a floor nurse we don't spend a lot of time talking about what degree we have or where we went to college although they made a list while working toward Magnet. Truth is many ADN's haven't gone on to get a BSN and have been working with no problems some even in management until the Magnet status push for BSN only. Personally I think the only reason some hospitals are forcing older nurses to go back to school for a BSN is to discourage them and get them to resign since they are higher paid and if they leave then they can get a new grad for less! If they stay and take out loans for a BSN I think they got some perverse satisfaction in forcing the older higher paid nurses to spend their money or go into debt just to keep doing the same job. To me it reflects the disrespect and coercion that is rampant in nursing!
If forced to get your BSN find the cheapest program, WGU is one of the cheapest it seems, and instead of student loans consider a home equity loan if need be!
I am a true believer that higher education combined with experienced hands on patients is ideal. I have been a Nurse (ADN) since 95 until recently that I completed my BSN and just a week ago got admitted to a Family Nurse Practitioner Program. I am in it all the way. Why fight the flow? Either we like it or not, the future of Nurses is to be DNP. There are Universities that by certain time this year or next will not even offer MSN option. It will be RN to DNP. So, if that is the path then I will a well get it done before I am too old. And for the record, it is doable. I have 2 kids, 2 jobs and a student loan to paid. It's hard but it can be done. I figure the NP degree will give me more autonomy, independence to treat and yes, more knowledge to diagnose and treat patients. Plus the salary is great as it is the demand for NP's.
Either we like it or not, the future of Nurses is to be DNP.
First off, this article is discussing the BSN degree, not NP. Secondly, the future of nurses is not DNP and never will be. I have heard of a reverse trend, some doctorate NP programs have converted back to MSN NP because of lack of applicants.
Congratulations on your NP program acceptance, but if you do your research here on the site, you would see that demand for NP's and salaries are not as great as you think they are. It's very regional dependent.
I am a true believer that higher education combined with experienced hands on patients is ideal. I have been a Nurse (ADN) since 95 until recently that I completed my BSN and just a week ago got admitted to a Family Nurse Practitioner Program. I am in it all the way. Why fight the flow? Either we like it or not, the future of Nurses is to be DNP. There are Universities that by certain time this year or next will not even offer MSN option. It will be RN to DNP. So, if that is the path then I will a well get it done before I am too old. And for the record, it is doable. I have 2 kids, 2 jobs and a student loan to paid. It's hard but it can be done. I figure the NP degree will give me more autonomy, independence to treat and yes, more knowledge to diagnose and treat patients. Plus the salary is great as it is the demand for NP's.
You are talking about two different jobs. RN jobs are not the same as NP jobs and I don't see RN's being replaced by NP in the future because frankly it would be too costly for the employer. NP's due seem to be replacing primary MD's and family doctors but simply because most doctors are choosing more highly paid specialties as they cannot afford not to given the high student loan burden and delayed entry into the workforce. Both employers and govt are happy with this arrangement because most places pay NP's half of what a Dr is paid for the same job! But an NP won't replace RN's those are two separate jobs.
I understand that there needs to be some sponsored articles on here. I get that. But this is written by a for profit college. In my area, BSN nurses do not make an additional $7000/year. They make about an extra $468/year on their base salary. Yes, $468. That is what $.25 extra an hour gets you. That is based on a full time 36 hour a week nurse. The extra cost for me to get my BSN is $11000.
Would writing endless papers on management issues and taking an advanced course in statistics make me a stronger clinician? A wiser bedside nurse? An advanced critical thinker?
That's how I could earn my BSN online. I don't buy it and it's not worth the extra $0.25 I would earn. I'm in management with my ASN. I contribute quite nicely to my patients' care, thank you very much.
Probably not. As of now you (and I) are chopped meat and risk not having a job in the near future. Once you earn your BSN you will be factored into the nice BSN statistics though. Not that your ADN and years of experience prior to earning your BSN had any contribution to you "saving lives and mattering"
There was some talk of technical nurses vs professional nurses...but I'll tell you I learned next to nothing that made me a more competent ICU RN. Hmm my pt's ICP is still 40 after giving fentanyl, versed, and a dose of 23% NaCl. But never fear sir -- I know the Modeling and Role Modeling nursing theory!! 
elkpark
14,633 Posts
Sure, lots of the various nursing organizations are "embracing" all kinds of proposals -- but they have no ability to enforce or require any of them ...