boofrn

If you are happy being a bedside nurse and not advocating for nursing rights ADN and diploma degrees are perfect. Take a look at some of the surveys for on errors reported and near misses based on education level. Linda Aiken, PhD has written several. I, personally feel, today the CNO of a large health care institution needs the doctoral degree to be the visionary, be able to set up and demonstrate the need for levels of nurses in various aspects of the institution, and to keep the pressure on regarding patient advocacy! I want my CNO to be the most articulate, knowledgeable, and able to debate any issue with the CEO, CFO, and Boards running the institution. The MHA deals with all the issues and content and theories in the MBA but it applies them to the healthcare industry and looks specifically at political and ethical issues in healthcare! On the other hand, the doctoral degree deals with all of these issues in much greater depth and detail as well as with having the CNO do research. Professional degrees are the key and many states are advocating tuition assistance along with hospitals in going back and getting your degree. check out your states bill on dealing with the nursing shortage and the federal govt.

Please, let us not bring back Diploma education! :angryfire I have first had experience as being a assistant director of a great diploma program. Faculty zeroxed pages of the texts for the students, taught them THE way to do each skill, and instilled a level of self-confidence that made the students feel like they never needed advanced education! Yes, they were great at skills, they should have been after 300 BPs, Ps, etc. as a way to provide the hospital with free care. you can't possibly mean this .. why do you think you are dissatisfied with the teachers? the shortage or nurses and faculty is astounding..how can we as nurses change things with diploma education and ADN programs.. We need a set standard of education in order to be a the bargaining table with legislatures to influence policy and decisions, you will not have that leverage unless you have professional degrees behind your name to get the respect that is deserved and wanted as nurse professionals.

I believe you should give yourself a huge pat on the back for pursuing it.. I got my BSN with a small baby and am trying to get my MSN with two small children., it is tough, but will be well worth it. Tackle one task a day at a time, and utilize support from friends and family for help with your children. You can do it! :balloons: