Question for Current nurses

[RUDY2007]

i am currently a nursing student. i am participating in a clinical class where i have patient contact. there are also other written assignments. one of my written assignments is post a question to a nursing discussion group and elicit responses to my question from current nurses.

my clinical experience this semester has taken me to two very different settings, one was a labor and delivery unit at a hospital and the other is a planned parenthood. one issue that both of my clinical sites have in common is a lack of personnel. according to aacn there is currently a nursing shortage that is only going to get worse in the future. some of the contributing factors of the shortage include a shortage of nursing school facility, the average age of rns is climbing, and burnout and job dissatisfaction are causing many to leave the profession.

i would like to know how you think the nursing shortage is affecting you. is it affecting the care that you are able to give your patients? does it ever make you want to leave the profession?

also according to a study published in the journal of the american medical association nurses educated at the baccalaureate level or higher have a lower patient mortality rate (aiken, clarke, cheung, sloane, silber, 2004). although this does not mean that they are better nurses, i have heard in clinical settings that baccalaureate level nurses are not appreciated because established nurses feel that they did not experience enough clinical time, that too much of their time was spent in lecture halls. i would appreciate any feelings you have on this topic, especially anything from your personal experiences working with associate vs. baccalaureate level nurses and if you feel that this is a difference in their capabilities as a nurse.

thank you for your time and i look forward to reading your responses. i need at least three for the assignment but would appreciate as many responses as possible so i can get a better feeling of the nursing environment.

references

aiken, l.h., clarke, s.p., cheung, r.b., sloane, d.m., silber, j.h. (2004). educational levels of hospital nurses and surgical patient mortality. the journal of the american medical association. 290(12), 1617-1623.

aacn, fact sheet. (october 18, 2005). retrieved april 1, 2006, from http://www.aacn.nche.edu/media/factsheets/nursingshortage.htm

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Baccalaureate-educated RNs do have lower patient mortality rates. Perhaps it is due to the added years of education. Or, perhaps it is due to the fact that a large number of baccalaureate-educated RNs don't have to deal with patient morbidity and mortality since they tend to be nurse managers, instructors, researchers, directors of nursing, and chief nursing officers.

The reality is that a huge number of BSNs no longer work at the bedside where patient mortality is the concern. Go ahead and flame me if you wish.

[sirI, MSN, APRN, NP]

the adn/bsn debate has been discussed extensively here.

please see this thread which contains links to previous discussions and articles to assist in nursing papers: adn vs. bsn for entry level nursing

please keep all future discussion on this thread for future students use.

as for the nursing shortage, please start another thread to discuss this only.

thank you.