The education requirement for nursing is changing

Nurses General Nursing

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It used to be that nurses did not have to go to college; we were instead trained by hospitals. Then the education requirement changed and community college replaced hospitals. And now, it is changing to that some hospitals will only hire nurses with college degrees. Undoubtedly, the education requirement will continue to increase in the future.

The downside to this is that it will make this profession harder to get into. And those who are in the profession will constantly need to adapt by going back to school. The upside to this is that it will provide us with more skills to do a better job.

What is your opinion on this?

Specializes in Oncology, Med/Surg, Hospice, Case Mgmt..

As a Registered Nurse with an ADN, I am glad, in this case, I live in the South. I can see that this is happening in other states, and in fact, my husband said nurses in Florida were being pushed to get their BSN back in the late '90's, but I don't see this taking effect where I live anytime soon. I live in one of the lowest paying states for nurses. If the facilities around here decided to go "all BSN", they would not have nearly enough nurses to fill the jobs and no one wants to move here to work. The hospitals will not pay much more than they are paying now, so that will entice fewer to go back to college. Many of the nurses I have worked with over the years with a 2 year degree were not only the first person in their family to graduate from college, sadly, some of them were one of the few in their family to graduate from high school. Nothing to brag about, I know, but I am not losing sleep worrying about this. I agree it will eventually go this way across the US, but as long as the states make the decision, I don't see this happening in my area until long after I've retired. If I were advising a young student now, I would tell them to just go ahead and get their BSN. We have a problem in my area with ADN nurses leaving the profession altogether due to stress, large patient loads and unattractive pay. I could see many, if faced with returning to college after working for 20+ years, selecting another field of study. I have a job I love and am well paid after 16 years in the trenches, but if they came to me tomorrow and told me I need a BSN, I would probably go to law school.

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This is what I found on the AACN's" Essentials to the BSN....."

Essential VIII: Professionalism and Professional Values

Rationale

Professional values and their associated behaviors are foundational to the practice of

nursing. Inherent in professional practice is an understanding of the historical, legal, and

contemporary context of nursing practice. Professionalism is defined as the consistent

demonstration of core values evidenced by nurses working with other professionals to

achieve optimal health and wellness outcomes in patients, families, and communities by

wisely applying principles of altruism, excellence, caring, ethics, respect,

communication, and accountability (Interprofessional Professionalism Measurement

Group, 2008)

Let's not forget benevolence and "do no harm"

And further down in this Litany of Hypocracy

.

Also, inherent in accountability is responsibility for individual actions and

behaviors, including civility. In order to demonstrate professionalism, civility must be

present. Civility is a fundamental set of accepted behaviors for a society/culture upon

which professional behaviors are based (Hammer, 2003).

Professional nursing has enjoyed a long tradition of high respect from the public (Gallup

Poll, 2006). A primary reason for this recognition is the caring and compassion of the

nurse. Caring is a concept central to professional nursing practice. Caring as related to

this Essential encompasses the nurse's empathy for, connection to, and being with the

patient, as well as the ability to translate these affective characteristics into

compassionate, sensitive, and patientcentered

care.

All who are reading these postes here on AN- can we all say, that this is the climate and culture were are exposed to in the "Nursing" of today? Ithink we would be hard pressed to find even a amattering of a similarity of this pretty picture painted above compared to the ugliness Corporate healthcare AMewrica has carved into OUR profession.

This is why I can find not believable argument for the push to BSN and putting oneself further into debt at the expense of our families well being.

How does a nurse have to hold onto their job- by keeping one's mouth shut and turning a b;ind eye to anything/action that goes against against these published Professional values?. Nursing managment rewards those nurses who raise concerns by terminating "the squeeky wheel" Who is nursing management- the BSN and advanced degrees in managment. Those who learned how to tak out of both sides of their mouth.

MY vote for the BSN push- No I do not see any advancing the future of nursing by changing an educational requirement. Like I posted before- the PTB can mandate a Doctorate BUT: The words and the actions do not jive. How one functions like this i haven't a clue- it is a "schizophrenic break" of reality to me. perhaps that is what is missing in Nursing Managment- heavy doses of Haldol. "goof morning, NM/oh great one-, and who are your today!!!" That is how a nurse manager can pontificate about her going for her MSN, and preach the "aging in place" theory of geriatrics yet sends the said staff nurse, who is helping her family take care of her aging mother, down to the Nursing Education MSN to the staff nurse- per deim I may add- " you needs to throw momma in a hursing home and then calls said staff nurse the "sandwich generation. Perhaps this Nurse manager did take her antipsychotics that day!! For this kind of blatant negligence, we should for go household living expensies and throw it away on a BSN to feed more psychosis.

That action came from a CNA-LPN-BSN now to a MSN. Guess she wasn't going to wipe big adult patients butts only little pediatric diapers as a CNA in the CVPICU. And I also know of a "let's all welcome our new VP of Nursing - RN,MSN,MHA, CEN, FAAC who had an insident of racial bullying/discrimination reported to TWICE and did nothing!!! positive but fire the Nurse who reported it. The EEOC didn't think it merited a promotion but had the facility do retraining, with ongoing documentation, in cultural competency. EEOC lawyers were brought in to question the staff about the goings on. These are my shining examples of BSN's who had to have snoozed their way through the sociology and ethics classes of their BSN programs- not the kind of people who should be speaking on furthering education and advancing the profession of nursing.

And we haven't even addressed the CEO greed yet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

?

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Specializes in PICU, NICU, Clinical Nursing Educator.

The hospital I work at recently told all RN's that we will be required to have at least BSN by 2015, and they will not hire anyone else that does not have that degree starting now. I think this is not only stupid but frustrating as well.I am about halfway through my RN-BSN online program and I have learned NOTHING that is going to make me a better bedside nurse! I have no desire to go into management.I do understand trying to make nursing more professional, I just fail to see how forcing exsisting bedside nurses to get a different degree will do that. Aside from the fact I have only ever worked in pediatrics and never plan to work with adults, and the entire curriculum again focuses on adults and gerintologic care. What are they going to teach me that I can actually use in practice?

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Specializes in geriatrics.
Well said...in fact what I see is a growing trend of online schools and what not "dumbing down" the nursing programs. I shrink at the thought of how everyone is complaining about how much education is required to graduate. Really...you mean to actually be educated; what a thought. Florence has passed on (bless her soul) and it's 2012; lets get with it and accept educational responsibility for our profession.
I discussed the education requirement at length in another thread...but I will mention it here, just to give you perspective. In 2009, the BSN became mandatory for all new RN's across Canada. We have no more two year Diploma RN programs. However, all experienced RN's are grandfathered in, so they are still eligible to apply for jobs. This is a win-win. Standardization for new RN's, less nursing programs, and experienced RN's are still valued in the market. Online nursing programs are virtually nonexistent in Canada, too. You want a BSN? Go to class. Part of the problem in the US is far too many options for a handful of jobs.
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Of course I meant to write cost and not costed. I am not an accountant, after all. I only hope that I don't always talk/sound like I mis-type.

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.
The hospital I work at recently told all RN's that we will be required to have at least BSN by 2015, and they will not hire anyone else that does not have that degree starting now. I think this is not only stupid but frustrating as well.I am about halfway through my RN-BSN online program and I have learned NOTHING that is going to make me a better bedside nurse! I have no desire to go into management.I do understand trying to make nursing more professional, I just fail to see how forcing exsisting bedside nurses to get a different degree will do that. Aside from the fact I have only ever worked in pediatrics and never plan to work with adults, and the entire curriculum again focuses on adults and gerintologic care. What are they going to teach me that I can actually use in practice?

Maybe you should have chosen another program -- one that better matched your particular educational needs and interests. Not every school is the same, y'know. There are a lot of programs to choose from and I am sure that you could have found one of better quality -- or at least one with a curriculum more suited to your tastes. The fact that you didn't do that is not the profession's fault.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Academics.
While I don't appreciate the underlying hostility of Brandon's post, I do agree with one of the key points. We should establish separate licensure for BSN's and ADN/Diploma grads. With separate licenses and separate scopes of practice, the differences between the two would be more clear. People fall back on the "same NCLEX" argument to justify the non-support of higher education all to easily. It's a lazy argument, but one that holds enough weight for people who don't want to advance their education or support the education of others. We should eliminate it by developing a separate NCLEX.

Before that happens, though, the clinical education for BSNs vs ADNs needs to be substantially different. In my state, the clinical education is not different enough to warrant separate licensure. (I believe the only clinical component that is different is the community health rotation.) The theoretical education, however, is substantially different.

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Before that happens, though, the clinical education for BSNs vs ADNs needs to be substantially different. In my state, the clinical education is not different enough to warrant separate licensure. (I believe the only clinicalcomponent that is different is the community health rotation.) The theoretical education, however, is substantially different.
Out of curiosity (and *not * hostility) I have to ask, why aren't many BSNs fighting for their own licensure and SOP? Change the clinical component of your education and then demand a new, separate NCLEX just for you. I mean, haven't all the currently practicing ADNs proven they are equal to the RN SOP? Doesn't this mean that any education above the ADN justifies a more advanced practice? This could result in more money and power for the BSN grad. As long as you sit for the same NCLEX as the ADN, I don't see how you will ever make substantially more money.
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Specializes in Med/Surg, Academics.
Out of curiosity (and *not * hostility) I have to ask, why aren't many BSNs fighting for their own licensure and SOP? Change the clinical component of your education and then demand a new, separate NCLEX just for you. I mean, haven't all the currently practicing ADNs proven they are equal to the RN SOP? Doesn't this mean that any education above the ADN justifies a more advanced practice? This could result in more money and power for the BSN grad. As long as you sit for the same NCLEX as the ADN, I don't see how you will ever make substantially more money.

You are probably asking the wrong person about why we don't "fight" for it: I don't really give a flying fig! ;) The only reason I will be starting an MSN program some time in the near future is to be able to teach at a BSN level at the end of a long and illustrious bedside career. And, believe me, teaching is not a career path to more money. :rotfl:

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The hospital I work at recently told all RN's that we will be required to have at least BSN by 2015, and they will not hire anyone else that does not have that degree starting now. I think this is not only stupid but frustrating as well.I am about halfway through my RN-BSN online program and I have learned NOTHING that is going to make me a better bedside nurse! I have no desire to go into management.I do understand trying to make nursing more professional, I just fail to see how forcing exsisting bedside nurses to get a different degree will do that. Aside from the fact I have only ever worked in pediatrics and never plan to work with adults, and the entire curriculum again focuses on adults and gerintologic care. What are they going to teach me that I can actually use in practice?

The BSN standard has nothing to do with clinical proficiency nor individual professionalism.

The excuses of improving clinical performance and personal professionalism are touted often though but in reality has nothing to do with either.

Forcing existing nurses to convert their education is a mistake in my opinion. However, eliminating ADN programs in the future is a prudent maneuver to improve nursing as a profession. The cessation of hiring ADN nurses is most likely a marketing push, I understand it and do not disagree with the effort, although successful implementation is not easy and rarely successful.

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Out of curiosity (and *not * hostility) I have to ask, why aren't many BSNs fighting for their own licensure and SOP? Change the clinical component of your education and then demand a new, separate NCLEX just for you. I mean, haven't all the currently practicing ADNs proven they are equal to the RN SOP? Doesn't this mean that any education above the ADN justifies a more advanced practice? This could result in more money and power for the BSN grad. As long as you sit for the same NCLEX as the ADN, I don't see how you will ever make substantially more money.

To professionalize nursing we must consolidate and standardize registered nursing.

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The BSN standard has nothing to do with clinical proficiency nor individual professionalism.

The excuses of improving clinical performance and personal professionalism are touted often though but in reality has nothing to do with either.

Forcing existing nurses to convert their education is a mistake in my opinion. However, eliminating ADN programs in the future is a prudent maneuver to improve nursing as a profession. The cessation of hiring ADN nurses is most likely a marketing push, I understand it and do not disagree with the effort, although successful implementation is not easy and rarely successful.

It's a faulty marketing push, and time will reveal why.

To professionalize nursing we must consolidate and standardize registered nursing.

I differ w/ you only on the wisdom of "the effort." Otherwise, I agree with your first 3 quoted statements, and your last--quoted directly above.

I believe what you are is saying is logical, but it should follow a wise and logical progression. It isn't the what-->to BSN or not to BSN-->it's about the how.

It is more logical and sensible to hire ADNs w/ strong experience, and then just place on the caveat that they be matriculated in a BSN program of study in order to apply for the position. I mean if they are matriculated into a bridge to MSN program, that would be fine too, so long as they had the quintessential component of experience.

I am all for hiring new grad BSNs, but I don't believe they should get job interview and position preference simply b/c they finished baccalaureate course work over those ADNs, or diploma RNs for that matter, who have strong clinical experience, and who are also in good standing in a matriculated undergrad or grad program.

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