The education requirement for nursing is changing

[DichloroacetateAl]

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?

[lub dub]

I am all for this new educatioan requirement. As it stands now, you can enter the profession with a two-year degree, a dipolma from a hospital-based program, or with a four-year degree. It's about time nurisng got it's act together & FINALLY decided on one standard of education to enter this profession.

[BrandonLPN, LPN]

I agree that having two very different education levels for the exact same licensure is odd and cumbersome. It *should* be streamlined. But nursing *needs* multiple tiers because it is so much more broad than other healthcare professions. Canada has a two tiered system of associate degreed LPNs and four year degreed RNs. This makes sense. There will always be a need for a sub-4 year degreed nurse. The two year degreed nurse can do the "tasky" stuff at the bedside and routine assessments.

The four year degreed nurse can manage overall care.

And all you four year degreed nurses can put the word "professional" right in your title so you can sit at the big-boy table if you want.

Call the rest of us "practical nurses" or "vocational nurses" or "enrolled nurses" or whatever. But, as I have said, you will have to pry the title "nurse" out of my cold, dead fingers. I am a nurse. Not a "technician".

[kabfighter]

I wholeheartedly agree with just about everything you said. I work alongside several LPNs, and they are just as deserving of the title 'nurse' as I am (perhaps more so). I have about 15 credits more (relevant) schooling than they do...they have 20 years more experience than I do. Experience aside, a nurse is a nurse whether an LPN/LVN or RN.

The 'patient care technician' title irks me. I was a technician in the military...I had a toolbox and I ripped expensive boxes out of planes. I don't know what about PCTs makes them 'technicians'. Technicians fix transmissions, they don't help patients with ADLs.

[RCBR]

Busywork classes and citations and leadership nonsense do not make a better nurse.

The data out there says otherwise. Look up research by Aiken et al demonstrating that hospitals with higher ratio of BSN educated nurses have lower patient mortality rates. Sorry to break your bubble, but more education does make a better nurse.

[wish_me_luck, BSN, RN]

RCBR, I honestly think that's a coincidence. I have a BSN (taking boards pretty soon) and there is no way that I think I know anymore than my ADN or LPN/LVN counterparts. And it has nothing to do with lack of experience. I just look at my BSN as something I needed to advance in the area of nursing I want (public health), not something to say "I am better than you" because I am pretty positive some of the ADNs and LPNs can kick my behind in knowledge and skills.

[BrandonLPN, LPN]

The data out there says otherwise. Look up research by Aiken et al demonstrating that hospitals with higher ratio of BSN educated nurses have lower patient mortality rates. Sorry to break your bubble, but more education does make a better

nurse.

I looked at those studies. Most of them are along the line of:

"Hospitals with mostly BSN staff have 9 fewer fatalities per 1,000 patients than hospitals with mostly ADN and diploma staff"

Thats a 0.009% decrease in mortality rates. Did you ever stop to think that hospitals with mostly BSN

staff ALSO tend to be the bigger metropolitan hospitals that have WAY more money.

*Newsflash*: $$$ and better equipment and access to the world's best specialists = better outcomes. It's a self fulfilling prophecy.

[Cold Stethoscope]

The data out there says otherwise. Look up research by Aiken et al demonstrating that hospitals with higher ratio of BSN educated nurses have lower patient mortality rates. Sorry to break your bubble, but more education does make a better nurse.

Aiken, Clarke, Cheung, Sloane & Sliber, 2003; Estabrooks, Midodzi, Cummings, Ricker & Giovanetti, 2005; Tourangeau, et al., 2006

Did those studies convincingly demonstrate a causal link?

According to NSNA:

No one to date is able to explain why having at least a baccalaureate degree in nursing was associated with a lower mortality rate....

[BrandonLPN, LPN]

Correlation does not equal causation. Every study Ive seen seems either statistically insignificant or incidental and can be explained by the fact that rich, well connected hospitals tend to hire only BSNs for prestige reasons. This clearly skews the already razor thin data.

[JZ_RN]

I've been wondering recently that since many hospitals are using master's-educated nurses to fill management positions, why not completely change the BSN and make it more practice-based and leave the management courses to the master's degrees. I have an associate's degree, but I think that we need to become BSN-only in order to be taken more seriously as a profession. We arguably have the most responsibility over our patients' well-being throughout their hospitalizations, but are educated far less than any of the other allied health members (with the exception of respiratory therapy). Instead of slinging ASN vs. BSN crap, we should make the BSN more relevant to the work that the majority of nurses do and implement it as the entry-level education. Newly-graduated nurses are half-baked (at best) with clinical skills regardless of educational pathway, and another year of clinical in more diverse settings would be ideal. This would increase the quality of new graduates, slow the influx of new nurses into the workforce, make it more difficult for fly-by-night schools to open and operate, and help legitimize nursing as a profession. I've looked through my school's ASN-BSN curriculum, and I can honestly say that as a med-surg nurse, only two of the ten or so additional nursing classes would benefit me at all. Leave the nursing theory and leadership classes to the graduate programs, and make the BSN better.

Half-baked at best? Please. Some of the "seasoned" nurses I worked with when I was brand new didn't understand why they gave K+ with lasix. Speak for yourself, maybe.

[JZ_RN]

The data out there says otherwise. Look up research by Aiken et al demonstrating that hospitals with higher ratio of BSN educated nurses have lower patient mortality rates. Sorry to break your bubble, but more education does make a better nurse.

Not by any of the studies I've ever seen. And the data that negate my original comment is anecdotal at best. A small sampling doesn't speak for every patient, every nurse, every setting ever. So magnet hospitals with tons of money of, tons of advanced technology and procedures that hire mainly BSN nurses have lower mortality rates? Yeah probably because they have access to more treatments, meds, diagnostic tests, etc. I doubt it has anything to do with that diversity or teamwork class those allmighty BSN nurses took.

[mariebailey, MSN, RN]

My opinion: Education is your foundation, and it should be ongoing. This is no substitute for valuable years of experience, but, in reality, we limit our scope of practice and our voice in the healthcare system if we are unwilling to commit to furthering our education. However, I owe a number of talented, intelligent ADNs, LPNs, and diploma nurses credit for providing me with a vast amount of nursing knowledge.

[JZ_RN]

And I'm not knocking BSN nurses, I respect more education, it's always a good thing, but it won't make you a better nurse to complete more classes on how to write and leadership and other stuff that's not clinical. I know all the clinical information any BSN nurse with similar experience would know. I am doing my BSn simply as a career advancement technique. I've honestly learned nothing I've used clinically though.