Baccalaureate Degree as Minimum Standard for Nursing Practice

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Recommended: Importance of quality improvement in nursing

Nursing has a long history of being integral to healthcare. However, without flexibility and continual development, it is at risk to stagnate and lag behind other professions. One change could have significant impact in averting, or some would say 'reversing', that negative trend: to raise and establish the minimum entry requirement for nursing practice. Over the years medicine has changed, society has changed, and culture has changed. These changes necessitate a malleable profession that adapts to better respond to increased demands, especially in regards to education. In light of the ever-evolving complexities and dynamics of the healthcare world, the minimum requirement for entry into nursing practice should be a baccalaureate degree.
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommended in a 2010 report that eighty percent of registered nurses (RNs) hold a baccalaureate degree by 2020. This is not a new goal, but rather one that has yet to be realized, despite being first recommended in 1965 by the American Nurses Association. Healthcare has made significant advancements since that time, but nursing standards to entry and licensing regulations have not reflected these changes (Hess, 1996). Students of both Associate Degree of Nursing (ADN) programs and Baccalaureate Degree (BSN) programs sit for the same national licensing exam, the NCLEX-RN. This is a disservice to the entire profession. Associate degrees are publicly perceived as 'technical' degrees. This influences public opinion on the competency and skill of all nurses (Jacobs, et al., 1998). In addition, the lack of differentiation of graduate degrees equates different educational levels and blurs expectations and requirements of the individual nurse. It also fost...

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...Nursing, 289-296.
Institute of Medicine. The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health . Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2011 . Retrieved May 5, 2014, from http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=12956&page=R2
Jacobs, L., DiMattio, M., Bishop, T., & Fields, S. The Baccalaureate Degree In Nursing As An Entry-level Requirement For Professional Nursing Practice. Journal of Professional Nursing, 14, 225-233.
McEwen, M., Pullis, B., White, M., & Krawtz, S. Eighty Percent by 2020: The Present and Future of RN-to-BSN Education. Journal of Nursing Education, 52, 549-556.
Ridley, R. T. The Relationship Between Nurse Education Level And Patient Safety: An Integrative Review. Journal of Nursing Education, 47, 149-156. Retrieved May 3, 2014, from http://search.proquest.com.ezp- 01.lirn.net/docview/203930168/BCF3FA1B1B424006PQ/2?accountid=158614

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