Educational Preparation for Nurses

522 Words2 Pages

What is a nurse? Is a nurse a caregiver, a patient advocate, a professional? There certainly could be a place for the technical and professional nurse in today’s world, but they are not differentiated in the workplace. Hospitals have stopped hiring Licensed Practical Nurses altogether, and Registered Nurses with an Associates Degree in Nursing (ADN) are doing many of the same jobs as nurses with a Bachelors of Science Degree in Nursing (BSN) in the hospital and clinical setting. While the Registered Nurse with the higher level of education may have more opportunity for advancement, their roles are not clearly differentiated in everyday practice. It appears that ADNs and BSNs are being used interchangeably in the workplace due to the lack of availability of BSNs. It seems as though the pendulum has swung more toward the direction of ADNs being placed in management roles due to years experience, rather than level of education (Hess, 1996).
Community Colleges offering Associates Degrees in Nursing appear to see that graduates of these programs are being placed in nursing roles that ...

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