Importance Of Nursing In Nursing Profession

Importance of Requiring Baccalaureate Degree for Entry into Nursing Profession

That scientific advances in technology and the advancement of healthcare practices and techniques are inexorably coupled is an undeniable fact. While this tightly knit and dynamic relationship is certainly an exciting prospect, it is also a somewhat intimidating one in that it raises a multitude of questions about how medical professionals can be expected to keep up with a field so dynamic that it changes daily (Taylor, 2008, p. 611). Scientific discoveries may provide the inspiration for creating new, more effective medical practices, but until these advances can be consistently and appropriately applied in a clinical setting, the knowledge gleaned from them is of little use to the progression of medicine as a field. This discrepancy between discovery and actuality demands that nurses, as medical professionals, not only possess the scientific background required to adequately understand and apply the advances that contribute to their field, but also the critical thinking and leadership skills that such a challenging profession requires in order for them to grow and excel in their vocation. It is thus evident that if nurses are to adapt to the changing healthcare climate, they must enter the field equipped with a Bachelor’s Degree of Science in Nursing (BSN) if they are to provide exemplary care and evolve as professionals.

Nurses, despite representing the largest population of healthcare providers, are also the least educated members of the healthcare profession. Out of all of the other professionals that they work with on a daily basis, nurses are in fact the only healthcare professionals for whom possessing a bachelor’s degree is not a minim...

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...d benefit alongside their patients following the requirement of a baccalaureate degree for entry into nursing practice (Jacobs et al., 1998, p. 228).

It is clear that by failing to require a baccalaureate degree for entry into nursing practice, the ANA has wreaked havoc on the unity, public perception, competency, and pride of nurses. Despite first proposing the requirement of a baccalaureate degree for nursing practice in 1965, the ANA has continually failed to deliver on that promise and thus has left the field fragmented (McEwen et al., 2013, p. 549). With new medical advances being discovered constantly, it is critical not only to patient outcomes but also to the credibility, progress, and evolution of nursing as a profession that the field unite in requiring a baccalaureate degree as the minimum standard for entry into nursing practice (Taylor, 2008, p.611).