NOW FOR AN ORIGINAL PAPER ASSIGNMENT:Assignment: Baccalaureate Nursing Program

Week 8 discussion Reflection on AACN BSN Essential II Quality is an overriding principle in the AACN BSN Essentials document. Essential II specifically describes the role of the baccalaureate nurse in quality improvement. As you complete this course, reflect on how you will implement lessons learned about quality improvement into your future nursing practice. Provide details about what you plan to do to improve quality in your current or ideal future professional nursing position. Think big!

There are three educational pathways one may follow to become a registered nurse. The first is a three-year diploma program; another is an associate degree, most often offered by a community college; the last is a four-year baccalaureate degree offered at four-year colleges and universities. Methodist College of Nursing (MCON) is an example of a baccalaureate degree program. The baccalaureate degree earned is the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). Presently, the greatest number of nurses graduate from associate-degree programs (59%), followed by baccalaureate programs (37%), and then diploma programs (4%). Graduates of all three programs sit for the same NCLEX-RN licensing examination.

These various entry levels into nursing practice have been the topic of discussion within the nursing profession for many years. In 1965, after a three-year study, the American Nurses Association (ANA) issued “A Position Paper on Education Preparation for Nurse Practitioners and Assistants to Nurses.” The paper stated, in part, that “the education of all those who are licensed to practice nursing should take place in institutions of higher education” and “minimum preparation for beginning professional nursing practice at the present time should be baccalaureate degree education in nursing.” While many groups within and related to nursing support this position, the three educational pathways to registered nursing still exist.

Education Makes a Difference

Over the past several years, policymakers, researchers and practice leaders have identified that education does make a difference in how nurses practice. The baccalaureate nursing program includes all of the content in the diploma and associate-degree programs, plus it provides students with a more in-depth study of the physical and social sciences, nursing research, nursing leadership and management, community and public health nursing, and the humanities. This broader and more in-depth education enhances the student’s professional development and allows the baccalaureate graduate to better understand the many social, cultural, economic and political issues that impact patients and influence healthcare.

Several studies have demonstrated an inverse relationship between the proportion of BSN nurses and mortality of the hospitalized patient. In other words, they found that as the proportion of baccalaureate-degree registered nurses increased in hospitals, patient deaths decreased. These studies demonstrate that lower levels of patient mortality are associated with the nurses’ education levels.

Nursing education is also associated with patient safety and quality of care. In Claire Fagin’s “When Care Becomes a Burden: Diminishing Access to Adequate Nursing,” it was recommended that, in response to the greater acuity of hospital patients, the numbers of nursing schools in community colleges and hospitals be decreased while the capacity in baccalaureate degree and graduate programs be increased.