Nursing Degree In Nursing

In the 1960’s, the American Nurses’ Association (ANA) stated their position on the nursing education dilemma. Their position declared that a baccalaureate degree in nursing (BSN), not an associate’s degree in nursing (ADN), should be the requirement for an entry-level nurse (Blaney, 1986). Debates have continued since the 1960’s and nursing degree titles and requirements have been changed and changed again.

Recently there has been a strong push toward a strict standard in nursing education and the importance of doing away with the ADN and making the BSN the entry-level requirement for becoming a nurse (Hess, 1996). Many employers, such as the US military, Veterans Administration, and Public Health Service employers, are beginning to side with the ANA’s position and are refusing to hire nurses with less than a BSN (Taylor, 2008).

Complications in degree differentiation, differences in the quality of patient care, and maintaining nursing’s professional reputation have all resulted in a widely spread opinion that the BSN is the more efficient route to becoming a professional nurse (Hess, 1996).

It seems the biggest issue surrounding the conflict between these two degrees is that most facilities do not acknowledge differences in practice between the two nurses (Hess, 1996). This also negatively effects the reputation of nursing as a profession. Nurses that spent the time and money to complete a 4-year BSN degree are receiving the same pay and benefits as a nurse with a 2-year ADN degree. Despite the difference in time and cost that it takes to complete these two programs, graduates of both degrees are eligible to sit for the NCLEX and become recognized by the State Board of Nursing as an RN (Taylor, 2008). Only 2 years of education...

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...nd create programs for students to complete a baccalaureate in nursing in four years. This program would include two years of liberal arts classes at the community college and finishing their last two years at the university to graduate with a BSN. The liberal arts classes would come at a cheaper cost and the nursing classes would carry the prestige of being taught at a better university (Jacobs, 1998).

By requiring a minimum of a BSN degree to practice as a professional nurse, nursing would improve its reputation as a profession, earn better rapport with patients and deliver better care, and finally end the constant confusion of nursing education standards. The solutions may not be easy, and they may require a lot of economical and ethical evaluation, but it would improve healthcare practice and most of all, the patients would be in more capable and skilled hands.