Key areas of improvement from RN to BSN degree programs

BSN

Growing as a Nurse Through Education

Many registered nurses (RNs) make the important decision to enroll in a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree program. These "RN to BSN" programs improve the skills and experience of an RN in many ways. As a result, RN to BSN degree holders qualify for some of the best jobs in the rapidly expanding nursing field. This paper discusses 10 key areas of improvement resulting from an RN to BSN program.

Critical Thinking

For the majority of RNs, monetary compensation is not the primary motivation to obtain a BSN (Leonard, 2003). Many RNS choose to pursue a BSN degree to improve their critical thinking skills, self-direction, ethical conduct, performance, responsibility, and professional enhancement.

More than half of all RNs in the United States have an associate's degree or certificate as their highest level of educational preparation. According to United States Department of Health and Human Services Division of Nursing statistics, nurses with ADs and diplomas make up one-third of the RN population and one-third hold BSN degrees (Leonard, 2003).

Decision-Making

The primary goal of an RN to BSN program is to educate professional nurses to meet the constantly evolving healthcare needs of a diverse group of clients. Educational experiences aim to prepare students to provide effective nursing care to all patients and make healthcare decisions that are in the best interests of their clients. Students are responsible and accountable for professional nursing practice.

The teaching and learning process involves a mutual partnership between students and teachers to develop a knowledge base in the liberal arts, sciences, and nursing fields of study. This partnership exists to promote critical thinking, ethical decision-making and lifelong learning. Theory and decision-making skills learned in the classroom setting are applied in many ways through the students' learning experiences. Students are expected to develop a professional identity and professional values during the course of their studies.

Nursing Care and Management of the Client

With millions of nurses working in the United States, nursing is currently the largest and most diverse health care profession. Nurses have a broad range of responsibilities in various roles, but all share three common goals: promoting health, preventing disease and caring for the patient.

Nurses plan and provide patient care, educating patients, families and communities, while supervising the delivery of care. Nurses are found in hospitals, doctor's offices, home health care agencies, long-term care facilities, spas, public health agencies, schools and workplaces. For caring and responsible individuals, nursing provides many challenging and rewarding career opportunities.

Nurses need to be caring, responsible, and detail oriented to provide good care for clients. They must have the ability to direct or supervise others, assess patients' conditions, and determine if and when consultation is needed. They must also learn how to cope with human suffering, emergencies, and other situations. These are all skills that are largely developed through a BSN program.

Within patient care, nurses can move into a nursing specialty such as clinical nurse specialist, nurse practitioner, certified nurse midwife, or certified registered nurse anesthetist. These positions require about two years of graduate education leading to a master's degree.

Effective Communication, Collaboration and Negotiation

Some nurses move into the business side of health care. Their nursing expertise and experience on a healthcare team equip them with the ability to manage ambulatory, acute, home health, and chronic care services. Employers -- including hospitals, insurance companies, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and managed care organizations, among others -- need RNs for health planning and development, marketing, consulting, policy development, and quality assurance.

Supervised clinical experience is obtained in hospital departments, including psychiatry, maternity, and surgery. More and more BSN programs include clinical experience in nursing care facilities, health agencies, and ambulatory clinics.

Teaching/Learning

In a recent study, the majority of BSN students cited personal satisfaction as more important than salary increases (Leonard, 2003). In addition, they reported that academic learning better prepares them to understand health care bureaucracy and policies, navigate the political system, and act as change agents and patient advocates. One-38-year-old student described further education as a professional obligation saying, "Elevating our profession through education should be a goal for all RNs. This will advance the profession, and I feel it will make it a more respected field for future generations to go into."

Many RNs enter bachelor's programs to prepare for a greater scope of nursing practice. To pay for the BSN degree, which can be very expensive, many RNs take a hospital position and use tuition reimbursement programs to obtain a BSN degree.

Employment of registered nurses is expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations for many years, and because the occupation is large, new jobs are constantly surfacing. There will always be a need for traditional hospital nurses, but a large number of new nurses will be employed in specialized care.

Research

RNs who are obtaining a BSN often find that the high level of collegiality in the students and teachers, and the broader view of nursing change their view of practice and their future career options.

BSN program widens the scope of advancement opportunities for RNs. Many of today's nursing career paths are open only to nurses with bachelor's or master's degrees. A bachelor's degree is often a requirement for administrative positions and is a prerequisite for careers in research, consulting, teaching, or a clinical specialization.

BSN programs include classroom instruction and supervised clinical experience in hospitals and various healthcare facilities (Barry, 2000). Students learn about anatomy, physiology, microbiology, chemistry, nutrition, psychology and other behavioral sciences, and nursing.

Leadership

Many RNs know how important it is to keep pace with advances in healthcare. The RN to BSN program is designed to help RNs understand the need for knowledgeable and effective leaders in providing the best possible care to patients. Many leadership positions in the nursing field require BSN degrees or master's degrees. With a BSN degree, RNs have the opportunity to become leaders in health care delivery systems across all settings in which health care is delivered. The leadership role is neither management nor administration; rather leaders in nursing assume accountability for client outcomes through the creation and application of research-based information to design, implement, and evaluate client's plans of care.

Leaders in nursing provide and manage care for individuals and populations. Leaders design, implement, and evaluate client care by coordinating, delegating, and supervising the care provided by the healthcare faculty.

Career Development

Just a few decades ago, nurses in hospital settings carried out multiple roles, including acting as social workers and physical therapists (Barry, 2000). Today, master's degree-prepared professionals provide these types of care instead. Social workers and physical therapists are advancing in their professions in ways that nurses never will have the opportunity to do unless they pursue further education.

Completing the BSN degree allows nurses to earn more money and move toward management and leadership positions with even more financial rewards (Barry, 2000). Nurses who have earned their BSN degrees hold a required credential for advancement into administrative and supervisory positions in the nursing field. As only one-third of all nurses have completed their BSN degrees, the degree sets nurses above the competition in the nursing profession.

Many nurses feel that obtaining a BSN opens many new opportunities for their careers in nursing. While taking classes, students work with nurses from other hospitals and facilities and learn many other strategies for improving patient care, making work easier and more rewarding.

Management

Experience and good performance can result in promotion to better positions. In management, nurses have the opportunity to become assistant head nurses or head nurses and, from there, to assistant directors, directors, and vice presidents. Many of today's management-level nursing positions require a degree in nursing or health services administration.

As floor supervisors, a BSN graduate oversees care for an entire unit of patients while mentoring and training new nurses. Other RN to BSN degree holders put their liberal arts skills to work as entrepreneurs, running temporary nursing staffing agencies, home care services, and other health care-related small businesses.

In conclusion, by learning more about the nursing field, nurses discover new options for solving day-to-day problems in a way that can improve the practice environment (Barry, 2000). The BSN provides a solid foundation for specialized study to prepare for teaching new nurses, or being a resource nurse specialist.

Nurses with higher education are in high demand for the increasing number of new types of jobs in nursing practice. Many nurses find that their future choices are expanded by additional education in nursing.