Ion AACN BSN education and professional standards

Sojourner BSN Compare

The Sojourner Baccalaureate of Science Nursing program has been built upon the recommendations and requirements set forth by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing and the Institute of Medicine. This is evidenced by Sojourner's stated goals for the program, as well as the outcomes of their graduates' educational experience.

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing identifies what is called the nine essentials. Each of these essentials states the expected outcomes of graduates of baccalaureate nursing programs. These nine essentials, respectively, are liberal education for baccalaureate generalist nursing practice, basic organizational and systems leadership for quality care and patient safety, scholarship for evidence-based practice, information management and application of patient care technology, health care policy, finance, and regulatory environments, interprofessional communication and collaboration for improving patient health outcomes, clinical prevention and population health, professionalism and professional values, and lastly baccalaureate generalist nursing practice (American Association, 2008).

Essential II, basic organizational and systems leadership for quality care and patient safety, specifically addresses the need for nursing students and graduates to possess both the knowledge and skills in leadership, quality improvement, and patient safety that is essential to providing high quality health care American Association, 2008). This is paralleled in one of Sojourner's stated goals which is "to produce graduates who provide safe, cost-effective quality healthcare through knowledge and skills in leadership, quality improvement, and patient safety" (Sojourner, n.d.). This goal also reflects the Institute of Medicine's statement in their October 2010 report brief that every nurse's professional formation should encompass emerging new competencies in the areas of decision making, quality improvement, systems thinking, and team leadership (Institute, 2010).

Essential VI addresses communication and collaboration among healthcare professionals, pointing out the fact that it is a critical component to delivering patient care that is both safe and high quality (American Association, 2008). This also goes along with the Institute of Medicine's recommendation that "nurses should be full partners, with physician and other health care professionals, in redesigning healthcare in the United States" (Institute, 2010). Sojourner's makes strides to make this recommendation a reality by making a commitment to providing its graduates with the skills needed to effectively communicate with other healthcare professionals to coordinate care for the healthcare consumer (Sojourner, n.d.).