Patient Safety Outcomes to ADN and BSN

¶ … Patient Safety Outcomes to ADN and BSN Nurses:

As evident in theme of national reports in the health care field, promoting higher education for registered nurses has been a topic of increased concern. These recommendations are primarily based on overwhelming evidence that nurses with Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degrees tend to pursue education at masters or doctoral levels to enhance the effectiveness of the practices. The pursuit for high levels of education provides is an essential component for maintaining an adequate number of nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, midwives, and nurse educators, which in turn contribute to improved patient safety outcomes.

The need to increase the educational levels of registered nurses is fueled by the growing research that links patient safety and outcomes to the percentage of ADN-level and BSN-level nurse practitioners on a unit (Scott & Brinson, 2011, p.300). Due to the increased emphasis on the need to increase the educational levels of registered nurses, numerous studies have been conducted to link patient safety outcomes to ADN and BSN nurses. These studies have demonstrated that improved patient safety outcomes are realized when there is a high percentage of ADN-level and BSN-level nurses. This is primarily because the ADN-level nursing provide health care facilities and outpatient centers with proficiently-trained practitioners to handle patient care. On the other hand, BSN-level nurses provide necessary skills in leadership, health promotion, critical thinking, and case management. As a result, they can practice across several inpatient and outpatient health care settings ("The Impact of Education," 2012).

As evident in the current healthcare setting, the findings of current research are appropriate. Through increasing the number of ADN and BSN nurses, healthcare facilities will have competent nurse practitioners to manage patient care and nurses who can work in various settings, which in turn improves patient safety outcomes.

DNP vs. PhD in Nursing:

The Doctor of Nursing Practice and PhD degrees in nursing represent the highest level of education and preparation in the nursing field. The Doctor of Nursing Practice is considered as a practice-based doctorate degree while PhD is the traditional research intensive doctoral degree in nursing ("Frequently Asked Questions -- Doctor of Nursing Practice," n.d.). As a research-focused doctorate program, PhD seeks to prepare nurse scientists and scholars through increased emphasis on research methodology and scientific content. As a result, a PhD is nursing requires an original research project, which is accompanied by completion and defense of a dissertation. On the other hand, DNP is designed to generate professionals or experts in specialized advanced nursing practice through practice-focused learning programs. As a result, such programs are centered heavily on innovative and evidence-based clinical practice that reflects the application of reliable research findings. The Doctor of Nursing Practice requires the presentation of a practice application-centered final project instead of knowledge-generating research.