BSN Degree Requirement: Elevating Nursing Standards
This paper argues in favor of replacing two-year associate-degree nursing programs with a mandatory baccalaureate degree (BSN) requirement for registered nurses. Drawing on data from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, the University Health System Consortium, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the paper contends that the Affordable Care Act's expansion of insured Americans demands a more highly skilled nursing workforce. It examines the preference of chief nurse officers for BSN-prepared staff, the demonstrated advantages in critical thinking and leadership, and the growing number of RNs voluntarily returning for BSN credentials. Counterarguments regarding tuition costs and short-term workforce shortages are addressed and refuted with evidence of employer subsidies, community college programs, and flexible scheduling options.
- Introduction: The Changing Nursing Landscape: ACA expansion drives need for higher nursing credentials
- Why BSN-Prepared Nurses Better Serve Modern Healthcare: BSN nurses excel in outpatient and community care settings
- Employer Preferences and the Value of the BSN: CNOs and hospitals prefer and incentivize BSN-prepared nurses
- Counterargument: Cost Barriers and Workforce Shortages: Rebuts cost and shortage objections with employer subsidies
- Nurses Embracing Higher Education: Rising RN enrollment in BSN programs confirms growing demand
- Conclusion: BSN Requirements Benefit Profession and Society: BSN mandate benefits nurses, employers, and patient outcomes
✍️ How to write this paper — guide, tools & examples ▾
What makes this paper effective
- Uses concrete statistics (e.g., 60% of RN candidates were non-bachelor-prepared in 2011; VA's $50 million commitment) to ground policy claims in verifiable data.
- Anticipates and directly rebuts opposing arguments — cost burden and workforce shortages — rather than ignoring them, which strengthens the overall persuasive structure.
- Draws on a range of authoritative sources including the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, the University Health System Consortium, and federal health agencies, lending institutional credibility.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper employs a classic argumentative refutation pattern: after establishing the affirmative case, it introduces opposing viewpoints and systematically dismantles each with evidence. This technique — sometimes called "concede and counter" — is particularly effective in policy essays because it demonstrates awareness of complexity while maintaining a clear thesis.
Structure breakdown
The essay opens with a context-setting introduction linking the Affordable Care Act to new nursing demands. The body alternates between positive arguments for the BSN (industry growth, employer preference, skill advantages) and rebuttals to opposition claims (cost, shortages). Enrollment trend data showing nurses voluntarily pursuing BSNs is used as corroborating evidence. The conclusion synthesizes all major points and reasserts the thesis.
Introduction: The Changing Nursing Landscape
The nursing profession is undergoing fundamental change with respect to both internal and external regulation. Externally, new legislation such as the Affordable Care Act has created nearly 30 million newly insured Americans. This new demand for services, although it has the potential to lower overall healthcare costs, presents challenges for the nursing profession. Nurses will now need expertise beyond prior requirements in order to serve this newly insured population. It is therefore my contention that new requirements eliminating the two-year nursing program will be a welcomed addition to the field.
In 2011, 60% of all RN candidates in the U.S. were not bachelor-prepared. Over the next 10 to 15 years, 33% of these individuals will be retirement eligible (The U.S. Nursing Workforce, 2013). The future presents an interesting opportunity to elevate the standard of care for society while also improving the overall healthcare system. A baccalaureate degree requirement would be a step in the right direction. By raising the educational standard of the profession, both society and practitioners themselves will ultimately benefit.
Why BSN-Prepared Nurses Better Serve Modern Healthcare
The traditional notion of nursing has been altered fundamentally. What was once simply a role of caregiving has now been adapted to reflect the current realities of the American healthcare system. The healthcare system now demands expanded delivery of outpatient and primary care throughout the community. It also requires greater numbers of clinical specialists to treat a wide array of acute and chronic illnesses, particularly in underserved populations. Due to the Affordable Care Act, a vast number of individuals are now insured, and these individuals bring a wide variety of needs and demands as it relates to care.
The changing dynamic of the industry therefore requires nursing personnel who can function in a more independent manner. This is particularly true in the areas of clinical decision-making, management, and patient education. The nurses of the future must also possess broad healthcare competency as providers, managers, and coordinators of care — competencies best developed through heightened educational standards.
Growth in outpatient centers and neighborhood clinics is rising rapidly. Patients now prefer the convenience made possible by improved clinical technologies. Minimally invasive and interventional procedures have decreased the need for lengthy hospital stays, and technology can now be seamlessly moved out of hospital corridors and into more accessible locations. Unlike graduates of diploma or associate-degree nursing programs, nurses with baccalaureate degrees are much better prepared to practice in the high-growth areas of the industry. The BSN nurse is well-qualified to deliver care in private homes, outpatient centers, and neighborhood clinics where demand is expanding fastest.
Today's nursing professional carries a broad range of responsibilities that require a heightened level of education. A nurse must now make quick, sometimes life-and-death decisions; design and manage comprehensive plans of nursing care; understand a patient's treatment; supervise other nursing personnel; and master advanced technology, among many other duties.
Employer Preferences and the Value of the BSN
Even leaders within hospitals themselves recognize the substantial gaps in capability between ADN- and BSN-prepared nursing professionals. Many nurse executives have indicated a strong preference for the majority of hospital staff nurses to be prepared at the baccalaureate level, recognizing that the more sophisticated demands of today's patient care require it (National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice, 1996). For example, chief nurse officers at university health systems reported preferring an average of 70% of their staff nurses to be BSN-prepared, according to a survey by the University Health System Consortium. More than 70% of the CNOs surveyed stated that they perceive a meaningful difference in practice between baccalaureate- and associate-degree-prepared nurses, with BSN graduates demonstrating better critical thinking skills and stronger leadership abilities.
The overall value that the BSN provides relative to alternative credentials is striking. Transferable skills such as teamwork, leadership, collaboration, and innovation are now essential in a changing healthcare system, and BSN-prepared nurses are trained to offer these at a high level. Many hospitals have now established "BSN-preferred" policies for new hires. The Veterans Administration, the nation's largest employer of registered nurses, established the baccalaureate degree as the minimum preparation required for promotion beyond entry level beginning in 2005 and committed $50 million over five years to help VA nurses obtain baccalaureate or higher nursing degrees (University Health System Consortium, 1999).
Conclusion: BSN Requirements Benefit Profession and Society
The adoption and advocacy of the BSN requirement is a welcomed addition to the overall profession. Nurses with a BSN are better prepared to handle a more dynamic healthcare system. BSN-prepared nurses also provide employers with skills and abilities that their ADN counterparts lack — skills that ultimately enhance not only the profession but society as a whole. BSN graduates deliver enhanced quality of care to patients, and these benefits more than outweigh the drawbacks of the requirement, which include higher educational costs and short-term pressure on nursing supply. Both of these concerns have been addressed and refuted using factual, peer-reviewed academic research. Elevating the educational standard of the entire profession is a sound investment in the future of American healthcare.
References
The U.S. nursing workforce: trends in supply and education. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Published April 2013.
American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (1998). The Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice (pp. 4–5). Washington, DC: Author.
American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (1995). A Model for Differentiated Nursing Practice (pp. 26–29). Washington, DC: Author.
Raines, C. F., & Taglaireni, M. E. (2008, September 30). Career pathways in nursing: Entry points and academic progression. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 13(3).
National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice. (1996, October). Report to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services on the Basic Registered Nurse Workforce (p. 9). Washington, DC: Division of Nursing, Health Resources and Services Administration.
American Hospital Association. (1987). Report of the Hospital Nursing Personnel Survey (p. 36). Chicago: Author.
University Health System Consortium. (1999, October). Survey on Educational Preparation of Nurses (pp. 2, 8). Oak Brook, IL: Author.
American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2000). 1999–2000 Enrollment and Graduations in Baccalaureate and Graduate Programs in Nursing (p. 11). Washington, DC: Author.
Create your account
Always verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.