Benefits of Baccalaureate Education for Nurses
| Subject: | 💼 Business |
| Type: | Informative Essay |
| Pages: | 4 |
| Word count: | 934 |
| Topics: | 🏆 Career Goals, Academic Success, Nursing, 👔 Job, 💣 Work Ethic |
essay ASAP?
Table of Contents
Benefits
Baccalaureate education in nursing is essential to any nursing practitioner. This is because it gives more credibility to the nurses (Gaisser & Ciurzynski, 2016). Higher education is related to financial and professional dependence. It gives the nurses more control professionally. This is in the sense that nursing practitioners are given the authority to diagnose drugs to their patients without necessarily being given instructions by the physicians. This is so because of their level of education as they are taught more clinical skills together with the skills of the care of patients. The baccalaureate education gives the nurses an advantage when they are negotiating for more pay. Even without any negotiation, they are subject to more pay as compared to those with diplomas or associate degrees. Baccalaureate education for the nurses helps them and opens avenues for them to practice management (Sarver, Cichra & Kline, 2015). They can advance their studies to the master’s level, and this helps them in becoming managers and leaders in organizations that deal with health. They are mostly involved in the designing and formulation of health care policies that contribute to improving the quality of health services to the general public.
Barriers
There are barriers that inhibit the nurses in the delivery of services to the patients. Most of these barriers are technology oriented (Sarver, Cichra & Kline, 2015). A lot of advancements have been made in the medicine and systems of healthcare which has led to the creation of new multiple units and settings of care in and out of hospitals. Technology has become complex and unpredictable and therefore the need for the nurses to be equipped well. Nurses with baccalaureate education are equipped better to counter these barriers because they are equipped with nursing science (Gaisser & Ciurzynski, 2016). It provides them with the necessary skills that help them to operate independently in environments that have high technology. This type of nurse can handle patients that have multiple diseases efficiently. A baccalaureate nurse can be an advocate for the patients, an educator, and manager and can come up with solutions to any problem or barrier.
Professional development
A nursing student with a baccalaureate education has chances of advancing and furthering their studies to the highest level. It forms the basis upon which nurses can develop professionally and open their carriers (Kutney-Lee, Sloane & Aiken, 2013). They are eligible to open up their careers in areas such as surgery, diabetes, gynecology, oncology, psychiatry, pediatrics among others. All these advancements are necessary for one to become more professionally developed. Nurses who hold diplomas find it very hard to advance past the basic floor care of the patients. Baccalaureate nurses also have higher chances of being employed. This is so because research has shown that most of the nursing jobs that are advertised require baccalaureate education. Research has indicated that nurses with baccalaureate education are eligible for more than 88 percent jobs that are advertised. This means that for one to develop professionally well in nursing, a baccalaureate education is necessary. Nurses that have baccalaureate education are better equipped professionally. They are not only taught the basics involving clinical care, but they are also equipped with skills such as communication, leadership, critical thinking among others (Blegen, Goode & Park, 2013). This implies that they are professionally developed. The baccalaureate education is recognized by the American association of colleges of nursing as the lowest educational level for one to practice nursing professionally. That is why it is at the forefront in encouraging the nurses who are diploma and associate degree holders to enroll in baccalaureate programs.
Patient care
Baccalaureate education in nurses contributes to a significant difference in the outcomes of the clinics. The nurses that have a attained a baccalaureate education record better results when they are taking care of the patients. According to Kutney-Lee, Sloane and Aiken, “the mortality rate has decreased, and rates of rescuing patients have increased” (Kutney-Lee, Sloane & Aiken, 2013). A study that was published in the journal of the American medical association and which was reported by the American association of colleges of nursing indicated that the patients who had undergone surgery had more chances of surviving when placed under the care of nurses with baccalaureate education as compared to those nurses with no baccalaureate education. The report also indicated that there has been an increase in the number of nurses with a baccalaureate education and this increase has been associated with the decreased risk of death of patients by five per cent (Blegen, Goode & Park, 2013). This shows that nurses with baccalaureate education have better skills for taking care of the patient. On top of this, they are equipped and are in a good position to diagnose the right drugs to the patients. This means that they are in a position to tell whether a certain drug will work well for a certain patient. If the drugs are not bringing any positive change, the nurse can change them, and all this sums up to better and quality care.
- Blegen, M. A., Goode, C. J., & Park, S. H. (2013). Baccalaureate education in Nursing and Patient outcomes. JONA, 43(2).
- Gaisser, D. & Ciurzynski, S. M (2016).Nursing. Reaching for the stars: RN to BSN. 46(1). 18-20.
- Kutney-Lee A, Sloane DM, & Aiken LH (2013). An increase in the number of nurses with baccalaureate degrees is linked to lower rates of post-surgery mortality. Health Aff (Millwood), 32(3), 579-586.
- Sarver, W., Cichra, N., & Kline, M. (2015). Perceived benefits, motivators, and barriers to advancing nurse education: Removing barriers to improve success. 36(3), 153-156. Doi: 10.5480114-1407
Offered for reference purposes only.