Nursing Education, Essay Example

When American Nurses Association’s House of Delegates proposed Baccalaureate as the minimum education requirement, the intent might have been to merely increase the professional competency of nurses. But in more than four decades, several changes have taken place that lend credibility to the idea of requiring minimum academic credentials from nurses. Even the Institute of Medicine suggests Baccalaureate degree so that the nurses are able to keep up with the progress in Nursing Science as well as the changing demographics. Globalization has not only increased the interdependence of global economies upon each other but has also made factors of production more mobile. We have already witnessed even white collar jobs such as IT being outsourced to developing countries. Travel restrictions have been easing and European Union is one good example. The mobility of factors of production including nurses will only increase over time because of aging population in developed countries including U.S. At the same time, birth rates have been declining in most developed countries which means sooner or later, they will also have to attract healthcare workers including nurses from developing countries. The influx of immigrant nurses will increase the competition for jobs in the healthcare sector and only the most competent nurses will have high job security and attractive employment terms. Requiring Baccalaureate from nurses will ensure that the quality of local nurses is higher and they continue to obtain attractive employment terms. Thus, Baccalaureate will help American nurses not only stay competitive at home but will also increase their demand overseas.

Medical science has been progressing at a rapid pace which means that not only the body of knowledge is growing in the healthcare sector but the state of technology has also been becoming more advanced. Thus, healthcare professionals such as physicians, surgeons, and nurses have a professional responsibility to stay up-to-date with the latest trends in order to provide the best service to the patients. The Institute of Medicine reported that nursing profession remains the least educated of all healthcare professions despite being one of the largest contributors to the healthcare sector. Requiring at least Baccalaureate from all aspiring nurses will help reduce the skills and knowledge gap between nurses and other healthcare professionals.

If we study healthcare history, we find that the professional competency of healthcare providers has not only increased due to greater knowledge but also better professional code of conducts, societal values, and societal expectations. Patients today have higher expectations from healthcare providers because they believe healthcare providers get better education and training as compared to their predecessors. Thus, it is important to require minimum academic credentials in order to increase the average quality of nurses and meet the expectations of the patients and their family members.

Healthcare organizations have been increasingly becoming business-like in their operations to increase their operating efficiency. The healthcare organizations have become more complex and they also realize that the demand for their services is more than their limited resources. In addition, many healthcare organizations are private and, thus, they exist to earn profits also and not just for the provision of an essential public service. The increased focus on operating efficiency and performance appraisals means higher performance will be expected from nurses, too. In order to ensure that new nursing professionals are able to meet the performance goals expected of them, it is necessary to increase their average education credentials and requiring at least Baccalaureate at least is one way to do so. Thus, higher academic credentials will not only benefit the society but also the nursing professionals who will have better job security and professional opportunities.