The Future of Nursing
Grand Canyon University: Professional Dynamics NSR-340V
November 13, 2015
According to the IOM report, “nursing has become an increasingly integral part of health care services, so that a future without large numbers of nurses is impossible to envision. The report also states that by the year 2020 80 percent of nurses will have a baccalaureate degree in the science of nursing. Based on the information provided in these reports this is a necessary asset for nurses to have in order to advance and improve care in the community, public health and leadership. The National Council of State Boards of Nursing and The Forum of State Nursing Workforce centers conducted a study in 2013 which revealed that in the United States there 61 percent of nurses had a BSN or higher. With the increased number of employers not only requiring higher education for those hiring on with only an associates level education, but going further as to offer resources to assist in achieving this goal, nurses are well on the way to meeting the goal of 80 percent having baccalaureate degrees or higher by 2020.
As the push for nurses to be more involved in the care of patients and to not only care for current conditions but to have the skill set to predict and prevent further complications it is necessary that higher education be achieved. “Nurses who enter the profession with an associate’s degree are less likely than those who enter with a bachelor’s degree to advance to the graduate level over the course of their career” (IOM Report 2011). With this knowledge it becomes even ore important for facilities to make strides to have the resources and opportunities for their nurses to achieve higher education. Offering incentives like higher pay and helping with tuition in order to take the financial burden of paying for school off the table. This in turn will pay off, having better patient outcomes for those cared for within the facility by...