Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It's not only nursing. I thought police officers today also needed a bachelor's degree to get hired, no? We're now at the point where a bachelor's degree is the new high school diploma if you want to be considered for any job that doesn't require you to memorize lines such as "would you like fries with that".
This article is actually misleading. There is no state law or regulation in place or, as far as I know, being proposed to make a BSN mandatory in 10 years. This is a goal that certain private industry groups are pushing for, and have been trying to establish for several years now. They want to add prestige to the profession. Personally, I could care less if the nurse taking care of me took 30 credits in underwater basket weaving. With the exception of maybe a nursing research class, the BSN courses add no relevant clinical or theoretical knowledge to the nursing skill set.
^ I don't see how educational standards affected the scenario of "Dr." Brinkley at all. I'd say it was due to the lack/failure of legal over-site. Having education credentials doesn't mean one will behave ethically and practice sound medicine.
Actually, it was a duality of problems--the almost total lack of educational standards, plus lax or nonexistent oversight of licensing for physicians.
In the case of, "Dr", Brinkley, he attended Bennett Eclectic Medical College after fulfilling the entrance requirements--which consisted solely of being able to pay the sum of $25. Bennett, like many other so-called medical colleges of the day, did not require proof of high school graduation, or even of literacy. Any dolt who could pay $25 would be admitted. You may disagree, but I believe that this type of wide-spread admissions policy constitutes a lack of educational standards.
Even though the academic demands of Bennett Eclectic Medical College were minimal, Brinkley was unable to complete their courses, mostly as a result of his constant state of inebriation. This might have discouraged a lesser man, but Brinkley was aware that there were mail-order medical degrees available at that time, and so, without completing any courses from Eclectic Medical University of Kansas City, he obtained a diploma from that...institution. He paid $100 for that medical diploma, and was subsequently licensed in 8 states.
If there had been actual standards for medical education, would at least 8 states have allowed somebody with no documented medical training to be licensed?
This article is actually misleading. There is no state law or regulation in place or, as far as I know, being proposed to make a BSN mandatory in 10 years. This is a goal that certain private industry groups are pushing for, and have been trying to establish for several years now. They want to add prestige to the profession. Personally, I could care less if the nurse taking care of me took 30 credits in underwater basket weaving. With the exception of maybe a nursing research class, the BSN courses add no relevant clinical or theoretical knowledge to the nursing skill set.
It's not only nursing. I thought police officers today also needed a bachelor's degree to get hired, no? We're now at the point where a bachelor's degree is the new high school diploma if you want to be considered for any job that doesn't require you to memorize lines such as "would you like fries with that".
Some but not all require it.
Problem with the college degree is many parents can not afford to put kids through college as the cost is obscene. So they either don't go, try to find a career through an associate degree or technical school program or graduate college deeply in debt through college loans.
Yes, there are areas where the bachelor's and or masters comes in need, lawyers, doctors. Nursing is not one of them, imo, unless you want to go beyond basic nursing such as teaching it or supervisory roles. I also believe anyone truly commited to being a teacher does not need a masters, something else they have been clamoring for. Continuing education, workshops to keep up with new material yes but beyond that no.
It's not only nursing. I thought police officers today also needed a bachelor's degree to get hired, no? We're now at the point where a bachelor's degree is the new high school diploma if you want to be considered for any job that doesn't require you to memorize lines such as "would you like fries with that".
today's jobs aren't the same as yesterday's. police use a lot more complex procedures and tools. not saying that justifies a bachelor's degree, but it's certainly something more than a high school football player who couldn't get into college...
When a business like pharma, for instance, gets involved with the federal regulatory juggernaught, the federal requirements for education are raised for different positions. In fact, when the feds offer a 'suggestion', pharma treats it as a rule.
So now the feds are about to run healthcare, it stands to reason higer edu requirements will appear. Can't argue with a better education but the cause-effect relationship between quality healthcare, patient satisfaction and education becomes debatable after a point.
In the US, a namelss pharma company would require a RN, BSN, BS and on occassion an LPN to be considered for a position. Company counterparts in Europe required PhDs to do the same job. This speaks of the equivalence of education markers between here and there and the fact that a unionized country with free edu produces more PhDs than jobs. Rules require all sort of obscure job titles to justify positions which place a financial burden of inefficiency on the business. Let's hope we aren't drifting toward a Euro business, social and economic model.
The doctor patient relationship is the large piece missing in all the healthcare discussions. A positive relationship has been shown to be curative. to set this aside so everyone can have an insurance card to receive triage at a higher cost is insane. Requiring a BSN is intended to make a positive impression when doctors are not availble to see patients.
Like the teacher's union, which really isn't a union, medical care provider ability is treated as equivalent as the union treats its teachers based on time on the job. Not everyone performs equally despite degree or union mandates.
It is necessary to look down the road to put the BSN requirement in perspective and include current events in any healthcare discussion.
This article is actually misleading. There is no state law or regulation in place or, as far as I know, being proposed to make a BSN mandatory in 10 years. This is a goal that certain private industry groups are pushing for, and have been trying to establish for several years now. They want to add prestige to the profession. Personally, I could care less if the nurse taking care of me took 30 credits in underwater basket weaving. With the exception of maybe a nursing research class, the BSN courses add no relevant clinical or theoretical knowledge to the nursing skill set.
In order for nursing to truly be a profession (as opposed to just a "job"), we need our own body of research. In order to become a research-based and evidence-based profession, we need nurses that are prepared to study, interpret and do the research. Traditionally, nursing has been about "this is how we've always done it." But tradition doesn't necessarily mean the best care. What does the research say? We should be willing to improve and advance the profession of nursing through quality research and implement the evidence into practice.
The BSN is largely ABOUT adding theoretical knowledge to the nursing profession. The very first course of the RN to BSN program is nursing theories which absolutely have a place in practice. The BSN program also ABSOLUTELY adds clinical knowledge - you have to take courses in health assessment and community based nursing.
I actually do agree that the best hands on experience comes from the hospital based diploma programs followed by the associate programs. The current BSN programs (where a student enters as a freshman and graduates 4 years later with a BSN) are often the least hands-on, at least in some schools which is not the ideal way (IMO) to teach nursing.
At any rate, I think there should be a grandfather clause for current nurses or those who will retire within a certain time frame. I don't think it's fair to kick a 50 year old nurse out of her job unless she goes back to school. But this article is about individual hospitals who are looking to keep Magnet certification and need their nurses to have BSN. There is a push for the "BSN in 10" here in NJ that would require nurses to complete their BSN within 10 years of getting their RN.
But there is NO NURSING SHORTAGE in NJ. In fact, there is a glut of new grad nurses that cannot find jobs. The community college programs are pumping out nurses and there isn't a job market for them, especially since hospitals want BSNs (again, due to Magnet requirements). There are jobs for experiences nurses but even that's tough for some nurses depending on the experience they have.
I don't think this is the end of community college programs though - they will partner with 4 year schools to bring in dual degree programs and RN to BSN programs (as many of them have already started).
Fwiw, I'm an associate-trained RN who is working on a BSN (personally I want it and professionally my hospital requires it).
I'm not sure I see the point of making existing RNs go back. I can see making new RNs go through the new process. We'll see how this hashes out.
I have never heard of any profession that didn't grandfather in prior graduates, I highly doubt existing nurses will have their nursing credentials revoked.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
