American Association of Colleges of Nurses

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According to the American Association of Colleges of Nurses (2016) a research conducted by the University of Michigan in 2014 displayed that a 10% increase in the amount of BSN prepared nurses on hospital units equated to lowered odds of patient morality by 10.9%. The study further noted that increasing the amount of care that is given by BSNs to 80% will have significantly lower readmission rates and shorter lengths of stay. Based on my real life experience I have mixed thoughts regarding this. I agree that further education is necessary and it increases the knowledge base which can be applied in the clinical setting making safer nurses, but experience is also necessary and I think having both worlds will make a stronger nurse. Since my current practice calls for higher education and evidenced based practice I think it is important to be trained properly and have the additional credentials to become a safe and competent nurse.

There are many different opinions in the nursing population regarding the link to patient safety outcomes with an ADN vs. BSN nurse. According to a study published in the October 2014 issue of Medical Care, researcher Olga Yakusheya who is from the University of Michigan found that “a 10% increase in the proportion of baccalaureate-prepared nurses on hospital units was associated with lowering the odds of patient mortality by 10.9%” (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2015, para. 19). Another article published in Health Affairs, in March 2013 found “a 10-point increase in the percentage of nurses holding a BSN within a hospital was associated with an average reduction of 2.12 deaths for every 1,000 patients-and for a subset of patients with complications, an average reduction of 7.47 deaths per 1,000 patients” (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2015, p. 20).

In my experience I believe education and experience enhance the practice of nurses, and the two together create a stronger workforce

I do see some nurses who went straight to BSN and based on the patient’s responses when they ask where I graduated and I tell them I obtained my associates first they often say they notice associate nurses are more hands on than nurses who trained straight to BSN. I do see nurses who are seasoned who have they associates degree only and are very competent and confident nurses, this is why my thoughts are mixed, but if research adds the patent safety component and proves that more educated nurses are safer nurses then I do not see any harm in furthering one’s education to enrich knowledge to provide safe nursin