HIGHER EDUCATION IN NURSING

HIGHER EDUCATION IN NURSING

After getting licensure, nurses, especially the APRNS (advanced practice registered nurses, are needed to pursue continuing education (CE) coursework in their entire career life. CEs are essential for nurses as they help them sharpen up of basic skills, keep up with modern technological transitions, and study new healthcare processes. Registered nurses (RNs), as well as other healthcare leaders, should enroll for lifelong studies as an integral element of healthcare education. A compelling survey conducted by IOM (Institute of Medicine) under-performed on the need of adequately educated nurses in United States of America. The research called on nurses to prioritize advancing patient care and profession. Branson et al., (2016) note that the approaches used to teach nurses in the 20th century is significantly different and perhaps obsolete for addressing healthcare realities in the 21st century. Since the patient requirements and care settings have become more sophisticated, nurses should earn requisite competence to enhance high-quality care. In its findings, the IOM reported that the hope of nursing; focuses on continued education.

1. Discuss your options in the job market based on your educational level.

Nursing is a fascinating, ever-changing and, a rewarding career. As per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the need for qualified nurses will grow, with a projected increase of 12 percent through in the near future, extra faster compared to any average profession globally. A landmark research demonstrates that an emerging delivery framework with a concentration on controlling health conditions as well as forbidding acute health problems will lead to increased demand for nurses. Furthermore, the demand for nurses will be influenced by the increasing rate of aging Baby Boomers and general population growth. Being an undergraduate, I have reduced options in the job market since IOM’s preferences are that at least 80 percent of RNs should own a bachelor’s degree to satisfy the competency level needed for delivery for high-quality care and growing complexity of patient requirements. The AACN (American Association of Colleges of Nursing) dictates that Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) be the primary nursing graduate suitable for one to serve in the healthcare environment offering ambulatory care, critical care, mental health, and public health (Ulrich, 2015). Therefore, BSN enjoys the most significant employment options.

2. Review the IOM Future of Nursing Recommendations for achieving higher levels of education. Describe what professional certification and advanced degrees (MSN, DNP, etc.) you want to pursue and explain your reasons for wanting to attain the education. Discuss your timeline for accomplishing these goals.

The profession certification and advanced degrees I want to pursue after graduating with BSN are the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP). The primary reason I want to pursue DNP is that the DNP program offers extra training in disciplines like healthcare policy, health information systems, systems leadership, evidence-based approaches, and interprofessional collaboration. Additionally, I will want to enroll in the DNP program as it entails training and coursework aimed at building on the skills and knowledge as well as preparing students for the highest level of activities in their specialization. And since I would prefer specializing in administration in clinical nursing, DNP will sufficiently suit my future goals. I purpose to attain a degree in the DNP program seven years after my BSN graduation since I will want to work and get the money to sponsor my advanced studies. Additionally, I will want to gain real experience in the field of nursing to know what lies ahead of me, even as I advance my education.

3. Discuss how increasing your level of education would affect how your competitiveness in the current job market and your role in the future of nursing.

Advancing my education level would increase the competitiveness of my nursing profession in the present job market since. By advancing to DNP, I will increase my competitiveness since it will be easy to qualify for various roles that cannot be accessed by nurses who are limited to ADN (Associate Degree in Nursing) and BSN degrees. As I stated earlier, I have immense interest in pursuing an administrative role in clinical medicine, and according to IOM, a doctorate is sufficient to equip me with the necessary knowledge and expertise needed to fulfill this nursing role. Additionally, academically advanced nurses can change to new roles such as clinical documentation, community care, nursing informatics, ambulatory care, infectious diseases, and case management as the profession is shifting to a framework aimed at boosting outcomes and building a continuum of care (Branson et al., 2016).

4. Discuss the relationship of continuing nursing education to competency, attitudes, knowledge, and the ANA Scope and Standards for Practice and Code of Ethics.

Advancing education is considerably related to becoming competitive in the nursing field, growing positive attitude towards patient management, a better understanding of various roles of a nurse as well as delivering as per the ANA Scope and Standards for Practice and Code of Ethics. Currently, nursing is considered to be competent when there is a robust education continuation, unlike in the past, when all needed was a license. According to University of Saint Mary, (2017) education continuation is a fundamental tool in determining the level of competency in nursing due to the ever-changing nursing field where the use of modern technology has taken over the critical roles in the clinical premises. Higher education creates a significant difference in providing effective and safe care to patients, and nurses earn skills required to address medication issues with minimal errors safely. The advantage of continuing higher education in nursing is that it boosts knowledge and quality of care delivered as well as enhancing the ability of the nurse to compete favorably in the job market. Higher education is directly related to ANA standards and scope of practice as it ensures top-quality care and knowledge expansion and career advancement. The range of training is based on the “who, when, why, what, where, and how” of the nursing profession. Nursing practices need specialized skills, knowledge, and independent minds for decision formulation. Every nurse is expected to have robust experience and modern evidence-based approaches if he or she must provide the best care desired by the patients. With the attainment of higher education, nurses can embrace superior leadership roles. Leadership roles play a significant role in changing the healthcare and for private and governmental healthcare policymakers to involve representation from the board of nurses. As dictated by ANA, nurses owe similar responsibilities to self as they do others. This includes duties to observe equal and fair treatment, be competent, safe patient care, create trust, extend positive influence, assists guide in better decision making, integrity, increase career knowledge and skills, advance personally and professionally, and be educated to offer the best care. This can only be attained by continuing education to foster these codes of ethics.

5. Discuss whether continuing nursing education should be mandatory. Provide support for your response.

Continued nursing education should be made compulsory since higher nursing education is reedifying nurses to create a difference during service delivery by providing adequate and safe care to patients. Additionally, through higher education, nurses earn requisite skills for safe administration of drugs while cutting down on errors, assessing, and monitoring the patient reaction to the administered medication. American Nurses Credentialing Center, (2018) posits that nurses gain proficiency upon the utilization of modern technologies since advanced education courses explore up to date technology. Moreover, with continued education, nurses are knowledgeable about the latest trends in clinical medicine with transforming patient requirements. Higher education enables nurses to proficiently and effectively coordinate care for patients by communicating and partnering with other healthcare professionals, share knowledge via networking. Finally, nurses enjoy exposure to seminars where they interact with proficient providers in the field.

References

American Nurses Credentialing Center. (2018). The Importance of Evaluating the Impact of Continuing Nursing Education on Outcomes:Professional Nursing Practice and Patient Care. Retrieved March 15, 2020 from http://www.nurse.credentialing.org/Accreditation/

Branson, S., Boss, L., & Fowler, D. L. (2016). Team-based learning: Application in undergraduate baccalaureate nursing education. Journal of Nursing Education and Practice, 6(4), 59.

Ulrich, B. (2015). Progress on the 2010 IOM future of nursing report and future needs. Nephrology Nursing Journal, 42(6), 527-529.

University of Saint Mary. (2017) Higher Nursing Education and its Impact on Patient Safety. Retrieved on March 15, 2020 from http://online.stmary.edu/rn-bsn/resources/higher-nursing-education-impact-on-patient-safety