To BSN or not to BSN - That is the nurse's question!

Nursing is a dynamic profession and lifelong learning is essential for nurses to stay current . The needs of our patients are changing, as we must change in order to be prepared to better serve that need. An argument in favor of the BSN degree as the entry to nursing practice...

The Goldmark Report in 1923 was the first to recommend that the entry level of education for professional practice as a registered nurse should be a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree (BSN), and heated debate has raged among nurses over the issue ever since. Diploma and Associate Degree RN's will clearly tell you that they can run rings around BSN program graduates when it comes to patient care. They'll explain that they have more actual clinical experience and patient care know how in their little finger than a new BSN grad, and 99% of the time they're right about that! I'll be the first to admit that if I get seriously ill I'm hoping that my nurse graduated from a diploma program like the one they used to offer at Cook County Hospital in Chicago. Those nurses had so much training and hands on care experience by the time they graduated that few physicians could hold a candle to them on their best day. This isn't about whether BSN nurses are better than ADN or Diploma nurses Up until a few years ago I would have been just as emotional as the next nurse in arguing against the very idea of making the BSN degree the minimum educational level to practice as a professional nurse. The arguments were many and seemed to make sense - no difference in pay for a BSN versus an ADN or Diploma nurse, we all do the same job etc