Benefits of Achieving a BSN Degree

This paper was difficult for me to start as I know many ADN who are very knowledgeable in their profession. Several of my floor’s resource or charge nurses are associate degree nurses, who are also certified to our floor. So, being fairly new to their nursing field, it is hard to imagine that my BSN degree will make me more competent than those that are heading our floor nurses. I had spoken with my manager about my concerns. After our talk, she promised that with time comes experience. Also, that completing a four year degree will not only advance me educationally and give me more insight to the nursing profession, but help me to develop understanding of situations quicker and take a role to lead the team to success.
Leadership seems to be an important difference between the ADN versus BSN. The two year nursing program is learning the basics. We covered the material needed to be successful floor nurses, but honestly, we never were taught how to be leaders. I like to be a leader, to demonstrate skills, and help educate others. How successful will I be at that if I have never been properly trained? This thought was one important reason I decided to continue my education. I want to be as successful as I can be, and I feel only having an associate degree is short changing myself, when I have the potential to become more. Something I was told before I ever attended college is that one thing that cannot be taken away from you is your knowledge. You can lose so many things in your life, but having an education is something that will never leave you. Just like the saying, ‘The more you know, the more you grow.’
Since working in the hospital I feel I have grown as a nurse. I have also learned that the hospital I work at is a Magnet hospital. One requirement to be a Magnet hospital is to have a certain percentage of the nurses employed holding a bachelor’s degree in nursing. This requirement is to ensure that the most qualified, educated and prepared nurses are caring for these ill patients. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing’s fact sheet shows that having bachelor degree nurses ‘would result in substantially fewer adverse outcomes for patients.” (Robert Rosseter, October 24, 2012. http://www.aacn.nche.edu/media-relations/NursingWorkforce.pdf). This is ultimately the goal for our patients; to decrease complications and restore their health to before injury/illness status.
A situation I can think of between a BSN versus a diploma or associate degree nurse is the confidence to be a leader. Diploma nurses are also not allowed to perform certain tasks in the hospital. The bachelor’s degree nurse will have a clear advantage being able to provide the quality care to patients that say, LPNs are restricted to. For example if a patient was in the emergency room and there was an order for pain meds and to start IV antibiotics Stat. The LPN cannot administer the first dose. This creates a hold on the patient’s care and health when looking for a nurse who is allowed to complete this task. You may have just as much experience as a LPN or diploma nurse, but are not educated to perform quality care for the patient, therefore putting you automatically at a disadvantage.
Another situation I can think of would be in a code situation. The code team in our hospital is made up of only the most efficient and highly qualified individuals. The nurses that respond to a code are leaders with a BSN, are current with life saving techniques and are able to take control of the situation. These nurses are better prepared to make decisions and delegate tasks than an ADN. These nurses are leaders. As Saccomano and Pinto-Zipp (2011) state in their article, Registered nurse leadership style and confidence in delegation, “Only nurses with high supportive leadership styles exhibited significant confidence in delegating tasks to UAPs.” pg528. On that same page, it also states that nurses with a BSN have more confidence in delegating tasks than those that have an associate’s degree with the same amount of experience. Right now, I don’t feel very confident to delegate tasks in an emergent situation. I follow orders that I get from others, whether it be directly with that patient or just answering call lights while the experts work. However, I would feel more successful and more proud of my knowledge when I can be a part of the decision making team, be able to delegate tasks, have more confidence in my decisions and work more efficiently as a nurse for the benefit of my patients.
The Journal of Clinical Nursing(2011) “Nursing competence is defined as ‘sets of knowledge, skills, traits, motives and attitudes that are required for effective performance in a wide range of nursing jobs and various clinical settings’ (Zhang et al. 2001, p. 469)... This ability can be developed by professional nursing training programmes and it is regarded as one of the achievements of nursing education” (p.3225).

Another quote from The Journal of Clinical Nursing (2011) reveals “Critical thinking competence is the most highly required ability by nurses in clinical settings to solve problems effectively and make the best decisions” (p.3225). I found this statement so powerful. Individuals develop these skills by being well educated. The education, in addition to experience, allows you to be more proficient in your career. We as nurses want to be as skilled in our profession as we can. We want to be seen as competent, and by completing this BSN degree, it is easily seen how much of an impact this will have not only within my medical understanding, but also to provide my patients with the best.

REFERENCES

Change, M., Chang, Y., Kuo, S., Yang Y., & Chou, F. (2011). Relationships between critical thinking ability and nursing competence in clinical nurses. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 20(21/22),3223-3232. Doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2010.03593.x

Rosseter, Robert. (October 24, 2012). Fact Sheet: Creating a More Highly Qualified Nursing Workforce. Retrieved from: http://www.aacn.nche.edu/media-relations/NursingWorkforce.pdf. Accessed April 22, 2013

Saccomano, S.J., & Pinto-Zipp, G. (2011). Registered nurse leadership style and confidence in delegation. Journal of Nursing Management, 19(4), 522-533.