What does it mean to be a BSN prepared professional nurse? To answer this question, we first need to answer three different questions. First, is what does it mean to be professional? Let’s first define the word profession. Webster defines profession as “a calling requiring specialized knowledge and often long and intensive academic preparation.” 2 Professionals therefore are individuals that are expected to demonstrate well-informed and skillful behaviors that are aligned with their profession. Being professional then is the act in a manner defined and expected by the chosen profession.
Now the second question is what are characteristics needed to be a professional nurse? Communication skills, emotional stability, empathy, flexibility, paying attention to detail, interpersonal skills, energy, problem solving skills, and respect for everyone we come into contact with just to list a few of the …show more content…
With the little of evidence supporting the recommendation Yakusheva, Lindrooth and Weiss (2014) designed a retrospective observational study to look at the relationship between the proportion of care provided by BSN-educated nurses and patient mortality, readmission, length of stay, and inpatient costs. The study demonstrated a strong relationship between patient outcomes and the proportion of care received by a BSN-educated nurse. I agree with the underlying assumption of these authors which is education affects patient outcomes. Nursing is a profession that requires lifelong learning; the way we practice is constantly evolving and there are always different ways of performing skills that enhance the quality of care we provide to improve patient