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Educational Preparation
Candace Tiley
GCU RN-BSN
Professional Dynamics
NSG-430V
April 7, 2013

Nurses with a Baccalaureate in nursing education versus Associate Degree in nursing education are prepared to deliver a higher standard of patient care. The differences in the core curriculum of the baccalaureate program set it above the associate degree program giving the nurse who holds a BSN better critical thinking skills The BSN educated nurse has a broader base of education in such areas as the fine arts, as well as important nursing courses that emphasize evidence-based practice. BSN educated nurses are also taught leadership skills, management skills and nursing theory. To understand the differences in competencies between nurses prepared at the associate degree level versus the baccalaureate level requires at least a short review of the history of the development and introduction of the associate degree program (ADN). Of importance is when the ADN Program was introduced and the reason it was introduced. In the mid-1940’s the BSN Programs that had been in existence for 60 years were responsible for graduating about 15% of the new nurses. The remaining graduates came from the Diploma programs that had been in existence for 100 years. The ADN Program was introduced after World War II as a result of the severe nursing shortage during that time. The concept was initially explored by the faculty of Teacher’s College, Columbia University and spearheaded by a gentleman by the name of Eli Ginzberg. He proposed a two-tiered system. He suggested that the lower level would be a technical or practical nurse and the upper level would be considered the professional nurse. It was his contention that the two different types of nurse would have separate educational pathways. Mildred