by The majority of hospitals prefer nurses with a Bachelor’s degree but hospitals are ready to hire those with an Associate’s degree, too.
But the employment trends are slowly changing toward hiring only BSN-prepared nurses.
The reasons behind the switch are numerous studies which showed that BSN-educated nurses have better patient outcomes, and higher job satisfaction rate.
Also, it leads to longer contracts and other positive aspects.
The Studies That Support Higher Education in Nursing
Let’s have a brief overview of the most important studies whose results showed the importance of higher education.
Medline performed an extensive study in 2013 on 134 hospitals.
The results showed that the 500 deaths of orthopedic and vascular surgery might have been prevented with the help of nurses with BSN degrees.
The findings of the study are highly used to support the promotion of the employment of BSN nurses.
Next, one study published in the Journal of Nursing Administration in 2013 also had similar results.
It showed that hospitals that have more BSN or nurses with other high education degrees had lower mortality rates of patients with congestive heart failure.
BSN nurses are linked to lower rates of decubitis ulcers, failure to rescue and postoperative deep vein thrombosis, and pulmonary embolism.
Additionally, BSN nurses are connected to better outcomes at a shorter length of stay.
The study from 2003, published in the Journal American Medical Association concluded that hospitals with nurses with higher degrees have lower mortality and lower failure to rescue rates.
One research conducted in 2001 linked BSN nursing with better control of patient acuity, fewer hours of nursing care, better staff mix, and more efficient staff utilization, as well as fewer medication errors and lower fall rates.
The results were published in the Journal of Nursing Administration.
There is strong empirical evidence that supports the idea that nurses with higher education have better patient outcomes.
That is why there is more and more RN to BSN bridge programs available for nurses with ADN degree.
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