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Adn vs Bsn

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Running head: Associate and Baccalaureate-Degree Registered Nurses Associate and Baccalaureate-Degree Registered Nurses: Differences in Competencies R B S Grand Canyon University: NRS 430V 10 July 2011 There are two ways to become a registered nurse: a fast track two year associate degree course or a comprehensive four year baccalaureate course. A graduate of both courses makes the student qualified to take the NCLEX-RN and get an RN license. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2010) believes that “education has a significant impact on the knowledge and competencies of nurses”. The healthcare environment and the nursing world today are constantly changing. The economy is …show more content…

They are more mature, possess strong clinical skills and are able to learn in their new jobs faster. Many employers are now offering tuition reimbursement programs to be able to recruit highly qualified staff. In a study published in the May 2008 issue of the Journal of Nursing Administration, Dr. Linda Aiken and her contemporaries presented their findings which showed a “strong link between nurse education level and patient care outcomes”. The researchers found that “every 10% increase in the proportion of BSN educated staff on the hospital staff was associated with a 4% decrease in the risk of patient death”. The study concluded that employing nurses from bachelor’s degree programs rather than from two year associate’s degree programs could produce a considerable enhancement in patient care. Aiken and her colleagues claimed that nurses with a higher level of education tend to be better at critical thinking, which is a critical part in nursing practice. I can cite a few examples of patient situations where the difference in critical thinking would have an inadvertent outcome in my practice with patients in the oncology unit. In our inpatient unit, all nurses, both ADN and BSN educated get the same training on how to deal change in patient’s status while administering chemotherapy and biotherapy agents which would require calling in the rapid response team if necessary. In one instance a

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