Becoming A Registered Nurse: A Case Study

When an individual sets a goal of becoming a registered nurse there are different approaches to obtaining a nursing education. One must look at different factors to decide which education plan works best for their life style. There are three options, the diploma program, a associate degree and a baccalaureate degree. All nurses must take and pass the NCLEX-RN examination for state licensing.

The diploma and associate programs are relatively the same when it comes to their competencies. The programs tend to be three years with large concentration on clinical hours. These programs tend to prepare their students at the bedside through hands on learning. There are five clear focuses for these programs, professional behaviors, communication,
The care of the two nurses may appear the same but it’s the taught process that goes behind their care that may vary. Both nurses are equally able to assess that a patient has bilateral lower extremity edema and dyspnea on exertion and ascertain that the has probably developed congestive heart failure. In this situation both nurses would both know to reach out to the attending and obtain orders for a diuretic and fluid restrictions. The difference in the two nurses treatment my be that the baccalaureate nurse may think of why the patient has developed congestive heart failure and investigate the patients history further. The associate nurse would treat the patient with the ordered diuretic but at that point they may check it off their “to do” list and move on to the next task. The baccalaureate nurse may also look to her educational resources and print out information for the patient so to educate them on this new diagnosis, helping the patient understand the importance of limiting fluid intake and watching their diet. Both approaches to their care are correct but the care of the baccalaureate nurse may improve the health of the patient long term and prevent readmission to the
They are “committed to working collaboratively to create a more qualified nursing workforce since education enhances both clinical competency and care delivery” ( , 2012). There is no denying that the role of the nurse had expanded and with those changes the importance of a more robust education is necessary. Patient populations have become more complex, technology has shifted to paperless documentation and electronic order entry the pressure comes in a million different directions at any given moment. Will the associate trained nurse be able to respond to those increasing demands in the same way the baccalaureate nurse would? Clearly the more educated the nurse is the likelihood that the necessary collaboration and coordination of patient care will happen. Patient deserve the best integrated care, nurses owe it to their patients to continue their education so they are able to consider and meet each of their