Improving Medication Safety

In today’s nursing world, more is expected from a nurse than following doctor’s orders, administering medications and starting IVs. The nurse must be able to make critical decisions about a patient’s care, to question the doctor if orders seem inappropriate and educate a patient and a family. These skills take an education that is broad based, one that includes critical thinking and exposure to many different people, thought processes, and culture and societal norms. Nurses are prepared in two different educational backgrounds, the baccalaureate degree level of nursing and the associate-degree level of nursing. ADN and BSN graduates are both required to take and pass the NCLEX licensing exam before they can practice as a nurse. Even though both degrees train students to perform the same duties as a nurse there are some differences between the two programs. Nursing organizations recommend that nursing candidates get a four-year Bachelor of Science degree. According to The Future of Nursing, “Nurses must be prepared to meet diverse patients; needs; function as leaders; and advance science that benefits patients and capacity of health professionals to deliver safe, quality patient-centered care.”
Two Year ASN Degree
An Associate’s of Science in nursing is a two year program. The duration of the program concentrates on clinical rotation which prepares the nurse for hands on bed side experience in a clinical setting. Core content focuses on a variety of topics but focuses on clinical rotation to introduce the nurse to bed side practice. Associate degree programs focus on nursing theory and skills. ADN graduates are taught professional and ethical behavior, effective collaboration with others in providing healthcare, application of nursing knowledge, and to provide care in a safe and caring manner to all patients. ADN programs prepare students to perform at a more technical and task oriented level. ADN programs focus more on clinical skills instead of leadership, nursing theory, or public and community health nursing. ADN nurses are basically prepared for bedside nursing, and practice with the fundamentals of nursing. Even though associate degree programs prepare nurses for patient care in a hospital setting, that training is insufficient for a variety of nursing roles. Although shorter training periods would help ease nursing shortages, patient safety and recovery rates are higher in hospitals where the majority of nurses have four-year degrees. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) “Research has shown that lower mortality rates, fewer medication errors, and positive outcomes are all linked to nurses prepared at the baccalaureate and graduate degree levels.” (AACN, 2013)
Four Year BSN Degree
Nurses prepared at a Bachelor’s degree level are prepared in a four year program and a University level. BSN graduates are taught critical thinking skills, decision making and problem solving, leadership, technological competence, effective communication, population-based health, professional behavior, and clinical practice. BSN programs place a large emphasis on research, evidence-based practice and management. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania found that “surgical patients in Magnet hospitals had 14% lower odds of inpatient death within 30 days and 12% lower odds of failure-to-rescue compared with patients cared for in non-Magnet hospitals.” (AACN, 2013) Researchers concluded that higher education of nurses have led to safer care and thus better outcome for patients.The four-year baccalaureate nursing program covers all of the content taught in the other two types of degrees but provides students with a more in-depth study of the physical and social sciences, nursing research, nursing leadership and management, community and public health nursing, and the humanities. This helps nurses understand the social, political, economic and financial issues that affect patients and health care.

Education is an infinite process. Every day, new developments emerge and new deceases and remedies discovered. The overall outlook of healthcare professions has dramatically changed in the past few decades. Nursing plays a very critical and important part in efficient care and patient safety. Nurses work shoulder to shoulder with physicians in treatment planning and management. Legal and ethical responsibility of the care provided is also increasingly shared by the Nurses. Nursing profession thus calls for better qualified and well educated nurses.