Why Nursing Professionals Are Important
Marie Claire Saintil
April 13, 2014
Janice Techick
Grand Canyon University
After the Second World War, the shortage of nurses was so severe that the demand for such services could not have been effectively met. Consequently, three pathways to becoming a registered nurse, qualified to practice in the United States emerged. Two of these are the most prominent. One is by being an Associate degree nurse, usually having studied at a community college while the other one is the Baccalaureate degree nurse, having studied at a university. Another distinction is that an associate degree nurse would normally be having two to three years of nursing training while a baccalaureate nurse will have between four to five years of nursing training (Friberg, 2011). However, for both sets of nurses, one has to sit and pass the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) in order to become a registered nurse (RN).
It is largely presumed that the baccalaureate degree nurses are more competent than the associate degree nurses because first, of the length of their training that is longer. Another reason is that the program appears to cover practically all courses taught at the associate degree level. Moreover, due to the longer duration, Moore (2009) observes that baccalaureate level nursing program goes over and above the normal nursing realm to even cover areas such as physical and social sciences, management and humanities which give the graduates a wider scope in their practice thus enhancing their professional growth. Therefore, there is a widely held assumption that the baccalaureate nurses have a better understanding of the social and cultural phenomena related to the patient care and which may have an impact on the emotional wellbeing of the patient and, therefore, the overall results. Lastly, perhaps as a way of demonstrating that the two degrees are fundamentally different, the
April 13, 2014
Janice Techick
Grand Canyon University
After the Second World War, the shortage of nurses was so severe that the demand for such services could not have been effectively met. Consequently, three pathways to becoming a registered nurse, qualified to practice in the United States emerged. Two of these are the most prominent. One is by being an Associate degree nurse, usually having studied at a community college while the other one is the Baccalaureate degree nurse, having studied at a university. Another distinction is that an associate degree nurse would normally be having two to three years of nursing training while a baccalaureate nurse will have between four to five years of nursing training (Friberg, 2011). However, for both sets of nurses, one has to sit and pass the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) in order to become a registered nurse (RN).
It is largely presumed that the baccalaureate degree nurses are more competent than the associate degree nurses because first, of the length of their training that is longer. Another reason is that the program appears to cover practically all courses taught at the associate degree level. Moreover, due to the longer duration, Moore (2009) observes that baccalaureate level nursing program goes over and above the normal nursing realm to even cover areas such as physical and social sciences, management and humanities which give the graduates a wider scope in their practice thus enhancing their professional growth. Therefore, there is a widely held assumption that the baccalaureate nurses have a better understanding of the social and cultural phenomena related to the patient care and which may have an impact on the emotional wellbeing of the patient and, therefore, the overall results. Lastly, perhaps as a way of demonstrating that the two degrees are fundamentally different, the