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Discuss current research that links patient safety outcomes to ADN and BSN nurses. Based on some real-life experiences, do you agree or disagree with this research?
Through research by Linda Aiken, a study that suggested that a more educated nursing workforce means better patient outcomes. This study linked higher ratios of BSN-prepared nurses with lower patient mortality rates after having common surgical procedures (How Does your Nursing, 2014). What I found to be interesting was when RNs return to school to obtain a BSN degree due to an employer’s requirement, do not at first believe that by receiving the new degree will change the way they practice nursing. But several studies have shown that these nurses find that the education they have received reaped some unexpected benefits (How Does your Nursing, 2014). It was the National Student Nurses Association (NSNA) that went through and presented these studies in an article online that found that RNs in a BSN program were noticing chances in their skills, reasoning abilities, and perspectives on nursing practice (How Does your Nursing, 2014).
Based on real-life experiences, before starting this RN to BSN program, I could not imagine what it could teach me that I don’t already know or have seen. But I have come to believe that acquiring a BSN degree has honed and refined skills, increased my critical thinking skills and reasoning abilities, and changed some perspectives on nursing practice. I think with these advanced and refined skills, it can lead to better judgement and improved thinking, with a new and fresh view on the changes that are happening, BSN prepared RNs can be in a position to embrace and contribute to the success of health care in a way that an ADN nurse may not have the background to. I think it is these advanced skills that BSN degree nurses possess that contribute to the studies of lower mortality rates and better patient outcomes.
Reference:
How Does Your Nursing Degree Affect Patient Mortality Rates? (2014, June 04). Retrieved September 18, 2017, from http://www.americansentinel.edu/blog/2014/06/04/how-does-your-nursing-degree-affect-patient-mortality-rates/