Comment on The link between nurse education and patient outcomes Essay below…
The link between nurse education and patient outcomes was confirmed in 2011, when Aiken published a study in Medical Care that found that a 10 percent increase in the proportion of BSN-prepared nurses reduced the risk of death by 5 percent. In 2013, Aiken co-authored a study in Health Affairs that found that hospitals that hired more BSN-prepared nurses between 1999 and 2006 experienced greater declines in mortality than hospitals that did not add more BSN-prepared nurses. Patients in hospitals in which 60% of nurses had bachelor’s degrees and nurses cared for an average of six patients would have almost 30% lower mortality than patients in hospitals in which only 30% of nurses had bachelor’s degrees and nurses cared for an average of eight patients (Building the Case for More Highly Educated Nurses, 2017). There have been numerous studies that correlate higher education with better patient safety outcomes. However, studies like these do not account for other variables such as the number of patients each nurse had as mentioned above. In my personal experience, I have worked with many ADN prepared nurses and some LVNs that are outstanding nurses. The first code blue that I ever participated in was ran by an ADN nurse. She had many years of experience and it was amazing to watch her in action. She was calm and knew exactly what to do and how to lead the rest of the team. I believe that experience can in some way make up for lack of school education. However, I feel that even a nurse with years of experience must be willing to evolve with the health care system. Nursing is constantly changing due to evidence based practices and BSN nurses may have a better understanding of how to apply that to every day practice.
Building the Case for More Highly Educated Nurses. (2017, May 16). Retrieved September 17, 2017, from http://www.rwjf.org/en/library/articles-and-news/2014/04/building-the-case-for-more-highly-educated-nurses.html