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The “BS in 10” bill, introduced in the New York State Legislature, was developed in response to the need for a more highly skilled nursing workforce in the nation’s increasingly complex healthcare environment. This bill, once passed, would require that future nursing graduates who have completed a two- or three-year nursing program and are awarded registered nurse (RN) licensure receive a baccalaureate degree within 10 years of graduation.
The astute foresight and reasoning behind the New York state bill became evident when the Institute of Medicine (IOM), one of the National Academies of Sciences, recently released a report titled “The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health.” One of the recommendations contained in the report is that, in the interest of advancing the nation’s health by the year 2020, 80 percent of registered nurses should be baccalaureate-prepared.
Both the state and IOM calls to advance nursing education are based in no small part on research that demonstrates the relationship between higher levels of nursing education and improved patient outcomes. Studies suggest that hospitals with higher numbers of baccalaureate-prepared nurses have fewer surgical deaths, a reduction in hospital-acquired pressure ulcers, and decreased lengths of hospital stays.
Critics argue that passage of this bill would intensify the existing nursing shortage. However, today, there are more nurses working than at any other time in history. Hospital nursing vacancy rates are the lowest that they have been in 25 years. And in countries such as Canada, where most provinces have mandated baccalaureate preparation for registered nurses, enrollments in nursing programs remain robust.
In contrast to the decision to mandate baccalaureate education for all registered nurses by Canada and many other countries around the world, the New York state bill preserves associate and diploma nursing education. No associate or diploma schools would be closed, and the nursing education community has worked to ensure that there are adequate educational resources to meet the degree-completion needs of the workforce moving forward.
Currently, there are more than 630 nursing programs nationwide, including more than 340 online programs that offer degree-completion programs for RNs. New and innovative education models are being introduced, such as work site programs, educational partnerships, and seamless articulation agreements that make continuing education accessible and affordable. The New York state nursing community has both the resolve and capacity to advance the education of its nurses in the best interests of the patients that it serves and the profession that it values.
Dianne Cooney Miner, Ph.D., RN, CNS is dean of Wegmans School of
Nursing at St. John Fisher College.
Patricia Witzel, RN, MS, MBA, FNAP, NEA-BC, is associate vice president of University of Rochester Medical Center and chief nursing officer at Strong Memorial Hospital.
The “BS in 10” bill, introduced in the New York State Legislature, was developed in response to the need for a more highly skilled nursing workforce in the nation’s increasingly complex healthcare environment. This bill, once passed, would require that future nursing graduates who have completed a two- or three-year nursing program and are awarded registered nurse (RN) licensure receive a baccalaureate degree within 10 years of graduation.
The astute foresight and reasoning behind the New York state bill became evident when the Institute of Medicine (IOM), one of the National Academies of Sciences, recently released a report titled “The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health.” One of the recommendations contained in the report is that, in the interest of advancing the nation’s health by the year 2020, 80 percent of registered nurses should be baccalaureate-prepared.
Both the state and IOM calls to advance nursing education are based in no small part on research that demonstrates the relationship between higher levels of nursing education and improved patient outcomes. Studies suggest that hospitals with higher numbers of baccalaureate-prepared nurses have fewer surgical deaths, a reduction in hospital-acquired pressure ulcers, and decreased lengths of hospital stays.
Critics argue that passage of this bill would intensify the existing nursing shortage. However, today, there are more nurses working than at any other time in history. Hospital nursing vacancy rates are the lowest that they have been in 25 years. And in countries such as Canada, where most provinces have mandated baccalaureate preparation for registered nurses, enrollments in nursing programs remain robust.
In contrast to the decision to mandate baccalaureate education for all registered nurses by Canada and many other countries around the world, the New York state bill preserves associate and diploma nursing education. No associate or diploma schools would be closed, and the nursing education community has worked to ensure that there are adequate educational resources to meet the degree-completion needs of the workforce moving forward.
Currently, there are more than 630 nursing programs nationwide, including more than 340 online programs that offer degree-completion programs for RNs. New and innovative education models are being introduced, such as work site programs, educational partnerships, and seamless articulation agreements that make continuing education accessible and affordable. The New York state nursing community has both the resolve and capacity to advance the education of its nurses in the best interests of the patients that it serves and the profession that it values.
Dianne Cooney Miner, Ph.D., RN, CNS is dean of Wegmans School of
Nursing at St. John Fisher College.
Patricia Witzel, RN, MS, MBA, FNAP, NEA-BC, is associate vice president of University of Rochester Medical Center and chief nursing officer at Strong Memorial Hospital.
