Advocacy Letter
October 30, 2013
Board of Registered Nursing
P.O. Box 944210
Sacramento, CA 94244-2100 Attention: Executive Officer Louise Bailey MEd, BSN, RN
Dear Ms. Bailey,
As a Registered Nurse, an issue I have noticed with nursing as a profession is the lack of common ground for its educational standards to enter the nursing workforce in comparison with other professions. Nursing needs a standard level of education to be a profession and I believe we should standardize the entry level of nursing to a baccalaureate in nursing degree. Nurses have more accountability and responsibility than before and therefore, should be expected to also have more education. This will give nurses the power to unite, influence, and control the professional practice of nursing. I fully believe in the advancement of nursing as a profession and the need for higher quality of care in the healthcare field and this is where we could begin.
Many magnet hospitals have been enforcing this baccalaureate as an entry level to work in their facility. As we know, Magnet Hospitals are known to provide a higher level of care compared to those hospitals that are not Magnet. There are currently three ways to enter the nursing profession that includes the Associate Degree in Science in Nursing (AND), the Diploma program, and the Bachelors of Science in Nursing (BSN). Most other professions have a common entry-level standard that defines them as a profession. For example, in order to be a Lawyer, you must possess a minimum of a bachelor's degree, same for Dieticians and Teachers. Physical Therapist and Speech Therapists have gone even further and mandated a Master’s degree for entry to those professions. In Pharmacy, the baccalaureate degree was replaced by a doctorate for entry level to the profession. For Registered Nurses, there is no real common entry-level and this causes a great deal of
Board of Registered Nursing
P.O. Box 944210
Sacramento, CA 94244-2100 Attention: Executive Officer Louise Bailey MEd, BSN, RN
Dear Ms. Bailey,
As a Registered Nurse, an issue I have noticed with nursing as a profession is the lack of common ground for its educational standards to enter the nursing workforce in comparison with other professions. Nursing needs a standard level of education to be a profession and I believe we should standardize the entry level of nursing to a baccalaureate in nursing degree. Nurses have more accountability and responsibility than before and therefore, should be expected to also have more education. This will give nurses the power to unite, influence, and control the professional practice of nursing. I fully believe in the advancement of nursing as a profession and the need for higher quality of care in the healthcare field and this is where we could begin.
Many magnet hospitals have been enforcing this baccalaureate as an entry level to work in their facility. As we know, Magnet Hospitals are known to provide a higher level of care compared to those hospitals that are not Magnet. There are currently three ways to enter the nursing profession that includes the Associate Degree in Science in Nursing (AND), the Diploma program, and the Bachelors of Science in Nursing (BSN). Most other professions have a common entry-level standard that defines them as a profession. For example, in order to be a Lawyer, you must possess a minimum of a bachelor's degree, same for Dieticians and Teachers. Physical Therapist and Speech Therapists have gone even further and mandated a Master’s degree for entry to those professions. In Pharmacy, the baccalaureate degree was replaced by a doctorate for entry level to the profession. For Registered Nurses, there is no real common entry-level and this causes a great deal of