Associates Degree Nurses versus Bachelors Degree Nurses
Kimberly Boren
Grand Canyon University
September 1, 2012

Nursing education has progressed throughout history from one of uneducated lay persons to the current standards we know today. As the career has progressed it has become apparent that there is a need for a skilled labor forced trained to deal with the sick and dying, “the provision of nursing care by American women…demonstrated the effectiveness of skilled nursing on improving outcomes for sick and injured soldiers” (Creasia & Friberg, 2011, p. 4). However, as the career progresses so does the need for more specialized training amongst nurses to help them deal with the changing atmosphere of patient care. The future …show more content…

Also multiple studies form a variety of healthcare facilities have shown a link between a decrease in patient mortality at facilities that employ a higher percentage of bachelors trained nurses. In some cases the incidence of mortality has decreased by as much as 5% with an increase in bachelors prepared nurses at the bedside (Baccalaureate Degree, 2001). The definition of nursing according to the American Nurses Association is the following: “Nursing is the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations” (2012). Nurses first and foremost treat patients through education. In the situation where a patient is admitted to the hospital, teaching beings at admission but the role of the bachelors trained nurses and the associates trained nurse differs in the roles that they play. In hospitals “baccalaureate-prepared nurses are utilized in ways that recognize their different education preparation and competency from other entry-level RNs” (Baccalaureate Degree, 2001). These nurses are being afforded the ability to take on more tasks including preparing a plan that incorporates all aspects of the