The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), which is composed of 825 member schools of nursing, has endorsed a new position statement advocating for greater engagement among educators, employers, and other stakeholders for preparing more nurses in baccalaureate and graduate degree programs.
The new call to action is called Academic Progression in Nursing: Moving Together Toward a Highly Educated Nursing Workforce. It highlights the need for collaborative solutions that enable all nurses to take the next step in their educational development to better serve the health needs of the nation.
Dr. Ann Cary, Chair of the AACN Board of Directors, tells newswise.com, “AACN has long been a leading proponent for academic progression in nursing given our core belief that quality patient care hinges on having a well-educated nursing workforce. With patient care growing more complex, ensuring a sufficient RN workforce is not merely a matter of how many nurses are needed, but rather an issue of preparing an adequate number of nurses with the right level of education to meet healthcare demands.”
The Institute of Medicine made its own call to action in 2010, calling for at least 80% of registered nurses in the US to be baccalaureate-prepared by 2020, and to double the number of nurses holding doctorate degrees. Evidence-based recommendations in the Institute of Medicine’s report recognize that patient needs have grown more complex, and that nurses must attain the competencies needed to deliver high-quality care. Research shows that lower mortality rates, fewer medication errors, and a host of positive outcomes are all linked to nurses with advanced educational preparation. According to newswise.com, since fall 2010, enrollment in these programs has increased by 80%, from 77,000 to 139,000 students.
The AACN’s new position statement calls for supporting pathways that will move RNs with associate degrees into programs leading to bachelor’s or master’s degrees offered by four-year accredited colleges and universities. Their statement also outlines the value of having a more highly educated nursing workforce and their efforts to achieve this goal.
To learn more about how US nursing schools are coming together to call for action to raise the education level of the nursing workforce, visit here.
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