Nursing A Job or a Profession
The Importance of Continuing
Education & Lifelong Learning
July, 2010
Denver School of Nursing
NRS300 RN to BSN Transitions
An RN is an RN is an RN???
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All RNs take the same NCLEX-RN Exam.
All RNs share the same Scope of Practice.
RNs are often in management with an A.D.
Many pay same regardless of degree.
So, “Why pursue a Baccalaureate degree?”
“Why go beyond a Baccalaureate degree?”
July, 2010
Denver School of Nursing
NRS300 RN to BSN Transitions
Technical vs. Professional RN
• AD/RN initially created as a “Technical”
nurse.
• BSN has always been the professional
degree in nursing.
• Equating the two risks nursing being seen as
a job rather than a Profession.
• Educational Preparation is not equal!
July, 2010
Denver School of Nursing
NRS300 RN to BSN Transitions
Five Barriers to Professionalism
• Variability in
Educational
Preparation
• Gender Issues
• Historical Influences
• External Conflicts
• Internal Conflicts
July, 2010
“We as nurses must work
together to reduce the
barriers to
professionalization.
Our first step is
raising awareness of
our barriers!”
Denver School of Nursing
NRS300 RN to BSN Transitions
Variability in Educational
Preparation
• Most obvious barrier!
• No other profession allows practice entry
below a Baccalaureate level.
• Many professions (medicine, law, physical
therapy, dieticians) require post-graduate.
• Professional status and power increase with
education
July, 2010
Denver School of Nursing
NRS300 RN to BSN Transitions
But is there a NEED for ADNs?
• Let’s see what the
literature says:
Mahaffey, E. (2002). The relevance
of Associate Degree nursing
education: Past, present, future.
Online Journal of Issues in
Nursing, 7(2).
www.nursingworld.org.
July, 2010
Denver School of Nursing
NRS300 RN to BSN Transitions
Pause The Video Now!
Please take a few minutes to read this article.
After reading the article, take out a piece of
paper and journal your initial thoughts
about what you have read. We will discuss
this article this week as an out of class chat!
After writing your reflections, please restart
the video.
July, 2010
Denver School of Nursing
NRS300 RN to BSN Transitions
Is There a Nursing Shortage &
How Should We Resolve It?
• Demand for RNs is projected to increase by 40%
by 2020; supply will increase 6%.
• #of new RNs graduating in 2020 expected to be
17% lower than # graduated in 2002.
• Workforce loss related to retirement & death
expected to increase by 128%.
• If no shortage now…clearly one on the horizon.
•
-Cherry & Jacob (2005).
July, 2010
Denver School of Nursing
NRS300 RN to BSN Transitions
Are Students Choosing Nursing
More As the Media Suggests?
• 1995-2000 saw a 26% decline in new students
entering nursing schools
• This included 64% decline in diploma programs;
26% decline in AD programs; and17% decline in
BSN programs.
• With the recession, more students are looking at
nursing as an option; but not as a permanent career
option (only a stop gap)-Cherry & Jacob (2005)
July, 2010
Denver School of Nursing
NRS300 RN to BSN Transitions
Many Nurses Are Leaving!!!
• Almost one in every two nurses 41% are
dissatisfied with their jobs
• 22% plan to leave nursing within the year
• 1/3 of those planning to leave are under 30
• Only 9% of the RN workforce is under 30
• National turnover rate per year of RNs in
hospitals has been running in excess of 20%
July, 2010
Denver School of Nursing
NRS300 RN to BSN Transitions
But is the Answer Moving to
Predominantly ADN/RN?
• ADN/RN programs
attract more mature
adults to enter nursing
as a second career
• ADN/RN programs
attract more minorities
to enter nursing as a
career option
July, 2010
• ADN/RN programs
attract more men to
enter nursing as a
career option.
• ADN/RN programs
attract people from
lower socio-economic
conditions to enter
nursing as a career
option.
Denver School of Nursing
NRS300 RN to BSN Transitions
Legitimate Question
“How can nursing
demand to be
recognized as a
profession when most
of our RNs possess
less than a
Baccalaureate
degree?”
July, 2010
Denver School of Nursing
NRS300 RN to BSN Transitions
Very Personal Issue for Nurses
• Division & anger
often arise when
discussing recognizing
BSN as the
professional degree.
• To progress, we must
take personality out of
the equation &
compare nursing to
other professions.
July, 2010
Denver School of Nursing
NRS300 RN to BSN Transitions
We Need Discipline Consensus
• “Educational diversity within nursing has
slowed the progress toward acceptance of
the baccalaureate or higher degree as the
prerequisite for professional practice. Lack
of resolution of these differences threatens
to undermine nursing’s continued steady
development as a profession”-Christman (1998)
July, 2010
Denver School of Nursing
NRS300 RN to BSN Transitions
What Does the Literature Say?
Wawrzynski, M.S. & Davidhizar, R. (2006). The
bachelor of science in nursing degree as entry
level for practice: Recapturing the vision in the
United States. Health Care Management,25(3). P.
263-266.
Is the U.S. falling behind other nations in educating of nurses? What
does this mean for the profession? For our image?
July, 2010
Denver School of Nursing
NRS300 RN to BSN Transitions
Pause The Video Now!
Please take a few minutes to read this
article. After reading the article, take
out a piece of paper and journal your
initial thoughts about what you have
read. We will discuss this article this
week as an out of class chat! After
writing your reflections, please restart the video.
July, 2010
Denver School of Nursing
NRS300 RN to BSN Transitions
Gender Issues Another Barrier
• Nursing perceived as a female-dominated
profession like teaching and social work.
• The number of men in nursing is increasing.
• It is unlikely the balance in genders in
nursing will ever be equal.
• Outmoded thinking results in devaluing
what is perceived as “women’s work.”
July, 2010
Denver School of Nursing
NRS300 RN to BSN Transitions
Men Are Not New to Nursing!
• Supplied most of
nursing care in the
11th, 12th & 13th
Centuries.
• Not until late 19th
Century nursing
became predominantly
female
July, 2010
Denver School of Nursing
NRS300 RN to BSN Transitions
Nightingale & Men in Nursing
• Nightingale believed nursing was a
respectable woman’s profession.
• She excluded men from being called nurse
• Men were for heavy lifting and turning not
patient care in her view.
• Being barred from nursing, when Industrial
Revolution began, men chose sciences and
medicine as career tracts.
July, 2010
Denver School of Nursing
NRS300 RN to BSN Transitions
Schools of Nursing for Men
• First two opened in late 1800s.
• Mills School of Nursing for Men at New
York’s Bellevue Hospital & McLean
Asylum Training School in Massachusetts.
• Prepared men for psychiatric nursing.
• Psych nursing required increased physical
strength and stamina not appropriate to
“respectable” women.
July, 2010
Denver School of Nursing
NRS300 RN to BSN Transitions
Military Barred Men From
Nursing!
• 1901 U.S. Congress created Army Nurse
Corps for female nurses only.
• 1908 Nave Nurse Corps opened for women
only.
• In 1941 only 68 of the 1,303 schools of
nursing would accept men into their nursing
program.
July, 2010
Denver School of Nursing
NRS300 RN to BSN Transitions
The G.I. Bill
• After WWII the G.I. Bill was created and
men had funding to attend college.
• Many military corpsmen chose to enter
nursing school programs in large numbers.
• After each major military offensive, there is
an increase in males entering nursing.
• However, they still represent the smallest
group of nursing students and nurses.
July, 2010
Denver School of Nursing
NRS300 RN to BSN Transitions
Unwelcomed/Unwanted?
“Male nursing students must face discrimination
from practicing nurses, physicians, and the public.
Female nurses often ask male counterparts for
assistance in lifting and turning patients,
emphasizing physical strength rather than
professional expertise. It is all too common for
male students to find themselves unwelcome in
prenatal clinics, delivery rooms, and other settings
in which male physicians have free access.”-Chitty (2005)
July, 2010
Denver School of Nursing
NRS300 RN to BSN Transitions
What Does the Literature Say?
Chung, V. (2001). Men in nursing. Minority
Nurse. Retrieved from the Internet July 5,
2010 at MinorityNurse.com.
What do we need to do to bring more men and minorities
into nursing?
July, 2010
Denver School of Nursing
NRS300 RN to BSN Transitions
Pause The Video Now!
Please take a few minutes to read this article.
After reading the article, take out a piece of
paper and journal your initial thoughts
about what you have read. We will discuss
this article this week as an out of class chat!
After writing your reflections, please restart
the video.
July, 2010
Denver School of Nursing
NRS300 RN to BSN Transitions
Historical Influences as a Barrier
• Historical connections with religious orders
• Historical connections with the military
• Unquestioning obedience =unfair valuation
of nursing
• “Unquestioning obedience stifles the
creative thinking and problem solving
required for professional practice.”-Chitty (2005)
July, 2010
Denver School of Nursing
NRS300 RN to BSN Transitions
The Middle Ages & Religion
• Roman Catholic Church became central figure in
healthcare.
• Changes were based on concepts of charity and
the sanctity of human life.Widows and unmarried
women became nuns and deaconesses.
• Female nurses in religious orders were not
allowed to care for men or assist in OB/GYN
procedures.
July, 2010
Denver School of Nursing
NRS300 RN to BSN Transitions
Nursing During the Crusades
• Military nursing orders called templars and
hospitalers were founded.
• Monks and Christian knights provided
nursing care.
• The cross they wore on their tunics over
their armor became the symbol for nursing
used on nursing pins today.
July, 2010
Denver School of Nursing
NRS300 RN to BSN Transitions
Evolution of Nursing
• Nursing has evolved
to become a rich and
diverse profession
where care is provided
in many areas.
• Nursing is still carried
out through religious
orders today in the
way of parish nursing.
July, 2010
Denver School of Nursing
NRS300 RN to BSN Transitions
Fair Pay is Okay!
• Nurses, like other
helping professions
must strive to not feel
guilty or to feel greedy
for expecting to be
paid fairly and
appropriately for their
knowledge, skills, and
experience!
July, 2010
Denver School of Nursing
NRS300 RN to BSN Transitions
Nursing Salaries…Not What
You May Think!
“When adjusted for inflation, nursing salaries
have remained unchanged since 1991. In
comparison with other professions, such as
elementary school teachers, the difference
of &4,400 between the average salaries of
these two groups in 1983, widened to
$13,600 in 2000.”-Cherry & Jacob (2005)
July, 2010
Denver School of Nursing
NRS300 RN to BSN Transitions
External Conflicts
• Doctors think nurses are encroaching on
their discipline.
• Nurse lobbying ensures nursing’s scope of
practice is protected & continues to grow.
• Nurses must strive for collaboration NOT
competition.
• Nurses must demonstrate their knowledge
& competency to gain respect & autonomy.
July, 2010
Denver School of Nursing
NRS300 RN to BSN Transitions
Internal Conflicts
• Nursing’s power is fragmented by
dissension and by subgroups.
• Rivalry between levels of RN education
weakens the vitality of the discipline.
• Rapidly increasing nursing organizations
results in less collective power.
• Only 6% of 2.7 Million RNs in ANA.
• Many RNs belong to no Professional Org.
July, 2010
Denver School of Nursing
NRS300 RN to BSN Transitions
Bringing It Altogether!
• Today, we have talked about the creation
and evolution of the AD/RN vs. that of the
BS/RN.
• We have talked about the
professionalization of nursing as a
discipline and barriers to attaining that goal.
• We will continue to discuss these things
throughout our first week.
July, 2010
Denver School of Nursing
NRS300 RN to BSN Transitions
On-line Discussion Board
• As you know, this course remains under
development.
• We intend to create an on-line discussion board to
post our discussions during the week.
• Until that occurs, we will use our e-mail as our
discussion forum. I will send you all an e-mail
when I return telling you how we will get started
with the out-of-class portion of this course.
July, 2010
Denver School of Nursing
NRS300 RN to BSN Transitions
Thank You!
• Thank you for coming tonight and for being
so patient with us as we build this new and
exciting program.
• I look forward to meeting you in our
computer-based discussions this week and
then meeting you face-to-face next Friday.
• Have a terrific weekend!
July, 2010
Denver School of Nursing
NRS300 RN to BSN Transitions