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Situation: Advancing Nursing Education 80 by 2020. Why support this cause?
Background: Health care is becoming increasingly more complex as patients accessing our health care system have multiple co-morbidities and compounding problems requiring sophisticated care. The 80 by 2020 campaign recommends that graduates from ADN programs further their education and acquire a BSN by 2020. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) strongly urge the nursing workforce to be prepared at the baccalaureate level as entry to practice to protect the safety of patients and improve health outcomes. Nurses need to join coalition groups to push this agenda forward. Educational standards for nurses must be improved. Support for 80 by 2020 will guarantee that nursing will continue to have a strong voice and lead change in our communities, our hospitals, and our legislative arenas.
About: The RWJF and IOM released The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health in October 2010. This report emphasizes the need to strengthen the nursing workforce through education better equipping future nurses leaders to advance health care reform and improve the state of our current system (RWJF, 2011, p.1). Moreover, several studies have shown that the educational background of nurses is a predictor of patient mortality rates, failure to rescue, and patient falls (Aiken, Clarke, Cheung, Sloane, & Silber, 2003; Kendall-Gallagher, Aiken, Sloane, & Cimotti, 2011). Education does make a difference in the health and longevity of a profession. Data from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) in 2008 reveals that 13.3% of nurses hold diplomas, 38.7% are prepared at the associate degree level, 37.6% at the baccalaureate level, 10% at the graduate level, and only 0.4% at the doctoral level (RWJF, 2011, p.1). Susan Hassmiller, RN, PhD, FAAN states that, “We must all stand together as a profession to make health care better—not quibble about whether the ADN and BSN degree is better. Both have value. To address future health care needs, we must accelerate educational progression, using all the tools we have, and we must reach out to other partners in other sectors to achieve this goal” (RWJF, 2011, p.2). Nurses from all educational backgrounds should support this agenda because it will ensure nursing’s longevity and strength in the health care arena for years to come.
Review: You can support the 80 by 2020 campaign by joining an action coalition in your state. Action coalition leaders can be found on the following website: http://thefutureofnursing.org/AC-Contact
TAKE THE PLEDGE to advance your current level of education or visit us on FACEBOOK
Lyzanne Mason, RN, BSN, CCRN-CSC is a graduate student in
the MSN Administration program at the
University of Texas-Arlington. She works as a Clinical Nurse Educator in the
Simulation Lab at the University of Texas Health Science Center School of Nursing
. Lyzanne continues to work as a supplemental staff nurse in the Cardiovascular
Recovery Room at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital, Houston, TX.
