nurses having a BSN degree has increased during the last four decades, yet only about 44% of 2.7 million nurses currently hold a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Given the advent of advanced medic

There is a general feeling that nursing as a profession needs more of hands-on experience than pure academic knowledge. There is a reason or two there. We are known to laud the role of nurses who have excellent practical abilities and management supervision skills.

But apart from the too-obvious hospital care jobs, nurses have definitive roles to play in many other healthcare functions, and even in stellar roles in healthcare industry. It needs no telling that higher education in nursing is imperative for nurses to work in senior positions, many of which are suitable for none else than nurses themselves.

In practice however, there is lukewarm response among nursing students to pursue higher degrees, perhaps for reasons of convenience and cost. For example, though numbers of nurses having a BSN degree has increased during the last four decades, yet only about 44% of 2.7 million nurses currently hold a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Given the advent of advanced medic

e excellent practical abilities and management supervision skills.

But apart from the too-obvious hospital care jobs, nurses have definitive roles to play in many other healthcare functions, and even in stellar roles in healthcare industry. It needs no telling that higher education in nursing is imperative for nurses to work in senior positions, many of which are suitable for none else than nurses themselves.

In practice however, there is lukewarm response among nursing students to pursue higher degrees, perhaps for reasons of convenience and cost. For example, though numbers of nurses having a BSN degree has increased during the last four decades, yet only about 44% of 2.7 million nurses currently hold a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Given the advent of advanced medic

d even in stellar roles in healthcare industry. It needs no telling that higher education in nursing is imperative for nurses to work in senior positions, many of which are suitable for none else than nurses themselves.

In practice however, there is lukewarm response among nursing students to pursue higher degrees, perhaps for reasons of convenience and cost. For example, though numbers of nurses having a BSN degree has increased during the last four decades, yet only about 44% of 2.7 million nurses currently hold a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Given the advent of advanced medic

n nurses themselves.

In practice however, there is lukewarm response among nursing students to pursue higher degrees, perhaps for reasons of convenience and cost. For example, though numbers of nurses having a BSN degree has increased during the last four decades, yet only about 44% of 2.7 million nurses currently hold a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Given the advent of advanced medic

nurses having a BSN degree has increased during the last four decades, yet only about 44% of 2.7 million nurses currently hold a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Given the advent of advanced medical treatment and progressively longer lifespan of people, there is no denying that the nursing practice is set to undergo many changes in sync with technology and need. Keeping this in perspective, in October 2004, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) agreed in a resolution to support the doctor of nursing practice (DNP) as a terminal practice degree. The DNP will be different from the PhD in that while the PhD has wider acceptance as being research-focused to supplant the master’s degree, the DNP is proposed to be for those nurses who want an advanced practice role, such as nurse practitioner or nurse anesthetist. However, perhaps very few schools like University of Kentucky have embarked on this new educational path to offer the DNP degree.

A brief round-up of