Baccalaureate Nursing Practice Essay

More and more workplaces are requiring their employees to have a baccalaureate degree. Is there really a difference in the level of care a patient will receive from nurse with an associate’s degree of Nursing versus a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing? According to many studies and research they say there is a difference between the two. “In the baccalaureate nursing practice incorporates the roles of assessing, critical thinking, communicating, providing care, teaching, and leading. The caring professional approach includes the values of autonomy, altruism, human dignity integrity, and social justice with unconditional regard for all people (Grand Canyon Philosophy, 2011).” “Currently, data suggests that approximately 50% of the nursing staff on a given unit are Bachelor of Science nurses (BSNs). The other 50% of the staff may be composed of associate degree nurses (ADNs) with less academic training with more or less professional experience in caring for complex or critical patients in today’s environment (Sexton, 2008).” BSNs are a better-rounded individual. BSN programs include more science based classes and liberal arts, whereas the ADN programs have a basic science background and more focused on the skills and clinical portion of nursing. Many nurse leaders recommend
I work for an ophthalmologist at an eye surgery center. Our patient population can range from kids to the elderly. We take care of the elderly more so than any other age range. We do surgery once a week, mostly cataract surgery. Other procedures are performed but not as frequently as the cataracts. I work as a pre-op nurse mostly but occasionally will do post-op or work in the operating room. On the days I’m not working in surgery I work in creating quality improvement studies, benchmarking, infection control, and do things with risk