Healthcare has been changing so much the last few years that patients have become consumers. As consumers, they are educating themselves trying to get the best medical treatment for their healthcare dollars. Hospitals find themselves in a position of proving they are the better choice than the hospital down the street. To do this many hospitals are looking at how nurses are prepared whether it be Associate degree in nursing (ADN) or Bachelor degree in nursing (BSN) and how this affects patient outcomes.
According to Hood, L. J., & Leddy, S. K. (2006) the ADN degree in nursing is a concentrated study of clinical skills at the community college level, while the BSN degree is completed at the 4-year institution, where education is focused on not only skills but also science, liberal studies, research and community health.
The ADN was first introduced back in the 1940’s when after the war America found itself in a nursing shortage. Many of women who would have filled nursing positions found other jobs that were now open to them due to the war effort. During this time community colleges and hospitals started programs in which the ADN nurse spent most of their education learning technical skills, in the hospital setting many of the students were taught these skills by on the job training. This training included more practical then theory and there was no continuity in what was taught at the community college level or the hospital programs. Hood, L. J., & Leddy, S. K. (2006). To this day the average healthcare consumer cannot tell you the difference between the ADN or BSN prepared nurse. Now data is available and hospitals attempting to become magnet status or nurse friendly are realizing that the BSN prepared nurse is more versatile have better communication skills and are able to take on a leadership role, maintain accountability and delegate appropriately to others