WASHINGTON, Nov. 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Board of Directors of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) is pleased to announce that the University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC) has been awarded the 2007 BSN Champion Award. This top honor was created to recognize organizations and practice settings that place a high value on registered nurses (RNs) prepared in Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree programs. UHC, an alliance of 97 academic health centers and 153 affiliated hospitals, was selected for their commitment to supporting BSN-prepared nurses and furthering the professional development of these RNs.
"AACN has been a leading advocate for preparing a highly educated nursing workforce and for improving patient care through education," said AACN President Jeanette Lancaster. "We are pleased to be joined in this important work by the University HealthSystem Consortium whose members have shown continuous support for baccalaureate-prepared nurses through their research, publications, and recruitment preference."
In February 2001, two UHC staff members and four chief nursing officers collaborated on an article titled "Documenting Chief Nursing Officers' Preferences for BSN-Prepared Nurses" which was published in the Journal of Nursing Administration. The authors found that 71% of CNOs at UHC facilities perceived a difference in practice between baccalaureate and associate degree-prepared nurses, particularly related to critical thinking skills. The majority of CNOs called for recruiting more BSN-prepared nurses to work in academic health centers.
Following that publication, AACN formed a strategic partnership with the UHC out of a mutual desire to create a better educated RN workforce. The partnership is focused on two objectives: 1) expanding capacity in BSN programs and 2) developing a post-baccalaureate residency program. The first objective was met in 2003 with the release of a joint UHC-AACN white paper titled Building Capacity through University Hospital and University School of Nursing Partnerships. In this document, the authors address how to structure an education-practice partnership to expand baccalaureate student capacity at schools of nursing.
To meet the second objective, AACN continues its work with the UHC on a national post-baccalaureate residency project. This program was designed to enhance the student's transition to practicing nurse and to increase the retention rate of new nurses. To date, 36 partnerships in 24 states have been established by AACN and UHC members to offer the residency. Evaluation data show a dramatic decline in turnover rates and an increase in job satisfaction rates among residency graduates. The turnover rate of new graduates who have completed the residency in 2006 is 9.7% compared with the national average of 27.1% as reported by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
"Nurse executives with the UHC clearly understand the link between baccalaureate nursing education and quality patient care," said Dr. Lancaster. "This organization's ongoing support for BSN-nurses echoes the calls from government authorities, national nursing organizations, health care foundations, Magnet hospitals, and minority nurse advocacy groups for a more highly educated nursing workforce."
AACN presented the 2007 BSN Champion Award to UHC Senior Vice President Roberta Graham and Director of Operational Benchmarking and Nursing Leadership Cathy Krsek at its Fall Semiannual Meeting on Sunday, October 28. For more information about the UHC, see http://www.uhc.edu/.
Creating a More Highly Qualified Nursing Workforce
The National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice, policy advisors to Congress and the Secretary for Health and Human Services on nursing issues, have urged that at least two-thirds of the nurse workforce hold baccalaureate or higher degrees in nursing by 2010. Currently, only 47.2% of the RN workforce possesses baccalaureate or graduate degrees, with the remaining nurses prepared in associate degree (33.7%) or diploma programs (17.5%). Efforts to enhance the education level of the nursing population are hampered by the fact that very few nurses prepared in associate degree programs continue their education once they begin working. According to the latest survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, only 11.9% of associate degree-prepared nurses continue their formal education and complete a BSN degree.
"The infrastructure is in place at nursing schools nationwide to help graduates of diploma and associate degree nursing programs move to the next level," added Dr. Lancaster. "With hundreds of online degree completion programs in place as well as articulation agreements between programs in most states, the nation's nursing schools are well prepared to facilitate the movement toward a BSN-prepared workforce."
For information on AACN's work to advance the education level of the registered nursing workforce, see the following documents:
Position Statement: The Baccalaureate Degree in Nursing as Minimal Preparation for Professional Practice http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Publications/positions/baccmin.htm
Fact Sheet: Creating a More Highly Qualified Nursing Workforce http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Media/FactSheets/NursingWrkf.htm
Fact Sheet: The Impact of Education on Nursing Practice http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Media/FactSheets/ImpactEdNP.htm
Fact Sheet: Articulation Agreements Among Nursing Education Programs http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Media/FactSheets/AA.htm
Fact Sheet: Degree Completion Programs for Registered Nurses http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Media/FactSheets/DegreeCompletionProg.htm
White Paper: Building Capacity through University Hospital and University School of Nursing Partnerships http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Publications/WhitePapers/BuildingCapacity.htm
Press Release: AACN Applauds New Study that Confirms Link Between Nursing Education and Patient Mortality Rates http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Media/NewsReleases/Archives/2003/2003AikenStudy.htm
The American Association of Colleges of Nursing is the national voice for university and four-year-college education programs in nursing. Representing more than 600 member schools of nursing at public and private institutions nationwide, AACN's educational, research, governmental advocacy, data collection, publications, and other programs work to establish quality standards for bachelor's- and graduate-degree nursing education, assist deans and directors to implement those standards, influence the nursing profession to improve health care, and promote public support of baccalaureate and graduate nursing education, research, and practice. Web site: http://www.aacn.nche.edu/
American Association of Colleges of Nursing
