Nursing and Nursing Education Public Policies and Private Actions (1983) / Chapter Skim
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CHAPTER IV EDUCATION FOR GENERALIST POSITIONS IN NURSING
CHAPTER IV EDUCATION FOR GENERALIST POSITIONS IN NURSING
Pages 116-132
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From page 116... ...
Attracting New Kinds of Students During the 1980s, in common with almost every other type of postsecondary and vocational education, basic nurse education programs must adapt to a new environment occasioned by a declining United States birth rate that is shrinking the pool of high school graduates. Further, because nursing predominantly is a woman's occupation, education programs to prepare RNs must compete for gifted young high school graduates who currently are attracted to increasing opportunities for women in business, law, medicine, and engineering-all occupations in which students' investments in the costs of education yield a higher rate of return in salaries.
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From page 117... ...
By 1985 graduations will have dropped to 2.4 million, although a higher proportion of the high school age group graduates than ever before.1 Between 1975 and 1981 the total annual applications for fall admissions to the three basic nursing programs preparing for RN licensure declined by 43,000.2 The number of fall admissions during this period, however, increased by over 1,500.3 These phenomena translated to a decline in the ratio of fall applications to fall admissions from 3.19 in 1975 to 2.61 in 19810 There were only minor differences in ratios among the three types of programs preparing Ens in 1981, but baccalaureate programs ranked slightly lower. The same trend of declining ratios of applications to admissions is found in practical nurse programs.4 These facts appear to suggest an overall decline in the quality of students entering nursing programs, but appropriate data, such as the high school grade point average of entering students, are not available to test this hypothesis.
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From page 118... ...
were 30 years old or older; only about 6 percent were under 20 years of age. This suggests that very few undertook their practical nursing education as part of or immediately following their high school course of studies.6 Only about 6 percent of newly graduated nurses are men; they are distributed fairly evenly among the three types of basic nurse education.7 Specially designed efforts to attract them have been few.
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From page 119... ...
RECOMMENDATION 5 To assure a sufficient continuing supply of new applicants, nurse educators and national nursing organizations should adopt recruitment strategies that attract not only recent high school graduates but also nontraditional prospective students, such as those seeking late entry into a profession or seeking to change careers, and minorities. Opportunities for Educational Advancement Many RNs and LENS seek further education to improve their knowledge and skills and to enhance their chances of career promotion.
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From page 120... ...
Educational advancement creates problems for students, for nurse educators, and for accreditation bodies. Barriers to advancement often stem from the admission and transfer policies of individual academic institutions.
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From page 121... ...
Nor do accrediting agencies have the benefit of systematic comparative analysis of the curricula currently offered in the three basic RN programs. Nursing studies in several states and testimony from nursing organizations say that the lack of clearly differentiated and measurable knowledge and performance expectations at the conclusion of diploma, associate degree, and baccalaureate nurse education handicaps schools in designing programs for professional advancement and creates confusion among their students as they try to select programs appropriate to their career goals.
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From page 122... ...
earned graduate degrees reveals that in 1980, of the 68,000 RNs with master's or doctoral degrees, more than one-half had had their initial nurse education in either a diploma or an AD program (Figure 13~. Enrollments of RN students in baccalaureate nursing programs increased from less than 10,000 in 1972 to more than 33,000 in 1980.
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From page 123... ...
Many institutions have adjusted their schedules and requirements to encourage ef f ic lent progression through the various levels of nursing education. In 1981, 388 programs offered the baccalaureate in nursing; 351 of those programs enrolled RNs who had obtained their initial preparation in diploma and associate degree programs.17 In addition, 12 3 other baccalaureate programs were designed spec if ically for such RN students; 55 percent of the RN enrollments were in NLN accredited programs.l8 Institutions that want to encourage educational advancement among RNs should fac ilitate the transfer of academic credits, of fer challenge exams to minimize duplicative course requirements, and give credit in recognition of the students' clinical expertise.
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From page 124... ...
In 1982, state boards of nursing in 34 states had approved nurse education programs in which LPNs can become eligible to take the standard examination for RN 1icensure. Analyses and recommendations in many state nursing studies focus on educational advancement.
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From page 125... ...
They will have to implement systems for evaluating students' credentials, design curricula sufficiently flexible to absorb students from other schools and programs, and offer such students special counseling -- all of which create additional administrative burdens. On the other hand, where experienced nurses successfully challenge clinical requirements, educational institutions may benefit from proportionately fewer enrollments in the more expensive clinical components of their nurse educational programs Employers of nurses make substantial contributions to education in the form of tuition reimbursement as a fringe benefit.
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From page 126... ...
. conflicting philosophies, values, and priorities between nurse educators and nursing services administrators have generally served to deter a mutual understanding and acceptance of responsibility for quality patient care.''l9 Concerns about communication and collaboration between nursing education and nursing service were brought to the committee's attention not only from the literature but also from state nursing studies, from testimony, from reports of many individual nurse educators, nurse administrators, and hospital administrators interviewed during the course of site visits, and from personal communications.
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From page 127... ...
Some examples of approaches designed to enhance collaboration between nurse educators and nurses in practice settings are described below. Goals include the provision of organizational structures that foster common perspectives; engagement in additional clinical experiences for nursing students; maintenance of the clinical skills of academic nursing faculty; and facilitation of a smooth transition from student to practicing nurse.
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From page 128... ...
Participants in the development process appear to have gained important new insights into each others' goals and missions.22 Clinical Experience for Nursing Practice Even where communication . between nursing services and nursing education is not formalized in an organizational structure, hospitals and nurse education programs alike appear to recognize the necessity for well-planned clinical experience, nurse externships and internships, and other means of smoothing the transition of new kNs from education to practice.
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From page 129... ...
For example, academic nurse education programs often find it difficult to provide students with a proper balance of classroom and clinical instructional experiences. Wilson observes that nurse educators in academic programs often face difficulties gaining access to appropriate facilities for their clinical teaching.
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From page 130... ...
RECOMMENDATION 7 Closer collaboration between nurse educators and nurses who provide patient services is essential to give students an appropriate balance of academic and clinical practice perspectives and skills during their educational preparation. The federal government should offer grants to nursing education programs that, in association with the nursing services of hospitals and other health care providers, undertake to develop and implement collaborative educational, clinical, and/or research programs.
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From page 131... ...
NLN nursing data book 1981, Op. cit., Table 68, p.
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From page 132... ...
(No . 4 in series of f inal reports on the nursing curriculum pro Sect)
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