Importance of Nursing Education and Pursuing a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

"The Future of Nursing 2020-2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity" report makes recommendations for lifelong learning and achieving higher levels of education.

In 1,000-1,250 words, examine the importance of nursing education and discuss your overall educational goals.

Include the following:

1. Discuss your options in the job market based on your educational level.

1. Review "The Future of Nursing 2020-2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity" report's recommendations for achieving higher levels of education. Describe what professional certification or advanced degrees (MSN, DNP, etc.) you may want to pursue and explain your reasons for wanting to attain this education. Discuss the timeline for accomplishing these goals.

1. Discuss how increasing your level of education would affect how your competitiveness in the current job market and your role in the future of nursing.

1. Discuss the relationship of continuing nursing education to competency, attitudes, knowledge, and the ANA Scope and Standards for Practice and Code of Ethics.

1. Discuss whether continuing nursing education should be mandatory. Provide support for your response.

Introduction

In the United States and other countries in the world, the healthcare system has become more complex. Nurses, being in direct contact with the patients have the duty of providing care that meets the complex and arising healthcare needs. As a BSN nurse, this paper will discuss the options that are available for me, the professional certification I would like to pursue my reasons for pursuing it, and how increasing my education level will enhance my competitiveness. Additionally, the paper will discuss the relationship between continuing nursing education and ANA scope and practice standards and whether continuing nursing education is mandatory.

Job Options Based on Education Level

As a BSN-trained nurse, there are a lot of nursing jobs that are available to me. BSN-prepared nurses can be public health nurses who address the health concerns of the entire population. They can be school nurses who provide students with a range of care services, flight nurses who provide care to critically ill patients, correctional nurses who work with detainees and inmates in correctional facilities, and community health nurses who work in health promotion efforts (ANA, 2023). In a healthcare organization, BSN-prepared nurses occupy the positions of nurse manager, nurse educator, case management nurse, clinical nurse leader, and quality improvement coordinator. Nurse managers are in charge of recruiting and supervising nurses. It is the role of nurse educators to equip nurses with the relevant knowledge and skills in care provision. Case management nurses coordinate care provision in long-term care facilities. These nurses also work with people from specific age groups and suffering from chronic diseases. Clinical nurse leaders oversee the integration of care procedures by supervising the medical teams and evaluating treatment results (ANA, 2023). Additionally, quality improvement coordinators ensure that healthcare providers comply with the regulations that facilitate the provision of high-quality care services.

Goals for Professional Education

The advanced degree or professional certification that I would like to pursue is a DNP. I would like to pursue this advanced degree to take a leading role in advocacy, problem-solving, and liaising with other healthcare providers. DNPs are more familiar with the constantly growing medical knowledge base and they are in charge of implementing care according to the Evidence-Based Practice (EBP). The provision of patient care is complex and the developments in the healthcare system have shifted a lot of responsibilities to nurses (Deering, 2023). I would like to be part of the changes in healthcare by advancing my education. Nurses' expectations in care provision are more and the DNP program provides excellent preparation for advanced roles in nurses. As a student with a BSN, completing a DNP will take 3 to 6 years. Other students with an MSN will take 18 months to achieve a DNP. The DNP curriculum equips the nurses with advanced clinical skills, leadership skills, data and statistics analysis, and nursing philosophy (Deering, 2023).

Increase in Level of Education and Effect on Competitiveness in Job Market and Role in the Future

Advancement of my education level will increase my competitiveness by increasing my knowledge and skills in different aspects of care. With a DNP in nursing, I will be able to improve the provision of patient care services as this will enable me to use technology to provide high-quality care services. As nurses advance their education, they can make better health decisions (Hakvoort et al., 2022). This will be crucial in deriving the best patient outcomes, reducing costs utilized in care provision, and optimizing efficiency in care provision. The goal of advancing education is to enhance the understanding and use of data to make decisions based on EBP. Enrollment in the DNP program will expand my knowledge of healthcare topics such as healthcare information systems, healthcare research, and healthcare innovation. A DNP enables me to acquire new skills that increase my innovativeness. The degree will enable me to train healthcare providers, automate care provision, and analyze data to make the best care decisions. Additionally, the acquisition of new skills through DNP training will enhance my ability to make the best decisions and increase awareness of community health issues (Hakvoort et al., 2022).

Relationship of Continuing Nursing Education

Continuing Nursing Education (CNE) enhances the knowledge, attitudes, and competencies of nurses. CNE enhances the nurses' competencies by enabling them to update their knowledge and skills and ensuring that they are aware of developments in the nursing profession. They enable nurses to specialize in different areas of the nursing profession. CNE influences the attitudes of nurses toward the importance of life-long learning. It improves the attitudes of nurses toward care provision by emphasizing the importance of patient-centered care. CNE equips nurses with up-to-date knowledge of different conditions and their treatment. It also helps nurses to understand nursing theories in nursing practice and use them to make clinically relevant decisions. Through CNE, nurses can adhere to the ANA code of ethics and scope and standards for practice. In doing so, CNE equips nurses with a comprehensive understanding of ANA's code of ethics and it promotes nurses' adherence to ANA's standard of practice. Additionally, CNE enables nurses to deal with any ethical dilemmas that might arise as stipulated by ANA.

Mandatory continuing nursing education

There are various arguments for and against CNE among nurses. CNE is beneficial in maintaining the competencies of nurses, enhancing patient safety, and fostering professional development. Through CNE, nurses can keep up-to-date with new technologies, research technologies, and treatment interventions. Nurses who engage in CNE can provide highly effective and safe care while reducing the occurrence of medical errors. Additionally, CNE enhances nurses' professional development by equipping them with the necessary knowledge and skills (Mlambo et al., 2021). Some of the arguments against CNE are that it is costly and time-consuming and not all nurses have the resources to pursue the education. Additionally, not all the CNE courses provide high-quality information and there is a risk of nurses taking courses that meet the required requirements. Based on the reasons cited above, I would encourage that nurses should engage in continuing education.

Conclusion

As a BSN-prepared nurse, the job options that are available to me are public health nurses, school nurses, flight nurses, correctional facility nurses, and community health nurses. They also occupy the positions of nurse managers, nurse educators, case management nurses, clinical nurse leaders, and quality improvement coordinators. The advanced degree that I would like to pursue is a DNP in nursing. DNP nursing will equip me with high-quality knowledge and skills in care provision and it will take 3 to 6 years for me to complete the program. I advocate for mandatory CNE and education advancement will enable me to provide high-quality care.

References

ANA. (2023). Nursing Career Pathways. https://www.nursingworld.org/content-hub/resources/becoming-a-nurse/nursing-career-pathways/

Deering, M. (2023). Why Get a Doctorate in Nursing (DNP)? NurseJournal. https://nursejournal.org/degrees/dnp/why-get-a-dnp-degree/

Hakvoort, L., Dikken, J., Cramer-Kruit, J., Molendijk-van Nieuwenhuyzen, K., van der Schaaf, M., & Schuurmans, M. (2022). Factors that influence continuing professional development over a nursing career: A scoping review. Nurse Education in Practice, 65, 103481. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1471595322001950

Mlambo, M., Silén, C., & McGrath, C. (2021). Lifelong learning and nurses' continuing professional development, a metasynthesis of the literature. BMC Nursing, 20, 1-13. https://bmcnurs.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12912-021-00579-2