Achieving Higher Levels of Education
The Future of Nursing 2020-2030 report elaborates on the need for nurses to advance in their education, with one of the reasons being to create a larger impact on nursing practice and the healthcare system. There are several reasons why nurses should find encouragement to continue their education. Some of the reasons make one question whether advancing nursing education should be a mandatory requirement and not a personal choice. Therefore, to shade more light on this topic, this paper aims to provide an understanding of the implications of achieving higher levels of nursing education.
Options in the Job Market Based on Your Educational Level
I currently have an associate degree in nursing, which allows me to be qualified as a registered nurse (RN). As an RN I have room to serve in different settings including as a bedside nurse in hospitals, health clinics, physician’s offices, outpatient care settings, community healthcare centres, and school settings, to list a few (NurseJournal, 2023). As one continues to advance in education, it gives them more autonomy of practice and leadership capabilities to serve in more specialized settings.
As a graduate with an associate degree in nursing, I have the qualifications to offer care for diverse patients in different clinical settings, which provides a broad array of options to choose from in the job market. With an ADN qualification, one possesses the skills to serve patients across the entire lifespan, which means that nurses with such qualifications can tend to any patient, from pediatric to geriatric care settings.
Future Certifications to Pursue
The “Future of Nursing 2020-2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity” report calls for nurses to advance from bedside to boardroom nurses where they can impact change at a higher level, with one of the goals being to promote equity in care provision. The report also calls for nurses to be stewards in providing quality patient-centred care, all of which require increasing our skillset through education and training (Hassmiller., 2021). The report emphasizes the need for nurses to advance their education from ADN and BSN to higher levels of education, including obtaining a Master of Science in nursing or even taking a doctorate program.
Having a higher level of training and education gives nurses autonomy in clinical practice and leadership skills that can help create more impact at any level of influence, be it organizational, community, or even national level through policy and advocacy activities. From the wide cluster of specialization courses, I would either want to pursue a program in mental health nursing or family nursing practice. Not only are the two programs marketable but they also give one a platform to create a significant impact in promoting equity and access to healthcare services from a broad range of settings.
Pursuing higher education levels is intended at enhancing my competencies in leadership and clinical skills, which will make me an effective nurse leader. Additionally, attaining a higher level of education prepares a nurse to have a better understanding of different healthcare issues and the possible interventions to deal with those issues through either policy formulation or quality improvement initiatives. Based on the listed advantage of pursuing higher education, I intend to have my MSN degree within the next 5 years after which I will consider taking my DNP program considering my family and work-life balance at that point.
Education and Competitiveness in the Job Market
The current healthcare system in the United States has a shortage of primary care physicians, which is one of the reasons why there is inequity in care provision (Zhang et al., 2020). Various reports have recommended that one of the ways to reduce the existing disparities in care provision is to train more advanced practice nurses (Auerbach et al., 2020). This has made the demand for MSN and DNP-prepared nurses increase. There is also an increased need by healthcare organizations to have nurses with higher levels of skills and competencies, who will steer positive change and leadership, which makes an MSN-prepared nurse or higher, to be competitive in the job market.
With increased education, a nurse will come equipped with leadership skills and competencies, advanced clinical reasoning, and a
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