A Brief Note On The Transition To An Associate Degree Nurse

The transition from an Associate Degree (AD) nurse to a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing (BSN) is a rewarding time during a nurse’s career. There are many reasons why nurses return to college to get their BSN degree. Some return to meet a personal goal others return for professional advancement or are mandated by their employer to do so. Over the past few years many organizations stopped hiring AD nurses or drastically reduced the number they hire. Many AD nurses who delayed returning to school regret not doing so sooner when they realize the wealth of knowledge gained from getting their BSN degree. This knowledge opens up an endless number of opportunities for professional growth. Studies show BSN prepared nurses have critical thinking

Advancement to a role such as district director of nursing in Georgia Public Health requires innovation, commitment and strong leadership skills, which BSN nurses are capable of providing. The responsibilities of a public health nursing director are vast and continuously changing. Some of the responsibilities include making sure clinics and district based programs meet set deliverables and operate within state and federal guidelines. The implementation of successful training programs for newly hired nurses is a priority of the nursing director. Assessing to make sure the services being provided by clinic nurses are relevant to the needs of the population. Working with state office leadership to develop policies and procedures based on evidenced based practices is crucial to the health of the public. The director attends county board of health meetings to professionally represent nursing and converse with board members to identify interventions to assist with addressing the needs of their community. These responsibilities highlight the need for all public health nurses, especially those in leadership roles, to have a BSN degree.

As pointed out, the opportunities for a nurse transitioning from an AD position to a BSN position are diverse and endless. Patients, healthcare facilities and the nursing profession benefit from advanced degree nurses. The nurse’s ability to comprehensively assess the needs of patients and provide evidenced based practice benefits patients by improving outcomes. The use of evidenced based practices assists facilities with achieving accreditation requirements (Grove, Burns, Gray, 2013). Most importantly, nurses receive self-gratification for their