There are quite a few reasons why it is a good idea for you to pursue a master’s degree in nursing if you work in the nursing field. As you likely know, the current landscape of healthcare in the United States is changing. The COVID-19 pandemic put enormous strain on the healthcare system in the United States and nursing, as well as other areas of healthcare, have had to adapt to the new reality of the pandemic. However, getting a master’s degree in nursing is beneficial in many ways and this would be the case even without the pandemic. Here are some reasons why you should pursue a master’s degree in nursing via an online MSN FNP program.
Required Care for Americans Continues to Increase
As previously mentioned, the COVID-19 pandemic placed a massive burden on the healthcare system in the United States. However, the burden on the US healthcare system was significant, even before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is largely due to the fact that chronic conditions have become more prevalent in the United States in recent years. In fact, approximately 60% of US adults have a minimum of one chronic condition. Some examples of these chronic conditions include stroke, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.
Nurses are essential in providing the required care for US adults. It is also important to note the fact that providing treatment for complicated diseases and managing these diseases necessitates a great deal of knowledge. For this reason, healthcare centers and hospitals are consistently trying to recruit nurses with master’s degrees of science in nursing or bachelor’s degrees of science in nursing. Increasingly, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing is simply the minimum requirement for nurses. There is also a shortage of nurses in the United States and earning a master’s degree of science in nursing through an online MSN FNP program can allow you to help address this issue.
A BSN Is A Minimum Requirement For Quite a Few Nursing Careers
Quite a bit of research has been done on the connection between the outcomes of patient care and the credentials of the nurses who provided the care. Multiple studies have discovered that hospitals that have more registered nurses with at least a BSN degree have smaller rates of readmission after 30 days, smaller failure-to-rescue rates, and decreased mortality rates. These studies also found that nurses who are more highly educated make medication mistakes and violate procedures less often.
In fact, there are now multiple initiatives that seek to increase the nursing field’s overall level of education. You likely have heard about some of these initiatives. You can read more about the 80% BSN by 2020 Initiative from the Institute of Medicine here. Simply put, the objective of the initiative is for a total of 80% of the registered nurses currently working in the field to have a BSN by the year 2020. A master’s degree in nursing can set you apart from your fellow registered nurses, especially as registered nurses are now increasingly expected to hold BSNs at least.
A Master’s Degree of Science in Nursing Is A Step Toward Becoming A Family Nurse Practitioner
Another reason that you should pursue a master’s degree of science in nursing is that it is a critical step in becoming a nurse practitioner. If you want to become a family nurse practitioner, then you will have to earn a master’s degree of science in nursing. As you likely know, you will have to obtain a post-master’s certificate to become a nurse practitioner. However, your master’s degree in nursing is the first step in the process of becoming a nurse practitioner. Thankfully, many schools now even offer online MSN programs.
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