The Impact of Nursing Education on Patient Outcomes
Nurses are often the first to assess, treat, and advocate for patients, making their education and training crucial to the quality of care they deliver. Nursing education is important to patient outcomes because well-prepared nurses ensure patient safety, reduce errors, and improve overall health outcomes.
What Do Nurses Do?
Nurses are essential health care professionals that help promote good health, prevent disease, and support patients through illness. They have a variety of duties, including assessing and identifying patients’ needs, implementing and monitoring medical plans, and overseeing treatments. They conduct physical exams, administer medications, gather comprehensive health histories, draw blood samples, monitor vital signs, document systems, and analyze test results. Furthermore, nurses often offer emotional support and education to patients and their families.
How Do BSN Nurses Improve Patient Outcomes?
The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) is one of many institutions that have shown that nursing education significantly correlates to improved patient outcomes. This includes nurses with bachelor’s degrees. For instance, bachelor’s-educated nurses understand the health care system more deeply. They are educated in evidence-based practices and critical thinking, which can help them make faster and better decisions and reduce errors. BSN nurses can also build stronger relationships with patients because they spend more time with them.
What the Research Says
Many studies show that nurses with bachelor’s degrees have significantly improved patient outcomes. For example, a study conducted between 2006 and 2016 found that the average number of BSN nurses in hospitals increased from 41% to 56%, which led to reduced mortality rates and shorter lengths of stay. According to the 2022 National Nursing Workforce Survey, more than 70% of nurses hold a bachelor’s degree in nursing or higher, which results in more significant positive patient effects. Furthermore, the University of Pennsylvania Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics published a study in 2022 of 510 hospitals and 20,268 nurses and found that for every 10% increase in BSN-educated nurses in hospitals, there was a 5.5% decrease in surgical patient mortality.
Increasingly, evidence indicates that higher education and advanced nurse training can improve patient safety and their overall well-being. If you want to make an impact on the health of others, consider earning your bachelor’s of science in nursing and becoming a registered nurse.
