Accelerated Programs Lead to Higher Degrees and Higher Quality Care

Although it is clear that a growing patient population requires a larger nurse workforce, the nursing shortage Americans face is not just about numbers; it’s about skills for the future.  The aging Baby Boomer generation is creating a pressing need for legions of new nurses with expanded skills who can provide the primary and preventive care, chronic care management and care coordination these older Americans need.  Further, as more Americans have access to health care through health care reform provisions, more advanced practice nurses, especially those who provide primary care will be needed.  Nurses with preparation to fill these roles are those with baccalaureate and higher college degrees.  Importantly, it is nurses with master’s and doctoral degrees who will also serve as educators to prepare the future nurse workforce.

Nationwide, the vast majority of registered nurses (RNs) end their careers with the same degree they start with, and in states with a high proportion of nurses holding an Associate’s Degree in Nursing (ADN) or a nursing diploma, it means too few will achieve the higher levels of education and develop the skills that would best serve their communities.

This is the case in North Carolina, where about 60 percent of its nurse workforce is prepared at the ADN level, and only 40 percent have a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)  or higher degree.¹ A longitudinal study on educational mobility showed that fewer than 15 percent of nurses beginning their careers with an Associate Degree pursued a higher degree in nursing, and that the vast majority (80 percent) of RNs pursuing graduate degrees in nursing began their nursing careers with BSNs.² 

In response to the study's findings, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-Chapel Hill) School of Nursing began to take action.  In 1998, a fast-track program to help produce the advanced practice nurses the state would need was introduced into the curriculum, allowing RNs with an ADN or diploma to matriculate directly into a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program and save time, credits, and paperwork along the way.

Debbie Thompson, Clinical Associate Professor and RN Options Program Leader noted that the program does not require much marketing because the RN-MSN options are widely known among RNs who are ready to advance their education to the graduate level.  

UNC-Chapel Hill had 192 inquiries about the program in 1998, and that number jumped to 639 just five years later. Ten years on, the RN-MSN program is a great success, according to Jennifer D'Auria, PhD, RN, CPNP, Associate Professor and Director of Master's Programs. Every year, the number of students in the MSN program who entered as ADNs compared to BSNs increases; nearly one-third of the 2009 incoming MSN class were two-year degree or diploma RNs.  D’Auria also said that even as these ADN and diploma RNs make up a greater proportion of students graduating with the MSN and UNC-Chapel Hill national certification pass rates for their nurse practitioner graduates remain as high as ever.

One incentive for ADN and diploma RNs to get on the fast track to a master’s degree is that after completing three core courses for 12 upper division undergraduate nursing credits, they move right into graduate level coursework.  By contrast, an RN who matriculates into the bachelor’s program needs to complete 27 upper division nursing credits. This arrangement saves ADN or diploma prepared RNs who seek a master’s degree a semester or more, as well as avoiding a second application to UNC-Chapel Hill.

While the accelerated ADN-MSN program is succeeding in producing more nurses with specialized graduate degrees for North Carolina, UNC-Chapel Hill has another highly successful accelerated program that is producing  nurses with bachelor’s degrees whose skills the state also very much needs, while providing graduates with enhanced employment opportunities.

In the current economic climate, many individuals pursue a career in nursing. The accelerated baccalaureate degree program is designed for students who have a bachelor’s or higher degree in a field other than nursing to complete their BSN in just 4 semesters.  Recent admission data from UNC-Chapel Hill accelerated second degree BSN program found that 90% of admitted students were unemployed or underemployed* prior to admission. 

Nationwide, despite the economic climate that has reduced the numbers of jobs for new graduates, according to a recent National Student Nurses Association survey,  the majority of second degree or accelerated baccalaureate graduates quickly found positions in nursing.³   A recent report from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing highlights the post-graduation success of accelerated BSN and master’s programs.⁴
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* Underemployed can be defined two ways: 1. part-time workers who cannot find full-time employment, and 2. Full- or part-time workers employed at jobs below their education and skill levels.
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1 North Carolina Institute of Medicine. Task Force on the North Carolina Nursing Workforce Report: 2007. Executive Summary. Durham, NC. Update 2007. http://www.nciom.org/projects/nursingworkforce/fullreport.pdf.
2 Bevill, James W., Brenda L. Cleary, Linda Lacey, and Jennifer G Nooney.”Educational Mobility of RNs in North Carolina: Who Will Teach Tomorrow's Nurses?: A Report On The First Study To Longitudinally Examine Educational Mobility Among Nurses.” American Journal of Nursing 107, no. 5 (May 2007): 60-70.
3 Diane Mancino, Executive Director, National Student Nurses’ Association, personal communication, July 16, 2010.
4 American Association of Colleges of Nursing. AACN Issue Bulletin. Accelerated Programs: The Fast-Track to Careers in Nursing. Washington, DC. Update 2010. http://www.aacn.nche.edu/publications/issues/aug02.htm.