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The American Association of Colleges
of Nursing (AACN) supports baccalaureate-level preparation
for entry into professional nursing practice as well as efforts
to increase the education level of the nation's registered
nurse workforce. Efforts to expand the availability of baccalaureate
programs (BSN) and increase the number of baccalaureate-prepared
nurses nationwide are consistent with the association's work
to create a more highly educated nursing workforce.
Community colleges that offer baccalaureate
degrees are making an explicit decision to change their mission,
and to this end, these institutions must be reviewed and approved
by regional accreditation bodies to assure that they meet
the same standards as other four-year degree granting institutions.
Furthermore, baccalaureate nursing programs in these institutions
must be developed with the same scientific and liberal education
foundation used in BSN programs offered at four-year colleges.
To maintain programmatic integrity, community college BSN
degrees must achieve the same quality standards set by nursing's
specialized accreditation agencies. These programs should
be designed using the competency expectations outlined in
AACN's publication on The Essentials of Baccalaureate
Education for Professional Nursing Practice. To be
consistent with the baccalaureate Essentials, a significant
change in program emphasis would be required from traditional
community college nursing programs that focus on technical
nursing practice. To achieve parity with BSN programs in four-year
colleges and universities, community college BSN programs
must integrate the essential elements of liberal education,
professional values, core competencies, core knowledge and
role development found in other BSN programs. AACN encourages
community colleges wishing to offer baccalaureate nursing
degrees to partner with four-year institutions whenever possible.
The emergence of community college BSN programs
underscores the national need for more programs to raise the
education level of the nursing workforce. These programs validate
that nurses with associate and baccalaureate degrees are not
equally prepared for practice and have distinct competencies.
The movement to expand the availability of baccalaureate level
nursing degrees indicates an understanding that today's increasingly
complex health care system requires a more highly educated
nursing clinician.
Last update: April 14, 2005
Please
send any comments on this position statement to to Robert
Rosseter at rrosseter@aacn.nche.edu
by October 1, 2005.
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