Why Are Health Professional Programs Growing?
Despite ongoing debate over healthcare legislation and delivery, the demand for qualified health care professionals continues to rise. Among those in demand are nurses, physicians, allied health professionals, and support personnel. The driving force behind this demand is the aging Baby Boomer generation.
According to projections from the US Census Bureau, the number of people over age 65 will grow from 43 million in 2012 to 84 million by 2050. Elderly people require a greater quantity of care with longer lengths of stay in hospital, rehab, and skilled nursing facilities as compared with the general population; they also require a more complex level of care with nearly 80% of senior citizens living with one or more chronic illnesses.
The complex care this aging population does and will need requires a higher level of assessment, critical thinking, understanding of evidence-based practice, and treatment skill on the part of practitioners, particularly nurses. In 2010 the Institute of Medicine (IOM) set forth a goal that by 2020, 80% of RNs would be baccalaureate-prepared, and the number of nurses with doctorates would double. This recommendation was put into place in hopes that an increase in RNs holding advanced degrees would help to meet the growing demands of patient care and the clinical autonomy required to meet those demands.
As a result, nursing schools across the nation have expanded their programs to provide adequate training to their students. The fall 2014 survey from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) revealed enrollment growth across the board for advanced degree nursing programs. This included a 4.2% increase in students in entry-level baccalaureate programs (BSN) and a 10.4% increase in “RN-to-BSN” programs for registered nurses looking to build on their initial education at the associate degree or diploma level. At the graduate level, student enrollment increased by 6.6% in master’s programs and by 3.2% and 26.2% in research-focused and practice-focused doctoral programs. These numbers continue to show an upward trajectory.
The AACN believes that advanced education has a significant impact on the critical thinking and competencies of the clinician, leading to lower mortality rates and an increase in positive patient outcomes. Because of this they encourage employers to provide educational opportunities and incentives to RNs seeking to advance their degrees.
While hospitals and facilities across the country are falling in line with the IOM and AACN recommendations, it does not change the fact that advanced nursing degrees are academically rigorous requiring time and financial resources that may not be available to the average individual. In general, a student must complete a minimum of approximately 30 credit hours of prerequisite courses for a BSN degree, a tall order for someone working a full-time job, possibly raising a family, and/or caring for their own aging parents/loved ones.
Portage Learning provides prerequisite courses that are fully online, self-paced, and affordable, allowing students the opportunity to bridge the gap of their educational endeavors. We are proud to offer fully accredited courses that enable our students to meet career goals that may not be possible otherwise. In so doing, we hope to play a role in the training of future practitioners within our society, ultimately improving the quality of health care for us all.
Works Cited
US Census Bureau. (2014). An Aging Nation: The Older Population in The United States. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/prod/2014pubs/p25-1140.pdf
Schneider, A. (2016). Driving Factors Behind the 80% BSN by 2020 Initiative. Retrieved from https://www.rn.com/headlines-in-health/driving-factors-behind-the-80-percent-bsn-by-2020-initiative/
Jonas Philanthropies. (2015). New AACN Data Confirms Enrollment Surge in Schools of Nursing. Retrieved from https://jonasphilanthropies.org/new-aacn-data-confirms-enrollment-surge-in-schools-of-nursing/
AACN. (2015). HRSA Report on Nursing Workforce Projections through 2025. Retrieved fromhttps://www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/42/News/Nursing-Shortage/HRSA-Nursing-Workforce-Projections.pdf?ver=2017-12-11-115743-493
