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Continuing Education in Nursing

Patients can only be guaranteed to receive high quality of care if healthcare professionals
continuously improve their skills and knowledge. IOM report of 2010 “The Future of Nursing:
Leading Change, Advancing Health” encourages nursing to seek and attain higher educational
levels of training and education in order to improve the quality of care that they provide to
patient and keep up with constant changes that occur in the US healthcare system (Altman et al.,
2016). Even without the report, nurses, like other professionals, have always been encouraged to
seek not just personal but also professional development. For these and other reasons I believe
that nurses should seek to advance their education levels.
Options in the job market based on my educational level
Currently, I am a holder of Associates Degree in Nursing (ADN). There are many options
in the job market available for me with this level of education. I can work in nursing care
facilities, outpatient centers, hospitals, and many other healthcare settings. However, while I can
treat patients and do other things such as educating patients, there are still many things that my
current education level cannot allow me to do. That is why I am planning to pursue higher
educational qualifications to increase the scope of my practice and widen my job prospects.
Advanced nursing education that I am planning to pursue
Currently I am pursuing a Bachelor of Science, Nursing (BSN) degree. With a BSN I will
not only have stronger job prospects but also perform many tasks that I am currently not allowed
to perform with my ADN. After completing my current BSN studies in 2020 I intend to further
advance my education and become a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP). To become one I will

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have to first practice as a registered nurse for between a year and two and then enroll in a
graduate degree program. Thus, I am likely to begin classes for FNP in 2021. I would like to
become an FNP because the position has more autonomy and responsibilities than those of a
registered nurse (Dunphy et al., 2015). For instance, some states allow an FNP to diagnose
illnesses, prescribe medications, and manage treatment of patients (Dunphy et al., 2015). Thus,
as a family nurse practitioner, I will be able to treat more patients and handle more aspects of
their healthcare.
How increasing my education level will affect my competitiveness in the current and future job
market
Increasing my education level will certainly improve my competitiveness in the job
market. With an ADN there is a limit to the places that I can work. However, being a family
nurse practitioner will open for me many opportunities. For instance, apart from working in care
facilities and hospital settings I will also be able to work as a nurse educator in institutions of
higher education. I will also be able to assume leadership roles in various positions in the
healthcare field.
Relationship between continuing nurse education to competence, knowledge, attitudes, and ANA
Scope and Standards for Practice and Code of Ethics
The American Nurses Association (ANA) Scope and Standards for Practice provide
nurses with guidelines for practice that ensure that they perform effectively in their duties (Olson
& Stokes, 2016). The Scope and Standards for Practice also provide nurses with information on
what it takes to succeed as a nursing professional (Olson & Stokes, 2016). Among the
recommendations of ANA is continuous professional development through pursuing higher

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educational qualifications (Olson & Stokes, 2016). Getting advanced degrees helps nurses to
improve their knowledge and skills needed to effectively meet the health needs of patients. ANA
also has a Code of Ethics. The Code of Ethics document stipulates the do’s and don’t’s for nurses
in the course of their practice (Olson & Stokes, 2016). The nursing profession has traditionally
been known as one of the most ethical profession. Nurses, therefore, have to strictly adhere to the
stipulations of ANA’s Code of Ethics document. This document, to make it relevant to changing
healthcare settings, is a living document. As new ethical issues arise, the document is updated
accordingly. For instance, the recent rise of social media has created ethical concerns about its
use by nurses. Additionally, digitization of patient data and information has brought about new
ethical issues that need to be addressed. Thus, there is need for nurses to regularly update
themselves on how they should conduct themselves in an environment where new ethical issues
are constantly emerging. For these reasons, it is important that nurses continue educating
themselves.
Discussion on whether continuing nurse education should be mandatory
In the US there are some states that have continuation of education as a requirement for
renewal of practice license for nurses. Most of these states require continued education in
specific areas such as medical ethics and medical errors prevention training (Shahhosseini &
Hamzehgardeshi, 2015). Regardless of the specifics of the knowledge and skills one acquires
through continuing their education, I strongly believe that continuing education should be made
mandatory for nurses. Nurses operate in a healthcare environment that is constantly changing.
Thanks to research, new knowledge is always being produced and new evidence-based practices
adopted. If nurses do not continue their education they risk missing out on new ways of meeting
the needs of patients that are always emerging through research (Shahhosseini &

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Hamzehgardeshi, 2015). Making continuing nursing education mandatory will ensure that nurses
have adequate skills and knowledge required to effectively meet healthcare needs of their
patients. Once such education has been made mandatory, employers and policy makers at
various government levels should find ways of addressing the cost of such continuous training
because it is one of the major barriers to nurses seeking advanced education. Since they stand to
benefit the most from continued education of nurses, nurse employers should be required to
reimburse part of the money that nurses use to further their education. Governments should also
increase the number of scholarships available to nurses wishing to advance their education.
Conclusion
The healthcare field is an ever changing field. Technological advancement, laws, and
other factors drive constant change in this field. Nurses, being the largest group of professionals
in this field, need to constantly adapt to these changes. Only through such adaption can they
remain confident that they will always provide the highest quality of care to patients.
Additionally, nurses should seek to improve their educational qualifications in order to increase
the scope of opportunities available to them in the job market. The higher educational
qualifications one has the better they are placed to get good nursing jobs in the market.

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References

Altman, S. H., Butler, A. S., & Shern, L. (Eds.). (2016). Assessing progress on the Institute of
Medicine report The Future of Nursing. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
Dunphy, L. M., Winland-Brown, J., Porter, B., & Thomas, D. (2015). Primary care: Art and
science of advanced practice nursing. FA Davis.
Olson, L. L., & Stokes, F. (2016). The ANA code of ethics for nurses with interpretive
statements: Resource for nursing regulation. Journal of Nursing Regulation, 7(2), 9-20.
Shahhosseini, Z., & Hamzehgardeshi, Z. (2015). The facilitators and barriers to nurses’
participation in continuing education programs: A mixed method explanatory sequential
study. Global journal of health science, 7(3), 184.