Are all RN's Created Equal? 3 paths /1 license

Stacey Burling from the Philadelphia Inquirer takes a hard look at the nursing profession as increasing numbers of US health systems are notifying nursing schools of their hiring requirement or strong preference for nurses with bachelor's degrees.

"Those who prefer nurses with bachelor's degrees say that nurses today work with increasingly complex machines and patients. Hospitals are moving toward evidence-based medicine - translating scientific studies quickly into new procedures at the bedside - and that sort of thinking is not emphasized in the more technically oriented associate-degree programs. Victoria Rich, chief nursing executive for the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center,.. also thinks nurses need more education to get respect from other medical professionals, all of whom have at least a bachelor's degree."

New legislation in New Jersey and New York will require nurses to earn their bachelor's degree within 10 years of licensing.

"One of the greatest mistakes we've made as a profession is that we've allowed all these different ways into the profession and still only have one licensing examination," said Andrea Hollingsworth, dean of Gwynedd-Mercy College's nursing program. "It's been a divisive issue for 40 years."