Nurses who graduate with bachelor's degrees report being very prepared in more quality and safety measures than their peers with associate degrees, a study published in the Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety found.
"The evidence linking better outcomes to a higher percentage of baccalaureate-prepared nurses has been growing. However, our data reveal a potential underlying mechanism — the quality and safety education gap — which might be influencing the relationship between more education and better care," said Maja Djukic, PhD, RN, lead study author.
The study, which was conducted by researchers at the NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing in New York City, looked at quality and safety preparedness in two cohorts of new nurses who graduated with either associate or bachelor's degrees in 2007-08 and 2014-15.
The study authors surveyed over 1,000 new nurses from 13 states and the District of Columbia, asking them how prepared they felt to perform on quality improvement and safety metrics. They then evaluated differences in responses between nurses with associate and bachelor's degrees.
In the 2007-08 cohort, nurses with bachelor's degrees reported being significantly better prepared than nurses with associate degrees in five of 16 topics, including use of quality improvement data analysis and project monitoring tools.
For the group graduating in 2014-15, nurses with bachelor's degrees reported being significantly better prepared than associate degree nurses in 12 of 16 topics — the same five topics as the earlier cohort as well as several others, including data collection, flowcharting and assessing gaps in current practice.
Policies and laws encouraging or requiring bachelor's degrees for all nurses could close quality and safety education gaps, the researchers said.
More articles on clinical leadership and infection control:
Use of copper oxide-infused linens significantly reduced C. diff-related HAIs, study finds
Busy EDs linked to better outcomes for chest pain patients, study finds
Phoebe Putney hospital creates patient safety index to measure care quality