Nursing Education and Positive Patient Outcomes
Nursing is the only healthcare discipline with numerous entrance work paths. Treatment and expertise are important to ensure the quality of service and patient protection. There is a beneficial impact on the medical outcome as it promotes quality service delivery (Weber, Yingling,
Jones & Tenfelde, 2015). Hospitals that have employed registered nurses (RNs) had patients with lower rates of hospital-acquired pressure ulcers, length of hospital stay, rescue failure, and chronic heart failure mortality (Marques dos Santos et al., 2016). Employers encourage lifelong learning activities and resources for RNs aiming to improve knowledge and increase safety and treatment for the patient.
Based on some real-life hospital experiences, I agree that there is a correlation between nursing education and positive patient outcomes. When a nurse knows what is needed to be done, then patient care and the quality of service offered are improved (Saunders, 2016). Therefore, all nurses need to regularly attend training or enroll for further education and acquire new skills and knowledge in the field.
DNP and Ph.D. in Nursing
Healthcare professionals with a master’s degree and qualified for the next phase may think of getting DNP or Ph.D. A doctor of nursing (DNP) is attained through clinical experience, whereas a doctor of nursing philosophy (Ph.D.) is attained through a research-oriented degree. I would choose to pursue DNP because of the period it takes to earn one; it can be as short as only one year. In addition, one must do certification after every five years as compared to a Ph.D., which does not require qualifications (Saunders, 2016). The credentials help one keep updated as the nurses have to pass an exam to get the certificate and continue practicing.
References
Marques dos Santos, S. V., Esteves Ribeiro, M., Carnevalli Motta, A. L., de Almeida Silva, L. J., Rodrigues Resck, Z. M., & de Souza Terra, F. (2016). Building knowledge in nursing: A reflective theoretical and methodological approach for nurses training. Journal of Nursing UFPE/Revista de Enfermagem UFPE, 10(1), 76-89.
Saunders, M. (2016). Developing voluntary standards for district nurse education and practice. British Journal of Community Nursing, 21(5), 240-245.
Weber, S. B., Yingling, C., Jones, K., & Tenfelde, S. (2015). DNP and PhD collaboration: Bringing together practice and research expertise as predegree and postdegree scholars. Nurse Educator, 40(4), 203-206.