A new study attempts to understand why many skilled nursing facility leaders have little interest in obtaining an advanced degree — despite some proof that it improves patient care.
One Connecticut university recently offered SNF nursing leaders a chance at a RN-to-BSN bridge program, but said it found no interest from the field. Wanting to better understand the motivations, or lack thereof, authors polled local directors of nursing, aiming to better understand the collective disinterest. Lack of salary differentiation, perceived high costs of education and being near retirement were just a few of the responses, according to study results, which were published in February’s Journal of Nursing Administration.
“I thought it was a shame,” Cynthia Holle, RN, Advanced Health Services Research Fellow with the Center of Innovation in Long-Term Services and Supports and co-author of the study, told McKnight’s. “I’ve done a lot of my clinical work in long-term care and it’s an underserved area. Its nurses don’t get a lot of the recognition as specialists that they deserve. There’s a lot of attention to acute-care nurses in the academic pipeline, but not long-term care nurses and their academic preparation.”
Their analysis points to past studies that have shown that post-acute patients cared for by baccalaureate-degreed nurses have better outcomes. Yet, DONs in skilled care have lower rates of BSN attainment for reasons that are unclear. The Institute of Medicine has recommended that at least 80% of RNs possess a minimum BSN by 2020.
Holle and colleagues sent out surveys to 228 DONS across Connecticut and received 74 responses. About 57% held ADNs or diplomas, and of those, 70% were not considering any further degree advancements.
Digging deeper into the motivations, they found that 42% said they were approaching retirement and uninterested in advancement. Other barriers included the lack of salary differential for a degree, and the belief that a BSN would not enhance clinical, leadership or management skills. Others thought returning to school would cost too much, conflict with their work schedules or take too much time.
Researchers acknowledged that motivating those near their career’s end would be difficult. They suggested alternatives, such as a program of targeted education content on topics, in the form of workshops, webinars or self-paced modules with little to no cost. They urged system-level nursing leaders to do more to impart the impact degree advancement can have on improving patient care. Notably, almost 77% surveyed believed that degree advancement would not enhance their clinical skills.
“It is important for acute-care nurse executives to advocate for academic advancement for SNF DONs, including standardization of benefits such as tuition reimbursement, time off for education, career ladders and differentials for educational attainment,” the study concluded.
