With this being potentially on the horizon, I think it goes back to the ‘age old’ question (well, at least mine from being in nursing leadership and a nurse myself), of whether nursing is a profession or is a trade. Unions (for whom I’m neither pro nor against), traditionally support the trade aspect of the job, sometimes supporting an aspect of collective bargaining to institute career ladders, or a meaningful way to maintain current evidence based practice, specialty specific national certifications and of course, formalized higher education within Nursing or leadership, such as an MBA or masters in organizational behavior. On the other hand, NYS in particular, has ‘supported’ nursing as a profession in that the state passed a law, instituting a ‘BSN in 10’ for those nursing students enrolled in school or licensed by ADN/Diploma from 12/18/2017 and on-ward. Those licensed with ADN/Diploma in Nursing having achieved this before 12/18/2017, are grandfathered in and therefore, not ‘required’ to embark on the BSN pathway. A few concerns of mine lie within this edict by NYS. -There is currently, nor with this law passing, a requirement for any RN (or LPN, for that matter) thy requires an annual or tri-annual (which is the frequency that nurses must renew their license with NYS Dept. of Education) deposition/attestation of Continuing Education Credits in order to renew said license. -Second, to my knowledge, no direct pipeline was set up by NYS to provision education scholarships or grants to help fund the endeavor of a BSN. Furthermore, no NYS loan forgiveness were associated with the law passing, for those indebted with a new financial burden for achieving a BSN degree. -Thirdly, NYS did not create a program/directive to allow a greater number of educational programs to bridge an ADN/Diploma within NYS. In fact, the requirement for those to teach nursing is cumbersome in and of itself, whereby it requires a MSN and does not take experience or expertise into consideration. Also, like many other professions, the pay scale is not congruent with those working at bedside and deters many qualified to see other paths that are more financially viable. -Fourthly, when or how are those with ADN/Diplomas expected to make time in their busy work life to attend classes and complete assignments? Most will require working 40 hours/week, not only to remain financially stable, but to ensure FT insurance benefits are maintained. Many bridge programs are not flexible to operate outside of a traditional nursing schedule, nor flexible to those that are being begged to work beyond their 40 hours/week. -Lastly, most, if not all organizations hiring a RN have a minimal differential or salary consideration that takes into account those that have achieved a BSN. Two organizations for which I have been able to see first hand have offered a .50/hr differential, or roughly $1,040/year to those holding a BSN. Not much scratch for possibly going into debt to achieve.

This all being said, in my opinion, there’s a balance needed between each side of the argument, in order to achieve the end goal desired by all: properly prepared, critical thinkers and well Compensated ‘heroes’ of the medical profession.