Paper
Thursday, 20 July 2006
This presentation is part of : Innovations in Nursing Education
Returning to School: Experiences of Female Baccalaureate RN Students
Melanie Kalman, PhD, RN, Margaret Wells, MS, RN, NP-BC, and Carol Scheel Gavan, EdD, RN. College of Nursing, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA
Learning Objective #1: describe experiences of female RNs who are working and returning to school
Learning Objective #2: discuss factors that facilitate and those that hinder returning to school for RNs
The importance of the baccalaureate degree for nurses was first proposed by Florence Nightingale and has been discussed and argued about ever since. At least three landmark studies on nursing education came to the same conclusion – the baccalaureate degree should be required for entry into nursing. In 1951, Montag proposed educating a technical nurse at the associate’s degree level, not instead of, but in addition to the professional nurse. Montag agreed that the professional nurse should be educated at the baccalaureate level. However, the reality is that most nurses enter at the associate’s degree level. This level of education combined with the fact that females continue to comprise the largest percentage of nurses means that those who continue their education are very different from traditional college students. Most are part-time students who juggle families, work, and personal pursuits. Adding school commitments to their many roles increases stress in their lives. This study contributes to the scarce literature about the experience of RNs returning to school. The purpose of this study is to describe the experience of female RNs who are working and returning to school. The research uses a phenomenological design using qualitative methods. The purposive sample consists of English speaking, female undergraduate students attending an upper division college of nursing who have been out of their basic nursing program for at least three years. The researchers conducted semi-structured interviews. Interviews were taped, transcribed and coded. Data analysis is currently in progress and findings are pending. Understanding the experiences of RNs returning to school will assist programs to better meet the needs of their students. This study was funded with an internal grant from the College of Nursing and a grant from Sigma Theta Tau International – Omicron Alpha Chapter.

See more of Innovations in Nursing Education
See more of The 17th International Nursing Research Congress Focusing on Evidence-Based Practice (19-22 July 2006)