Debunking the Myths about Private Sector Nursing Education

A significant gap in knowledge about private sector ("for-profit") education currently exists, both in general and specific to nursing education.  While myths and misperceptions abound, growth of private sector nursing education programs in the U.S. has sky-rocketed.  The authors will facilitate a discussion in which common perceptions about private sector education are identified and discussed. Using available data, the authors will separate truth from fiction, and will compare and contrast strengths and weaknesses among all sectors of education at both the undergraduate and graduate level.  The authors will suggest measures that could be used to assess the quality of nursing education programs, regardless of sector, and discuss how those measures could serve as the basis for evidence-based research in nursing education that could help standardize the way nursing programs are assessed for quality.