title: Increasing RN-BSN enrollments: facilitating articulation through curriculum reform.
abstract: Increasing enrollments in nursing programs is one method to deal with the shortage of nurses. However, the majority of these new graduates will be educated at the associate degree in nursing (ADN) level. The need to increase the number of nurses educated at the baccalaureate (BSN) level is significant. Research has shown that patient outcomes can be attributed to higher levels of nursing education. A viable way to increase the volume of BSN graduates is to promote statewide and mandated articulation agreements and create an environment where academic progression is facilitated. The initial step in the process of implementing articulation agreements is to bring together nursing educators at the BSN and ADN level to assess prerequisites, transfer credits, and evaluate overall curriculum. This article reviews the current trends in registered nurse-BSN curriculum at 13 public 4-year universities in California and discusses the potential opportunities to reform curriculum and facilitate articulation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, California State University, Fresno, California, USA.
authors.forename: Janine
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Spencer
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002321:Career Choice; D002322:Career Mobility; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003479:Curriculum; D004507:Education, Nursing, Associate / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004508:Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004518:Education, Professional, Retraining / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005181:Faculty, Nursing / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D007373:Interinstitutional Relations; D008008:Licensure, Nursing; D017145:Models, Educational; D009042:Motivation; D020380:Needs Assessment / Q000458:organization & administration; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D016730:Program Development