Baccalaureate nursing education: the framework for holistic home health nursing practice

The concept of home care has been an intricate domain of professional nursing practice for over 100 years. Home health care as the new frontier in health care delivery, although not new to professional nursing, is an exciting challenge for professional nursing practice. The health care delivery system in the United States has, for the first time, been confronted with the issue of cost containment. Professional nursing has the opportunity to demonstrate to society not only the cost effectiveness of professional nursing services but also the comprehensive scope of professional nursing practice. To meet this challenge, home health nursing care must be delivered by practitioners who are highly skilled and qualified for their positions. Baccalaureate nursing education incorporates public and community health nursing content into the curriculum. Therefore, the baccalaureate degree in nursing should be a prerequisite for practitioners in home, public, and community health settings.