Registered Nurses as Professionals: Accountability for Education and Practice

This article explores the theme that, as professionals, all registered nurses (RNs) are accountable for their own educational development and execution of their individual professional role. To assure that RNs perform to the full scope of their practice and impact the highest possible patient outcomes, a standardized educational preparation of RNs at the BSN level is essential, either through initial education or educational progression. The authors support the need for BSN preparation with a brief review of research to identify seminal works that demonstrate the added value, both economically and in terms of patient outcomes, that results when higher percentages of BSN-prepared RNs provide care. They also discuss RN accountability for educational progression and barriers to earning the BSN. The article summary offers recommendations and action steps to support BSN education and promote RN full scope of practice.