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Exploring the Relationship Between Patient Falls and Levels of Nursing Education and Certification
Jeffrey A Coto1, Coleen R Wilder, Leanna Wynn
1Author Affiliations: Operations Director (Dr. Coto), Surgical Service Line and Wound Centers, Riverside Medical Group, Kankakee, Illinois; Associate Professor (Dr Wilder), Information & Decision Sciences, Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Indiana; and Affiliate Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer (Ms Wynn), Passavant Area Hospital, Jacksonville; Magnet Program Director (Dr Ballard), Memorial Regional Health Services, Belleville; Manager of Operations Inpatient Rehabilitation (Mr Webel), Northwestern Medicine McHenry Hospital, McHenry; and Magnet Program Manager (Ms Petkunas), Riverside Healthcare, Kankakee, Illinois.
Objective:
To examine if increasing the percentage of nurses with bachelor degrees (BSNs) and/or certified nurses leads to improved patient outcomes, specifically the number of reported falls.
Background:
Research suggests a link between higher levels of education and expertise and positive patient outcomes, including falls. The Institute of Medicine recommends an increase in BSN nurses.
Methods:
This was a retrospective cross-sectional cohort analysis using data from the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators from 2010 to 2016 from multiple medical centers in Central and Southern Illinois.
Results:
With every 1-unit increase in the percentage of BSN nurses or certified nurses, a reduction in total patient falls per 1000 patient-days can be expected in the amount of 0.02 to 0.04 and 0.01 to 0.03, respectively, all else held constant.
Conclusions:
Improvements to patient outcomes may be optimized with increased percentages of nurses with bachelor degrees and/or certifications.
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