Magnet® Facility Nurses: Pursuing a Baccalaureate Degree in Nursing.

Abstract

The aim is to explore factors that motivate and obstacles that impede nurses from pursuing baccalaureate education when employed by a Magnet® organization. In the Future of Nursing (2011), the Institute of Medicine concluded that the baccalaureate should be the minimum education for nurses. Magnet organizations are encouraged to meet the Institute of Medicine goal of 80% of nurses with a baccalaureate by 2020. In February 2014, a 15-item on-line survey was sent to nurses at a western Magnet-designated hospital to assess factors that motivate registered nurses to achieve a baccalaureate. Descriptive statistics and a general thematic analysis were completed. A 20% response rate (N = 191) was achieved. Most respondents (78%) entered nursing as associate degree/diploma graduates, and most (84%) either had a baccalaureate or master's degree or were currently enrolled in school. Encouragement from other nurses was the factor most frequently selected as facilitating return to school. Impeding factors included age and family responsibilities. A minority of nurses reported that they did not believe that a baccalaureate would make them a better nurse. Findings suggest that peer and leadership support play a larger role in facilitating baccalaureate completion more than previously reported. Additional research is needed to explore the role of registered nurse to registered nurse encouragement in facilitating educational advancement.